Kata David a. Hall

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Kata

by David A. Hall

[Var. ]

As pre-arranged combative forms, kataplayed a significant

role in the training of the classical Japanese warrior. The

earliest kata we are familiar with began to appear during

the late-Kamakura to early-Muromachi period although we

know little about them except a few of their names. Kata,

in fact, are still being created today.

However, in the classical martial traditions (kory) these

combative forms varied greatly among the myriad

traditions and, in an historical and hoplological

perspective, not all kata were equal. Generally speaking

there were at least three categories of kata developed in

the classical systems: 1) those forms which were designed

by warriors who, having survived battle and/or personal

duel, encoded their successful strategies as pre-arranged

combative scenarios--they were often seen as divinely

inspired by a particular deity; 2) those forms which werecreated by warriors, most without battle experience, in the

peaceful years of the Tokugawa Shogunate or later; and 3)

those forms which were extrapolated from earlier forms in

order to teach basic and intermediate combative technique

or to cover variations in earlier combative scenarios.

In the case of this first category, some warriors--martial

geniuses--were able, in the midst of battle or at locations

of spiritual power, to intuit and create highly effective

strategies and tactics for combat. The strategies (heih)were not simply techniques in the sense of manipulating a

weapon. They were methods requiring psycho-physical

perfection; a supreme synergy of body, breath, and mind in

a unified whole. This synergy would empower the warrior

with the ability to defeat an enemy with what might often

appear to an observer as the simplest of movements. While

we may analyze these strategies through our own cognitive

abilities, they were not designed constructions arrived at

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through normal cognition. They were, instead, intuited in

the heat of battle or as the culmination of exhaustive,

protracted religious austerities. Also, these strategies were

neither applied through normal, cognitive consciousness,

nor were they taught through normal intellectual-

pedagogical means. A master teacher passed them on to a

disciple in a way that required the student to use intuition

under stressful conditions; in several martial traditionsthis was accomplished in front of altars indicating a line of

direct transmission from the divine.

In addition, these subtle strategies were not "taught" in an

intellectual sense. Learning them required the disciple to

use intuition based on years of experience and training.

This teaching approach becomes clear when viewed in light

of current studies in psychology. According to current

research into intuition, people possess that special ability

precisely because they have mastered a relatively narrow

field of endeavor. Evidently the thousands of hours of effort

the warrior devoted to training would have provided him

with a large body of experience/knowledge which actually

created a change in the way he thought and reasoned. He

thus attained the ability to deal with larger "chunks" of

internalized knowledge. The aim of this method was to give

the trainee the ability to make intuitive leaps in the midst

of combat instead of taking a plodding, analytical approach

to dealing with a dangerous enemy. In addition tocultivating intuition, training in these scenarios was aimed

at developing a variety of other combative capabilities. (See

Guidearticle on bu no ri.)

Finally, and probably due to the influence of Buddhism--

especially Rinzai Zen--many of these early, classical kata

were constructed, both in name and pedagogy, in the form

of riddles. The Zen kanwas a teaching method popular in

Rinzai Zen and its intent was to force the student to intuit

an answer under stressful situations. Some warriors, suchas Kamiizumi Ise-no-Kami, took phrases directly from

collections of Zen kan and applied them as names of

kata.

The second type of kata--those created by samurai, some

as headmasters of older schools, others as founders of new

schools--were intended to have the same purpose as

earlier forms. However, with the evolution of the warrior's


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art and capabilities during the years of Tokugawa peace,

these forms often lack the depth and vigor of their Sengoku

period predecessors.

The third type of kata as noted above often had no

pretention of being battlefield inspired. They are a mixed

bag, many limited to the repetitive teaching of specific

techniques, and, during the mid- to late-Tokugawa period,were often aimed at success in sportive, competitive

matches with other schools (taryjiai). This process is still

in play today.

Many classical rywhich have come down to us today

contain kata of all three types.

Further readings in English:

Draeger, Donn F. (1973a). Classical Bujutsu: The Martial

arts and ways of Japan(Vol. 1). Tky: Weatherhill.

______. (1973b). Classical Budo: The Martial arts and ways

of Japan(Vol. 2). Tky: Weatherhill.

______. (1974a). Modern Bujutsu and Budo:The Martial arts

and ways of Japan(Vol. 3). Tky: Weatherhill.

Hall, David A. (1990). Marishiten: Buddhism and the WarriorGoddess, Dissertation presented to the University of

California, Berkeley, 1990. Ann Arbor: University

Microfilms, pp. 344-353

______. (1997). "Marishiten: Buddhist Influences on

Combative Behavior." In Koryu Bujutsu: Classical Warrior

Traditions of Japan. Edited by Diane Skoss. Koryu Books,

pp. 87-119.

Hayes, Richard. (1984a). "Paleolithic Adaptive traits andthe Fighting Man." Hoplos. 4, no. 2 (June 1984): 9-11.

______. (1984b). "Conceptual Tools for the Hoplologist: The

IAT/MAT Continued." Hoplos. 4, no. 3 (December 1984):

2-4.

______. (1985). "Conceptual Tools for the Hoplologist: The

IAT/MAT Continued." Hoplos. 4, no. 4 (August 1985):


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23-24.

______.(1986). "Conceptual Tools for the Hoplologist: The

IAT/MAT Continued." Hoplos. 5, no. 1 & 2. (Spring 1986):

31-34.

______. (1987a): "Hoplology Theoretics, An Overview: Part 1

The IAT/MAT." Hoplos: The Journal of the InternationalHoplology Society. 5, nos. 3 & 4 (Spring 1987): 24-26.

______. (1987b): "Hoplology Theoretics, An Overview: Part 2

The Innate/Manifest Volitional Trait." HIS Newsletter

(December 1987): 2-3.

______. (1988a): "Hoplology Theoretics, An Overview: Part 3

The Innate/Manifest Cognitive/Intuitive Trait." Hoplos:

The Journal of the International Hoplology Society. 6, nos. 1

& 2 (Winter 1988): 25-26.

______. (1988b): "Hoplology Theoretics, An Overview: Part 4

The Innate/Manifest Imperturbable-

mind/Steadfast-mind Trait." Hoplos: The Journal of the

International Hoplology Society. 6, nos. 3 (Fall 1988): 7-12.

______. (1989): "Hoplology Theoretics, An Overview: Part 5

The Innate/Manifest Omnipoise Trait." Hoplos: The Journal

of the International Hoplology Society. 6, nos. 4 (Winter

1989): 29-31.

______. (1992). "Hoplology Theoretics, an Overview:

Innate/Manifest Force/Yield Trait and Innate/Manifest

Synchronous Trait. Part 7."Hoplos7, no. 2 (Winter 1992):

27-29.

______. (1994). "Hoplology Theoretics, an Overview:

Transcendent Synergy of the Manifest Adaptive Traits. Part

8 (and) Practical Application. Part 9." Hoplos:The Journal

of the International Hoplology Society.7, no. 3 (Winter

1994): 20-27.

Leggett, Trevor. (1985). Warrior Koans: Early Zen in Japan.

Arkana. Routledge and Kegan Paul, Inc.

Rosenbaum, Michael. (2005). Kata and the Transmission of

Knowledge: In Traditional Martial Arts. YMAA Publication

Center.


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Copyright 2008 David A. Hall. All rights reserved.

Excerpted from A Guide to Classical Japanese Combative Culture(forthcoming).

Contact Koryu.comLast modified on November 24, 2008

URL: http://www.koryu.com /library/dhall1.htmlCopyright 2009 Koryu Books. All rights reserved.


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