Kata are the formal exercises of traditional karate. Often referred to as the “Soul of Karate,” kata encapsulates the techniques, movements, and spirit of the art. Kata practice trains the mind and body for a wide variety of movement and is an excellent form of exercise, memorization, and visualization. It also exposes the student to countless self defense techniques including throwing, locking, and striking techniques that generally aren’t practiced during basic (kihon) training.
Kata is also popular tournament event, where a performer is judged on criteria including form, body dynamics, transition, and power. Team Kata is a competition event as well, where multiple performers synchronize their techniques and are judged on how well the team moves together as well as the skills of the individual performers.
Historically, kata and its self-defense applications were the primary training method during karate’s development in Okinawa. When karate was introduced by Gichin Funakoshi to mainland Japan in the 1920’s, its curriculum had been modified to be more suitable for teaching in large group settings. In the case of kata, explanation of the brutal self-defense applications behind the movements were mostly removed from the teaching and kihon and kumite training were given more exposure in the curricula.
The devastation of World War II left karate in a state of disarray as many of the top sensei were killed or missing. This prompted of many of the top sensei to gather their knowledge and to codify their understanding of the techniques, culminating in the formation of the Japan Karate Association (JKA) in 1949. Headed by Masatoshi Nakayama and senior students of Gichin Funakoshi, the JKA’s goal was to strengthen and promote karate worldwide. Master Nakayama’s Best Karate book series is widely viewed as the definitive text specifying the techniques in the 26 Shotokan kata and they are practiced virtually unchanged from these texts to this day.
The techniques preserved in kata now serve as an historical catalog of the art, faithfully maintaining the heritage and tradition of the art.
See the “Kata of the Month” page for a schedule of how these kata might be practiced in your own training.