Kata. The Key to Skill

In the second of a series of articles, Michael Jay, the only westerner holding a samurai rank in Japan, discusses Kata.

As a mirror is necessary in daily life for us to see ourselves, so Kata is indispensable in all our training.

You may be surprised that I say ‘In all our training’ but it is true even though this article is about martial arts where life and death are of the essence.

But many are the times I have heard someone in the West say: “Kata? Oh, we don’t bother with that!”, as if it were something to be avoided, merely a boring exercise and a useless waste of time.

With that in mind, I will try to explain in this article just what is the point of kata. My own experience in the classical and modern martial arts is almost entirely in the Japanese systems but kata is such a universally good training method that it can be usefully applied to anything requiring real skill.

So, firstly, let me give its dictionary definition for the Chinese character. 

Kata: A shape, a pattern, a form or style.

It is not only the above but very much more so I will try to explain how I found out what kata really means.

I first started studying Judo seriously at the well-respected London Judo Society run by George Chew and Eric Dominy, both excellent instructors.

My interest was kindled at the age of ten when I found in the public library a book entitled The Fighting Spirit of Japan by E.J. Harrison, an excellent book which I still find fascinating.

I, probably like many others, read all I could on the subject. All the books said that there were three parts to Judo training, Randori (free practice), Shiai (competition), and Kata (prearranged forms).

Free practice was easy to understand. You grabbed hold of someone and tried to throw him to the ground. He did the same and it was great fun to see who could do what. If you had a good partner you could really try out your techniques fairly safely and, in doing so, mutually benefit and learn.

Competition was also easy to understand if rather more difficult to do. It was similar to free practice except that there was a referee who made sure things were fair and at the end decided who had won, usually by a throw, hold-down, strangle or arm-lock, All very clear.

Kata was not so easy to understand. None of the books really gave a good reason why you should do it. Although they gave good explanations of the techniques I do not remember seeing any English author giving good reasons why one should actually do them in a prearranged form.

Equally, I do not remember seeing any Japanese author giving a good reason, either. It may have been because they did not know, although this seems unlikely in the case of the Japanese. Or it may have been because it was too difficult to translate. Or maybe because they did not want others to know. Or, perhaps, they felt that a real devotee would find out for himself by going to Japan, an excellent idea in itself.

At my own dojo there were a few people who did the Judo kata although, looking back, I now know that they did not do it in quite the way in which it was performed in Japan. As in many clubs, some spent a lot of time discussing theory but not appearing to actually learn anything practical! One of our members went to Japan to study Karate and after he returned he could sometimes be seen doing his kata alone, a very convenient method which the judo people never did.

In 1972 George Chew introduced me to a Japanese judo friend of his, Mr. Okubo Isamu in London. Mr. Okubo had been a personal friend of Koizumi Gunji who founded the Budokai and had helped him to open the first dojo in the UK when he came to London in 1921. He had also been a personal friend of Kano Jigoro, the founder of modern Judo. At that time I had just started my flying career with BOAC, soon to become British Airways, and Mr. Okubo invited me to visit him in Tokyo should I fly there. He was a quiet but interesting man and I began to realize that there was much to learn about judo.

Mr. Okubo had arranged for me to train at the home of Judo, the Kodokan, so when I landed for the first time in Tokyo I had my judo clothes with me and looked forward to seeing some ‘real’ Japanese judo. He had all the right connections and introduced me to Kotani Sumiyuki, 9th Dan and Chief Instructor of the Kodokan, and Osawa Yoshimi, then 7th Dan and Chief Instructor of the Special Training Division. They were very kind and took me to the main training hall and put me with some of the Japanese students. I already had my First Dan grade from the British Judo Association and, probably like most black belt holders, I thought I was pretty good but as they all wore the same black belts I had no idea just how skilful they were and I was soon thrown all over the place! The real fascination was that they were all extremely polite and did it without the kicking and shoving I had seen so much of at home.

After a day of training we said good-bye and the next day I was flying home with much to think about and an invitation to return any time.

About a year later after three or four further visits I arranged to take a black belt examination grading at the Kodokan. Although this involved some competition, the main part consisted of demonstrating selected techniques and kata, something I had not done much of before. As I was there for some weeks Mr. Okubo arranged for me to be taught the Japanese method by Mr. Osawa and a Mr. Sato, 7th Dan, who was an Imperial Palace police officer.

Mr. Sato was a large man about 30 years old but I was surprised to find that when training with him it was like training with a very light woman, his technique was so light and soft. This did not mean, however, that he was weak for he could throw me around at will. Japanese police are extremely tough and I had no doubt about what he could have done had it been necessary. His skill was extraordinary and he taught me a lot.

The basic techniques in Judo are Nage no Kata and Katame no Kata, demonstrations of the main throws and holds and although I had practised these in London I was really not prepared for what happened at the Kodokan.

