Kata by David A. Hall
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Kata
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形 [Var. 型] As pre-arra pre-arranged nged combat co mbative ive forms, kata played played a significant role in the training of the classical c lassical Japanese warrior. warrior. The earliest kata we are familiar with began to appear during the late-Kamakura to early-Muromachi early-Muromachi period although altho ugh we know little about abou t them except a few of their names. Kata, in fact, are still being created today. However, in the classical martial martial traditions (koryū ( koryū ) these combative forms varied greatly among the myriad traditions and, in an historical and hoplological perspective, not all kata were equal. Generally speaking there were were at least three categories of o f kata developed in the classical classic al systems: 1) those forms which were designed by warriors warriors who, having s urvived battle and/or personal duel, encoded their succ essful strategies s trategies as pre-arranged pre-arranged combative scenarios--they scenarios --they were were often seen as divinely inspired by a particular deity; 2) those thos e forms which were created by warriors, warriors, most without battle experience, ex perience, in the peaceful years of the Tokugawa Shogunate Shogu nate or later; and 3) those forms fo rms which were extrapolated from earlier earlier forms in order to teach basic and intermediate intermediate combative technique or to cover variations in earlier combative scenarios. In the case c ase of this first category, c ategory, some warriors--mart warriors--martial ial geniuses--were able, in the midst of battle or at locations loc ations of spiritual power, to intuit intu it and create highly effective strategies and tactics for combat. The strategies (heihō ( heihō ) were not simply techniques in the sense of manipulating a weapon. They were methods requiring psycho-physical perfection; a suprem su preme e synergy of o f body, breath, and mind in a unified whole. This synergy would empower the warrior with the ability to defeat an enemy with what might often appear to an observer as the simplest of o f movements. While we may analyze analyze these strategies through our own cognitive co gnitive abilities, they were not not designed constructions co nstructions arrived at
Kata by David A. Hall
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through normal cognition. cognitio n. They were, instead, intuited in the heat of battle or as the culmination of exhaustive, protracted religious religious austerities. Also, Also , these strategies were neither applied through normal, cognitive consciousness, nor were they taught through normal intellectualpedagogical means. A master teacher passed them on to a disciple in a way that required the student to use u se intuition intuitio n under stressful conditions; conditio ns; in several martial martial traditions this was accomplished acco mplished in front of altars altars indicating a line of o f direct transmission from the divine. In addition, these subtle su btle strategies were not "taught" in an intellectual sense. s ense. Learning them required required the disciple to use intuition intuiti on based on years of experience and training. This teaching approach approach becomes clear when viewed in light of current studies in psychology. According to current research into intuition, people possess that special ability precisely because they have mastered a relatively narrow field of endeavor. Evidently Evidently the thousands thous ands of hours of o f effort the warrior warrior devoted to training would have provided him with a large body of experience/knowledge which actually created a change in the way he thought and reasoned. He thus attained the ability to deal with larger "chunks" of o f internalized knowledge. knowledge. The aim of this method was to give the trainee the ability to make intuitive leaps in i n the midst of combat co mbat instead of taking a plodding, analytical approach to dealing with a dangerous enemy. In addition addition to cultivating intuition, training in these scenarios was aimed at developing a variety of other combative capabilities. (See Guide article article on bu no ri.) ri. ) Finally, and probably due to the influence of Buddhism-especially Rinzai Zen--many of these early, classic al kata were constructed, both in name and pedagogy, in the form of riddles. The Zen kōan was was a teaching method popular in Rinzai Zen and its intent was to force the student stu dent to intuit an answer under stressful situations. situatio ns. Some warriors, warriors, such suc h as Kamiizumi Ise-no-Kami, took phrases directly from collections collec tions of o f Zen kōan and applied them as names of kata. The second type of kata--those kata--those created by samurai, samurai, some as headmasters of older schools, schools , others as founders of new schools--were schoo ls--were intended intended to have the same purpose as earlier forms. forms. However, with the evolution evolutio n of the warrior's
