The Importance of Kata in Martial Arts and its Benefits

For the last ten years I have been reading articles in various martial arts magazines about whether practicing katas (a prearranged set or form of offense and defense movements) are important.  Even today I still read articles and hear instructors and students of various martial arts styles debate over whether katas are important in the study and practice of martial arts. 

 Katas were originally used to mimic combat scenarios.  It was not feasible to use katas on a training partner because it would maim and seriously hurt him.  Controlled sparring was later developed which would advance progress and decrease the learning time for a student to learn many of the benefits of practicing katas.

 Learning katas properly first, then sparring helps give the student a strong foundation and knowledge of his natural weapons (kicks, punches, elbows, chops, knees, blocks), and the ability necessary to move onto the more advanced exercise of sparring.  

 Academically studying and physically practicing katas have many benefits.  Through the practice of katas, the student can improve his sparring skills and self-defense techniques.  This is done by executing strikes, defense techniques, and learning about distance.

 Executing strikes during a kata reinforces what the student has in his arsenal for offensive attacks.  The student executes punches, elbows, chops, kicks, knee strikes, and other attacks.  Will the student ever use all the strikes from a particular kata in a self-defense situation?  Probably not.  But the movements of a kata are like golf clubs.  Every golf club has its purpose.  Some are for driving the ball over a great distance, some are for chipping the ball, some are for putting, etc.  However, the professional golfer has all the clubs in his bag and is ready to use whichever one the situation calls for.  This is like the martial artist who is ready to use whatever movements from his kata are necessary for his particular situation.  Some katas have the student moving while executing strikes.  This builds on the benefits and skill of maintaining a strong balance as well as learning and using distance with strikes in the katas.

 Katas also teach the student about defense through the use of blocks and movements.  There are outward blocks, upward blocks, inward blocks and more.  An evasive movement can also be a defense.  5^th degree Shotokan Karate Master Augustus “PeeWee” Blanco once told me during a sparring session that the best block is to never be there.  It worked great for him since I was never able to hit him.

 Learning about distance and how it applies to a fight is very important.  Bruce Lee said in his book Tao of Jeet Kune Do, “The maintenance of proper fighting distance has a decisive effect on the outcome of the fight—acquire the habit.”  Katas teach the student how to create distance through the use of footwork.  I have never seen a kata where the student does not move from the original starting position.  I have also never seen a fight that stayed in exactly one place.  Fighting is dynamic, not static.  Bruce Lee also said in Tao of Jeet Kune Do, “One can only develop an instinctive sense of distance if he is able to move about smoothly and speedily.  The quality of a man’s technique depends on his footwork, for one cannot use his hands or kicks efficiently until his feet have put him in the desired position.”  Katas through the use of footwork teach the student how to use distance for offense and defense purposes.  Offensively it closes the distance between the student and his attacker so that the student may strike the attacker.  Defensively, as stated above, it allows the student to evade an attack by creating distance from the incoming strike.  Just as in firearms shooting, a moving target is harder to hit than a stationary one.

             Now having stated the benefits of practicing katas, a kata will not benefit a student unless he practices it with the utmost seriousness and with the knowledge of its practical application.

             The student should practice his kata like his life depends on it, because it may very well one day.  The student also wants his muscle memory to be that of strong blocks and strikes, not half-hearted strikes and blocks.  LOTUS Self-Defense Master Mack Petry often said during training, “Practice as you will perform.”  When I have to use my martial arts in a real-life encounter, I want to perform as best as I can.

             If the student understands what each movement is for in the kata, then he will understand its purpose better and hopefully that will transcend over to the execution of the movements.  When something is understood, it is usually easier to do. 

 The kata should be done with knowledge, technique, focus, accuracy, good breathing, speed, and power so that over time it is done without even thinking about the movements.  When the student must use his kata movements in a real self-defense situation, he wants it to be like when he walks into a dark room and turns on the light switch, without even thinking about it.  The Japanese call this mushin, meaning “no mind.”

 I remember a poster hanging in one of my biology classes in high school that said, “Knowledge is power.”  That is a correct statement.  The human body has areas that are more susceptible to injury and pain than others.  Most martial arts disciplines try to exploit these areas.  In addition, most kata strikes are aimed at these particular areas of susceptibility to injury and pain.  The student should learn exactly what the purpose of the strikes and blocks in a kata are for, as well as the location and/or destination of these strikes and blocks.  The student should strive to train hard, but in a real-life encounter, fight smarter not harder.       

 It may take a long time to master the technique of a martial art strike, throw, or movement.  However, the training toward that mastery begins with the basics.  The American Heritage dictionary describes technique as “the systematic procedure by which a complex task is accomplished, or the way in which the fundamentals are handled.”  Therefore, practicing the basics is very important.  The foundation of a house is built first, then the various rooms that make up the house.

 Focus is very important in kata training, as well as every other aspect of martial arts training.  The American Heritage Dictionary describes focus as “to direct toward a particular point or purpose.”  The student should not be thinking about the next move or strike to perform.  Instead, he needs to think about the strike necessary at his particular moment, or otherwise he may never make it to the next movement or next attacker.

 Speed does no good without accuracy.  Shooting the fastest doesn’t do much good if the shooter can’t hit the side of a barn.  The student needs to work on his accuracy first.  Over time, when muscle memory starts to occur and accuracy develops, the student then gradually increases the speed of his movements.  Relaxation and good stamina promote speed.  The more a student practices kata, his comfort with the kata should help ease his tension, therefore creating relaxation, and thus speed.  Practicing kata for stamina will also build the muscles and heart so that fatigue does not set in early, and thus cause a decrease in speed.

 Breathing is critical in everything we do as humans.  Breathing is the first thing we did when we entered this world and will be the last thing we do when we die.  The importance of breathing is extremely important in the martial arts.  Breathing helps circulate blood throughout the body, transports oxygen to major organs, helps relax the body, and can help lower an excited heart rate.  I have witnessed a student almost pass out during a belt test because he was not breathing with his strikes.  Breathing should come from the abdomen area.  This is the center of the body and the focal point of ki.  Ki is the Japanese term for internal breath power.  The student can start to develop this long process of channeling ki through the use of proper kias, or shouts of energy with each strike.

 Power is important in the martial arts.  Power is different from strength.  Power is the amount of force exerted.  Strength is a component of power, but throwing a 250 pound man is different than bench pressing 250 pounds.  Whether the style requires power from hard snapping strikes or from internal ki, the student should make sure to place power in the kata.  Speed, listed above, is also a component of power.  The faster an object moves, the more kinetic energy it creates.

Written by Tucker Axum