During my last trip to the Jundokan in June this year, I had an interesting (and always insightful) conversation with Gima-sensei that really resonated with me, and I wanted to share that with everyone here today.

We spoke about the necessity of not only understanding how to do the techniques in each kata but of understanding why we do them that way.

The example he gave was a technique from Suparinpei (in Gōjū-ryū), which he compared to a similar technique in Anan Dai (a kata found in Ryūei-ryū and Shitō-ryū, for example) in which, especially for tournaments, the index finger is held straight out in an ‘ippon nukite’ (one finger thrust), rather than a keikoken-tsuki (one knuckle fist) as in Goju-Ryu.

This can be seen in the photos below, comparing the Suparinpei of Miyakozawa-sensei from the Jundokan (left), and the Anan Dai of Ryo Kiyuna—Tokyo Olympic Gold Medalist, Team Japan (right):

(These photos were taken from these videos of Miyakozawa-sensei and Kiyuna Ryo).

Although these are different kata from different styles, Gima-sensei discussed how they are, in effect, the same technique. He laughed about the straight finger, saying: “there’s no point to that at all”.

The key concept Gima-sensei was pushing to me by saying that is:

If you can’t explain why you’re doing a technique a particular way, you should either (1) find out, or (2) stop doing it that way.

It got me thinking about whether I could explain why I was doing the techniques the way I was doing them—not just whether I knew the bunkai, but whether the way I was doing my techniques was supported by reason.

Gima-sensei explained that it can be very easy for someone to misunderstand a technique and then teach it wrongly to someone else who, in turn, learns it wrong and the cycle continues. This is especially the case for tournament kata, in which such kind mistakes that make no sense can creep in due to their flashy appeal for points.

This process is what leads karateka to perform kata that simply doesn’t make sense, and is the reason one can drift away from the traditional source.

(Photo taken from Travel 67: Chris Willson Photography.

It’s only when we start blindly following someone who doesn’t fully understand a technique themselves that we encounter problems. So, if you can’t explain why you’re doing your kata techniques the way you are, perhaps check with your teacher for advice. If neither of you can explain with convincing reason, it might be time to take a step back, return to the kata roots, and reconsider how you’re doing that technique.

Perhaps knowing why we do techniques a particular way is just as important as (if not, more than!) being able to perform them effectively (or ‘flashy’, for that matter).

The techniques in our kata have got to make sense. It’s as simple as that.

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Knowing "why": A lesson in kata techniques

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