Kata by David A. Hall
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art and capabilities during the years of Tokugawa peace, these forms often lack the depth and vigor vigo r of their Sengoku period predecesso predecessors. rs. The third type of kata kata as noted above above often had no pretention of being battlefield inspired. They are a mixed bag, many many limited to the repetitive teaching of o f specific techniques, and, during the mid- to late-Tokugawa period, were often aimed aimed at success succes s in sportive, competitive co mpetitive matches with other schools (taryūjiai (taryūjiai ). ). This process is still in play today. Many classical ryū which which have come down to us today contain kata of o f all three types. Further readings in English:
Draeger, Donn F. (1973a). Classical Bujutsu: The Martial arts and ways of Japan (Vol. (Vol. 1). Tōkyō: Tōkyō : Weatherhill. Weatherhill. ______. (1973b). (1973b). Classical Budo: The Martial arts and ways of Japan (Vol. (Vol. 2). Tōkyō: Tōkyō : Weatherhill. Weatherhill. ______. (1974a). (1974a). Modern Bujutsu and Budo: The Budo: The Martial arts and ways of Japan (Vol. (Vol. 3). Tōkyō: Weatherhill. Hall, David A. (1990). Marishiten: Buddhism and the Warrior Goddess , Dissertation presented to the University of California, Berkeley, 1990. Ann Arbor: University Microfilms, pp. 344-353 ______. (1997). (1997). "Marishiten: "Marishiten: Buddhist Influences on Combative Behavior." In Koryu Bujutsu: Classical Warrior Traditions of Japan . Edited by by Diane Skoss. Koryu Ko ryu Books, pp. 87-119. Hayes, Richard. (1984a). "Paleolithic "Paleolithic Adaptive A daptive traits and the Fighting Man." Hoplos . 4, no. 2 (June 1984): 9-11. ______. (1984b). (1984b). "Conceptual Tools for the Hoplologist: The IAT/MAT Continued." Hoplos . 4, no. 3 (December 1984): 2-4. ______. (1985). (1985). "Conceptual Tools for the Hoplologist: The IAT/MAT Continued." Hoplos . 4, no. 4 (August 1985):
Kata by David A. Hall
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23-24. ______.(1986). "Conceptual Tools for the Hoplologist: Hoplolo gist: The IAT/MAT Continued." Hoplos . 5, no. 1 & 2. (Spring 1986): 31-34. ______. (1987a): (1987a): "Hoplology Theoretics, An Overview: Part Part 1 – The IAT/MAT." Hoplos: The Journal of the International Hoplology Society . 5, nos. 3 & 4 (Spring 1987): 24-26. ______. (1987b): (1987b): "Hoplology Theoretics, An Overview: Part Part 2 – The Innate/Manifest Innate/Manifest Volitional Trait." HIS Newsletter (December 1987): 2-3. ______. (1988a): (1988a): "Hoplology Theoretics, An Overview: Part Part 3 – The Innate/Manifest Innate/Manifest Cognitive/Intuitive Cognitive/Intuitiv e Trait." Trait." Hoplos: The Journal of the International Hoplology Society . Society . 6, nos. 1 & 2 (Winter 1988): 25-26. ______. (1988b): (1988b): "Hoplology Theoretics, An Overview: Part Part 4 – The Innate/Manifest Innate/Manifest ImperturbableImperturbablemind/Steadfast-mind Trait." Hoplos: The Journal of the International Hoplology Society . 6, nos. 3 (Fall 1988): 7-12. ______. (1989): (1989): "Hoplology Theoretics, An Overview: Part Part 5 – The Innate/Manifest Omnipoise Omnipoise Trait." Hoplos: The Journal of the International Hoplology Society . 6, nos. 4 (Winter 1989): 29-31. ______. (1992). (1992). "Hoplology Theoretics, an Overview: Innate/Manifest Force/Yield Force/Y ield Trait and Innate/Manifest Synchronous Trait. Part Part 7." Hoplos 7." Hoplos 7, 7, no. 2 (Winter 1992): 27-29. ______. (1994). (1994). "Hoplology Theoretics, an Overview: Transcendent Synergy Synergy of the Manifest Adaptive Adaptive Traits. Part Part 8 (and) Practical Application. A pplication. Part 9." Hoplos: The Hoplos: The Journal of the International Hoplology Society. 7, no. 3 (Winter 1994): 20-27. Leggett, Trevor. (1985). Warrior Koans: Early Zen in Japan . Arkana. Routledge and Kegan Paul, Inc. Rosenbaum, Michael. (2005). Kata and the Transmission of Knowledge: In Traditional Martial Arts. Arts. YMAA Publication Center.
Kata by David A. Hall
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Copyright Copyright ©2008 David A. Hall. All rights reserved. Excerpted from A Guide to Classical Classical Japanese Combative Culture (forthcoming).
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