Why Kata Still Matters: You Just Don’t Understand It.

 

Posted by ADAM CARTER on JUL 14, 2025

Why Kata Still Matters: You Just Don’t Understand It.

(Approx 2 minute 45 second read)

In a recent article, I wrote about how a single movement from a kata could be so much more than just a punch – a grab, a push, a setup for a throw and much more.

I explored the idea that kata isn’t just a rigid performance, but a living system of self-defense. However, you have to look beyond a single technique.

The truth lies in the very purpose of kata. For the pioneers of karate, kata wasn’t a choreographed fight sequence to be performed from start to finish.

Instead, the initial need was for practical two-person drills, born from common assaults. These drills taught effective responses. Kata then emerged as a mnemonic device – a reminder of those responses that could be practiced when alone.

This leads us to the idea that movements in kata often have multiple applications. What might look like a simple ‘block’, for instance, was rarely just a block.

That same movement could be taught as a strike, a grab, a joint lock, or even a setup for a throw. This wasn’t guesswork – it was rooted in the versatile combat needed at the time.

Instructors would often teach multiple interpretations for the same movement, showing its adaptability. A prime example is Motobu Choki, a legendary Okinawan fighter. He consistently demonstrated how seemingly defensive movements could instantly transition into powerful offensive techniques, proving their multi-purpose nature.

People who dismiss kata need to look at its history and understand why we have it in the first place.

The comment section on my Page reveals how misunderstood kata still is. Here are a couple of recent examples.

Someone said, “I’m not here to learn anything”, then went on a tirade about what karate is – and basically described everything that’s wrong with karate as self-defense, which he practiced and defended doggedly.

Another said, “Kata is choreography. Hours upon hours of repetitive technique is good for a competition but in my opinion that’s about it. Spend time with your family, take your wife to dinner – memorable things like that. I’m from the old school: train as you fight, so if you’re going to train to fight then get in the ring/on the mat.”

These comments tell me one thing – many people still see kata as a relic for sport or tradition, rather than a living archive of how to survive when things turn ugly. They confuse the repetitive solo practice with the purpose of that practice.

One person put it plainly: “One of the major issues is that black belt instructors in many cases don’t know the deeper meanings, hence cannot teach them.” And they’re right.

It’s true: endless repetition of a kata, without any clue what the movements are for, is a waste of time if you care about real self-defense. But that’s not kata’s fault – that’s poor teaching, or worse, lazy thinking.

‘Train as you fight’, is a good principle, but you can’t fight your partner full-force every day without breaking them or yourself. That’s why the pioneers built kata – to capture the lessons of violent encounters safely, so you could repeat and refine them alone. The goal wasn’t performance, it was preservation.

If you really want to “train as you fight”, then understand what you’re fighting against. Real violence is messy, close, and often begins when you’re off-guard.

Kata movements, properly understood, address these realities – grabs, sudden strikes, holds, throws, surprise angles. The key is to unlock them, not dismiss them.

It comes back to this: kata is not the answer by itself. It’s the notebook. You still need a good teacher to help you read it, test it, and make it yours. Without that, it’s just pages of words you never learned to use.

So next time someone tells you kata is dead or useless, remember – the real problem isn’t the kata. It’s the people who can’t be bothered to understand it.

Written by Adam Carter – Shuri Dojo