I was placed in a group of students from Tokyo Waseda University, one of the best in Japan and well-known for its strong Judo team, and asked to demonstrate the Nage no Kata. All went reasonably well until I came to one particular throw, Seoinage, generally mistranslated as the Shoulder Throw. This is done as a defence against a downward blow to the face. I did what we had always done in London, namely to step back and raise my arm to strike, whereupon the whole group collapsed in laughter! Mr. Osawa said “Is that how you really hit people in England?” and I, too, began to laugh for it was clear that no-one at home, including me, had ever thought what this kata was actually for. He told two of the group to show me the correct way and I was amazed at the speed and power of both the attack and the defence. What an eye-opener!

With their help, good teaching and kindness, I realised my hope of gaining a real Japanese black belt but I had a lot to think about on my way home. Over the next few years I received much private instruction from my new Japanese friends in various kata. My favourites were the Self Defence techniques as they were, and are, practised so realistically.

Some years later, I was invited to join Japan’s premier martial tradition, the Katori Shinto Ryu, founded in the 15th century. The Oath of the Katori Shinto Ryu prevents me from giving details of the training here but whereas Judo training was partly Kata, Katori Shinto Ryu is almost all Kata for reasons which I will now explain. The prohibition on discussing techniques with non-members makes it difficult for me to give details but I will do my best without breaking the rules of the ryu.

Some techniques are practised alone and some in pairs and, of course, in the beginning, one’s mind is naturally taken up with learning the actual moves. This is always taught by individual instruction and I have been very fortunate to have been taught personally and almost exclusively by the Headmaster, Shihan Otake Risuke.

At the beginning, the real meaning of the kata is not explained and the student merely tries to copy the teacher but later, and only after a considerable time, the teacher will begin to explain the reasons for the moves, all of which are directly from battlefield experience. Consequently, when one trains with such a master it is as if one is training with the founder of the system 600 years ago.

Of course, there is always a good way and a bad way to do things whatever one does so any system of study requires a methodical approach otherwise things get left out. In the martial world such omissions might literally prove fatal.

In any martial system there are many attacks all of which can be countered in various ways. Therefore, in order to train comprehensively a method must be organised in which all attacks and all defences can be practised. The Japanese word for this is kata. However, the Japanese think of this in a way which differs from the way in which it is thought of in the West. It has been my almost unfailing experience that Westerners believe kata to be slow and boring.

Japanese students are quite willing to wait until the teacher thinks they are ready to have the kata explained but Western students are often not so patient. Repetition seems to be anathema to them – even more so nowadays when everyone seems to want instant results. Yet is exactly this repetition that builds skill.

Naturally, some people have natural ability but the human mind and body still require repeated practise to become reliably skilful. Slowly at first but gradually getting faster. However, it is important to practise something that is realistic and worthwhile. This may be obvious but it is clear that many people practising kata have little or no real idea of what the moves are really for.

There is a also an attitude in some Western teaching in that the instructor will deliberately appear to be inscrutable in order to impress the student. If the student asks questions he may be put off with a vague or what appears to be a mystical answer. The reason is often that the teacher just doesn’t know the answer. Very often the teacher has never even seen the real thing in its own surroundings in its country of origin, a truly deplorable state of affairs. How can someone teach that which he has not seen? Unfortunately, the new student does not know enough to question the teacher with authority and much time can be wasted until he does. By then, many years may have gone by with much effort being put into something which turns out to be useless.

Some systems are intrinsically worthless however much you practice. Just look on the wall of almost any health club for the so-called life-changing courses which are advertised, most of which are moneymaking schemes aimed at those who are too lazy to put the effort into learning something of value.

Therefore, it is vital to find a real teacher. Generally, but not always, that means a native teacher. In Judo, I have met several English practitioners with real skill who were certainly as good or better than many Japanese. Even then one must be careful. A champion who wins competitions does not always understand the finer points. Sport is sport and has nothing to do with life or death confrontation.

Katori Shinto Ryu training was very cleverly devised in that it allows in training not only a full power attack but also a full power defence which is hidden. Furthermore, the more one studies these kata the more one realises that there are many more attacks and counterattacks than appear to exist in the basic kata. In short, it is an ABC, an encyclopaedia of combat skills. Katori Shinto Ryu is fast, dynamic, effective and aggressive.

Not only are these kata severe physical exercises performed at high speed and with great power in order to build stamina but they are also designed to hide their technique from outsiders. This comes from the fact that, having been founded in the age of war, it was vital that in order to avoid defeat outsiders should not be privy to the methods. To that end, the attacks are clear but the defences are not. They are hidden from prying eyes. Amongst other arts, Judo also uses modern, safe methods which can easily revert to the original violence of the feudal period but only if the kata are fully understood.

Kata should be practised both solo and in pairs. In pairs it may be done in its original form and with variations. Practised solo it is a reminder, a form of mental and physical notebook, but one should always keep in mind that there is an enemy. It should never be a mindless exercise. The more I train in kata the more I realize how many variations and openings there are in both attack and defence.

