Kata: The Lesson That Never Ends.

 

Posted by ADAM CARTER on MAY 05, 2025

Kata: The Lesson That Never Ends.

(Approx 1 minute 30 second read)

“If someone can touch you, they can hurt you. If they can hurt you, they can beat you – unless you do something about it.” – Anonymous

At their core, the martial arts are really very simple. It’s unfortunate that so many people make it more complicated than it needs to be. When I think about any form of fighting, I’m reminded of something that’s always held true: every technique has a counter. If someone knows what they’re doing, they’ll find a way around it.

This idea sits at the heart of traditional martial arts – especially when it comes to real violence. It’s why partner drills were developed. They weren’t just training tools – they were essential for testing and refining technique.

I’m not talking about modern step-kumite, where two people agree on the type of attack and defense beforehand. I mean where the method of attack is not a typical karate vs karate attack, often left out of the average karate class.

I write a lot about kata, but to be honest, in my early days of training I didn’t like it at all. Why? Because, like many people today, I didn’t understand it.

A lot of people criticize kata for the same reason – they don’t understand it. They watch someone perform it and assume that’s how you’re supposed to fight: moving from beginning to end in a fixed sequence of techniques.

Performances at tournaments don’t help either. They look impressive, but the two-person drills that kata came from – the real core – are far removed from what’s being shown.

It’s important to understand that the two-person drills came first. Over time, these drills were preserved into the solo form.

Kata is much more than just a series of techniques randomly strung together. It’s a record of experience, forged through contact. Every movement, every shape, reflects something that was tested and found to work.

But kata was never meant to teach us on its own. It’s a way to preserve what we’ve already understood through training with others. It’s not the beginning – it’s what remains after the lesson.

Written by Adam Carter

Inspired by Hanshi Patrick McCarthy