#gekisai

[meiaoi]

練習風景をのせましたが、本人が頑張ってる形も載せて欲しいというので、今日の道場練習での団体形を載せときますね😊 疲れてヘトヘトの中やってるので下半身の🦵安定感が今ひとつですが気合いは乗ってます‼️ #団体形 #撃砕第一 #gekisai #kata #空手 #空手女子 #剛柔流 #剛柔会 #全少に行こう #練習 #組手 #形 #突き #蹴り #小３女子#karate #karategirl#奈良#奈良空手 https://www.instagram.com/p/B2Y6tWAJ7KT/?igshid=rzbrzeil3urp

[sonsoru]

Essence of a Kata

This is my rather unique view of interpreting kata. I believe they're meant to be collections of principles and fighting tactics adaptable to personal interpretation and use in an unlimited number of techniques. Each kata has its own essence that should be understood and differentiated from the others. This is open to any feedback you guys might have! Do you study the kata in a similar manner?

Each kata in a system of martial arts serves to teach a different set of skills and tactics to achieve the overarching fighting strategy of the given style. This is how the same kata can be interpreted differently among different styles. The overarching strategy of a martial artist, derived from their individual style preferences, provides the lenses through which any individual interprets movement and bunkai, or applications. Without an area of expertise or a base from which to expand however, there are no refined lenses through which an individual may improve themselves. In order to truly understand the relationships between various styles, an individual must have a fundamental understanding of at least one style before expanding their views and exposing themselves to various style-specific strategies. This can be likened to the way in which scientific discovery is guided by the current paradigm and chosen field of study. This does not make any given technique or style better than the other. On the contrary, a true warrior in the way of karate understands that there are many paths up the same mountain. If you take a different path every day, without reaching the peak, you could point out the many differences between your chosen paths, never realizing how closely related they truly are. If you had reached the top of the mountain just once on any of those paths however, you could have looked back and seen every possible path up the mountain without walking each of them yourself.

What makes an individual a great karateka is not their style, but how that individual chooses to train and use their style. Everyone has the ability to be great and excel in their chosen art by training for a specified, achievable goal. Any given style and karateka may be used for self-defense, sport, or aesthetics. But do not be fooled into thinking each area of study is one and the same. As Albert Einstein is attributed to saying, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” As you train in a particular style, attempt to identify its focus. What are you truly training yourself for? What is the measurement of your progress? If you discover that your training is misdirected and is not taking you closer to your specified goal, adjust your methods until it does. The kata are meant to be tools that can be adapted to the mindset of a practitioner. Use the right tool for the right job.

In the case of an Eclectic Goju-Ryu stylist, every kata delivers a new set of fighting skills that ultimately adhere to the overarching Goju-Ryu strategy of closing distance, unbalancing an opponent, and using physiological damage to incapacitate. It must not be forgotten that every kata is a unique fighting style in its own right, once used to define an entire martial arts system. Each kata contains a unique set of techniques and tactics that can applied individually to achieve the Goju-Ryu combat strategy. Strive to completely understand the tools given to you in each kata and their intended applications. Try to define what that particular kata has taught you in just a few words and you have described the essence of that kata. The individual mindset and immediate goals that accompanies a kata influences its bunkai. Though the same technique may appear in multiple kata, its application may not be the same. A hammer can be used to both pound nails in and remove them depending on the current objective of its wielder. 

[inallthingsbalance]

Gekisai