Another very important reason for training in kata is that some techniques are so dangerous that it is impossible to practice them freely without fatal results. Katori Shinto Ryu comes into this category for all its techniques are designed with combat efficiency in mind. Having said that, one of the main teachings of the ryu is that it is wrong to kill but that is an apparent paradox which I will discuss in a later article.

The reasons why the techniques are so dangerous is that they were perfected on the battlefield where there was only one purpose. Taught in an unbroken line and unchanged since the 15th century, they are exactly what was taught by real masters when real Japanese swordsmanship was at its peak. They are the techniques which survived for those who used techniques which failed are long dead.

It is occasionally said that kata are not realistic. This may be for various reasons. They may have been changed over the years by those who did not know the real methods or they may have been changed by non-professionals coming into the system. Or perhaps the line of teaching may have been broken. None of these apply to the Katori Shinto Ryu. All the techniques are real, fast, dynamic and deadly.

Almost every skill has a system of training. How many hours does a concert pianist spend playing scales and exercises? Military and police training always has scenarios in which its people can practice without fatal injury. All firearms training is kata. If it were not so half of the force would be dead, hardly a sensible state of affairs. In aviation, much time and money is spent training both in real aircraft and in simulators. It is all as realistic as possible and it is all kata.

In his book Karate Do, Funakoshi Gichin says that you must be deadly serious in training. This means that your opponent must be uppermost in your mind and that one blow decides everything. This is very tiring but if you merely move your hands and feet the onlookers may be impressed but you are fooling yourself. Master Funakoshi tells the perfect story to illustrate the meaning of kata which I am sure he would not mind my repeating here.

In Japan, story telling (Rakugo) is, even today, a well-respected art. Many years ago, a trainee rakugo artiste, Koshiji, had a very strict teacher. Day after day, week after week and year after year he was made to recite the same story, the Taikoki. Over and over again. So much so, and dispirited from so much correction by his master, he could finally take no more and ran away. On the Tokaido Road he stopped one night at an inn where, by luck, there was to be a recitation contest. With nothing to lose and nothing to do, he entered and amazed his audience who then insisted he tell who he really was as they assumed he was a famous master in disguise. The young Koshiji was pleased by this but at the same time puzzled as he thought himself worthless because his teacher had been so demanding.

After telling his story he was told what a terrible mistake he had made in running away. He was persuaded to return to his teacher to continue his studies finally becaming one of the greatest masters of his art. His skill came from repetition of the perfected form.

I recently heard about a Westerner who went to Japan to study but who was constantly corrected by the teacher. So much so that he became annoyed and left, thinking that the teacher did not like him. What a mistake! He simply did not realize that his basic technique was lacking and that the teacher corrected him because he really thought he was someone worth correcting.

Every teacher wants his student to be good. I have never resented any correction by those who really know because I really appreciate their concern for my well-being.

Good classical and modern bujutsu are so effective that it is impossible to practice them in any form of free exercise; consequently they cannot be practised as sports. However, they can be practical modern forms as long as they are taught by skilled professionals who keep in mind the spirit of their classical ancestry. And by professionals I do not mean merely one who gets paid but one who has real experience.

Unfortunately, many so-called modern systems are both eclectic and shallow with their exponents clearly demonstrating that they have either forgotten, or perhaps never understood, the hot fire in which their forbears were forged. Their lack of knowledge and real experience result in the creation of impractical and pointless exercises.

Kata is the very embodiment of real technique. It enables one to train both the body and the mind and to explore infinite variations. It reminds us of the origin of technique. And it enables action unrestricted by thought where the mind can concentrate on strategy.

In conclusion, may I say that, if you find kata boring, then you are not doing it correctly.

About the Author

Michael Jay is the only non-Japanese person to hold a samurai rank – that of Group Commander in Soma Noma Oi, the Soma Wild Horse Chase, the biggest horse event in the world and classified by the Japanese government as an Intangible Cultural Treasure of Japan. He holds a teaching licence in Japan's oldest martial school, the Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto Ryu, also classified as an Intangible Cultural Treasure.

He has Black Belt grades in several modern martial disciplines including:

• The British Judo Association (1st Dan); Kodokan Judo Institute (1st Dan);
• Muso Shinden Ryu Iai;
• Shindo Muso Ryu Jojutsu;
• All Japan Kendo Association Jodo (1st Dan);
• and All Japan Kendo Association Iaido (4th Dan Instructor).

In addition to this, he is qualified by the Smith and Wesson Academy not only as a Law Enforcement Firearms Instructor for rifle, shotgun, pistol and revolver but also for handgun retention, baton and handcuffs – all of which are useful as he is also a member of the Metropolitan Police Special Constabulary and regularly teaches police officers personal safety and self defence. As an archer he has a strong interest in the martial history of England and as a hunter in Africa fully supports animal conservation.

 

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