Labels, Myths, and the Loss of Function: The Death of Practicality?

 

Posted by ADAM CARTER on AUG 06, 2025

Labels, Myths, and the Loss of Function: The Death of Practicality?

(Approx 2 minute 25 second read)

As a follow-up to yesterday’s article, I thought I would share a couple of comments I received.

Now and then, I get odd messages from people – especially since I’m an advocate for using kata as a kind of practical Swiss Army knife.

Here’s one that shows how far kata has drifted from its original purpose in some people’s minds:

“Kushanku’s opening traces the wings of a dove before striking with left then right shuto. Naihanchi opens the same, with left and right movement. It is said to symbolize a back against the hull of a ship.”

Others have stated that the ‘fist-in-hand gesture’ is a “moment of pause before the storm” or to “gather energy.” Another said it’s to show an attacker that “you are unarmed.” One more, referring to Kusanku’s opening sequence, said it was meant to “frame the sun or moon.”

It sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? But there are those who actually believe this!

Just for a moment, forget the modern interpretations – the performance, the aesthetics, the woefully inadequate applications involving several attackers politely waiting in the wings – and consider why kata were created.

If kata were made for a combative purpose, wouldn’t it be logical – wouldn’t it be common sense – to ensure each move or technique within the kata had a function to protect you from harm?

If we were creating kata today as a self-defense template for the modern world, would we include empty or symbolic gestures? It would be foolhardy, at the least, wouldn’t it?

“There are no ‘salutation’, religious or empty movements in kata. All movements in the kata have meaning.” – Toguchi Seikichi (1917–1998), 10th dan Goju Ryu

My common-sense position is that a combative kata is made up of combative motions and principles – not empty gestures.

When people don’t understand something, they often find it easier to create their own explanations. We see this all the time, in every part of society.

To psychologists, this behavior is known as ‘rationalization’: if something doesn’t make sense, then make it make sense. Karate is no exception.

Many people believe you can hang a label on anything if you look hard enough. They attach labels to concepts which then become fact… and that is a problem with much of karate today. I’ve written about this extensively.

Prior to karate’s modernization and its shift to mainland Japan, there were no labels for anything. It is said that through the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai (DNBK) desire for named styles and order, the labeling of techniques was born.

For me, when we give something a label, our interest can end in exploring any connection beyond that label. Labels convey something absolute. That’s difficult to navigate away from once it’s decided.

I believe, you have to challenge the labels: What do they mean? Why? How did circumstances lead to that label? At a fundamental level, labels are incredibly simplistic – and they hold us back.

Labels give the illusion of fixed meaning, but as one commentator said, ‘Techniques are verbs, not nouns, trajectories, not end positions.’ – Movement is dynamic, not a static label.

Maybe it’s time we stop framing the ‘sun and the moon’. Kata was never meant to be theatre – it was meant to keep you alive.

Anything less does a disservice to those who trained before us – surely?

Written by Adam Carter – Shuri Dojo