Modern Kata ? Killing Interpretations?

I’ve studied Shotokan, Wado and Goju for 36+ years now. My conclusion of the Kata is that they are not performed how they were originally intended. The reasons are too numerous to mention specifically, except that style and instructor variants and the dangerousness of the techniques for children to practice has paid a huge part in changing them from their original killing interpretations.

Perhaps I said it simply…….too simply? To add further insult to injury I have deduced that Kata as performed by the “modern masters” is the core of the confusion that surrounds how Kata should be performed and how it was original intended to be performed.
For example: if you decrease the range of confrontation (of a Kata application) to that of a telephone box (not a Tardis) and still be confident that each segment was in it’s own right a definitive effective application. You should see a big difference in how it might be effective and more useful in reality and as a memory aid, by form.

For me!! And I’m not saying I’m right, although I think I am. I need to take modern Kata with a big pinch of salt or a spoon full of sugar, because the reality aspects of them are hard to swallow. The moves are there, some say hidden, I think seriously lost in translation.
Example: if a (heian/pinan shodan or gekki-sai) gedan barai, cannot STOP a situation in it’s tracks you’re in big trouble........... Imagine there is no second attack in karate?
Choki Motobu says…………………….

“Karate is sente (first strike)”

“The blocking hand must be able to become the attacking hand in an instant. Blocking with one hand and then attacking with the other is not true bujutsu. Real bujutsu presses forward and blocks and counters in the same motion.”
“One cannot use continuous attacks against true karate. That is because the blocks of true karate make it impossible for the opponent to launch a second attack”.

It is also quite clear that sport Kata is subjective to the discretion of a decision by a group of judges. The true test of how effective a technique is cannot be assessed without seeing the total effect.

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Excerpts from The Collected Sayings of Motobu Choki by Marukawa Kenji

1. Everything is natural and changing.

2. Kamae is in the heart, not a physical manifestation.

3. One must develop the ability to read how much striking power someone has at a glance.

4. One does not have to take care to block every single attack by an opponent with weak striking power.

5. In a real confrontation, more than anything else, one should strike to the face first, as this is the most effective.

6. Kicks are not all that effective in a real confrontation.

7. Karate is sente (first strike).

8. The position of the legs and hips in Naifuanchin No Kata is the basics of karate.

9. Twisting to the left or to the right from Naifuanchin stance will give you the stance used in a real confrontation. Twisting one’s way of thinking about Naifuanchin left and right, the various meanings in each of movement of the kata will become clear.

10. One must always try and block an attack at the source.

11. The blocking hand must be able to become the attacking hand in an instant. Blocking with one hand and then attacking with the other is not true bujutsu. Real bujutsu presses forward and blocks and counters in the same motion.

12. One cannot use continuous attacks against true karate. That is because the blocks of true karate make it impossible for the opponent to launch a second attack.

13. I still do not yet know the best way to punch the makiwara.

14. It’s interesting, but when I just think about performing a kata, when I’m seated, I break a sweat.

15. When punching to the face, one must thrust as if punching through to the back of the head.

16. When fighting a boxer, it is better to go with his flow, and take up a rhythm with both of your hands.

17. It is necessary to drink alcohol and pursue other fun human activities. The art of someone who is too serious has no flavor.

18. It is okay to take two steps forward or backward in the same kamae, but over three steps, one must change the position of their guard.

19. When I fought the foreign boxer in Kyoto, he was taller than me so I jumped up and punched him in the face. This is effective against people who are taller than you.

20. I started having real fights at Tsuji when I was young, and fought over 100 of them, but I was never hit in the face.

21. When I was four, I was made to go to a school, but I hated studying, so I often skipped class and played somewhere with my friends.

22. When I was still in Okinawa, Kano Jigoro of the Kodokan visited and asked to talk with me, and through a friend we went to a certain restaurant. Mr. Kano talked about a lot of things, but about karate, he asked me what I would do if my punch missed. I answered that I would immediately follow with an elbow strike from that motion. After that, he became very quiet and asked nothing more about karate.

23. There are no stances such as neko-ashi, zenkutsu or kokutsu in my karate. Neko-ashi is a form of “floating foot” which is considered very bad in bujutsu. If one receives a body strike, one will be thrown off balance. Zenkutsu and kokutsu are unnatural, and prevent free leg movement.

24. The stance in my karate, whether in kata or kumite, is like Naifuanchin, with the knees slightly bent and the footwork is free. When defending or attacking, I tighten my knees and drop the hips, but I do not put my weight on either the front or the back foot, rather keeping it evenly distributed.

25. When blocking kicks, one must block as if trying to break the shin.

26. Upon the guidance of another Okinawan, I went to the place Funakoshi Giichin was teaching youngsters, where he was running his mouth, bragging. Upon seeing this, I grabbed his hand, took up the position of kake-kumite and said, “What will you do?” He was hesitant, and I thought to punch him would be too much, so I threw him with kote-gaeshi at which he fell to the ground with a thud. He got up, his face red, and said “once more” so we took up the position of kake-kumite once again. And again I threw him with kote-gaeshi. He did not relent and asked for another bout, so he was thrown the same way for a third time._________________