THE KATA WITHIN
(A guide to a peaceful mind and balanced life)
The Pinan katas are referred to as the katas of the “peaceful mind”, implying that to practice them leads one to a balanced or “peaceful mind”. In Sanchin Bushi, we also learn that the state of Sanchin (a unified body, mind and spirit) is essential. I would like to show that all katas are by definition katas of the “peaceful mind” and are necessary to achieving Sanchin.
Katas are a wonderful and unique part of the martial arts. Sadly they are often the most under-utilized and ignored part of the arts. Many practitioners (and yes, teachers too) of the art look at kata as nothing more than a “necessary step” to get to that next level (belt), just to be forgotten; once they reach their final goal of Black Belt. To them it is all about the sparring and fighting. It may even be said by some of these same individuals that “Kata has no realistic application to real fighting or self-defense”. In fact, it is likely we have seen such senior martial artist (black belts) that have either forgotten their kata or never really learned them and it is easy to identify who these individuals are after only a short time of observing them with their art. They see no correlation between kata and “the fight”! Nothing could be further from the truth.
When teaching fighting or defensive techniques, usually each move is broken down into individual steps to make learning them easier. As we do this, we begin to see that any one of those individual steps of the technique; are very similar to the individual steps found in many katas. In practicing the individual steps of those techniques, we are in essence practicing portions of a kata but in a more detailed fashion. These techniques we are learning are based on katas we learn; the techniques will have a familiar feel to them because we recognize them from the kata. This is why teaching techniques to a student unfamiliar with kata can be problematic at best. It would be like trying to show someone how to do a wheelie on a bike when they have just learned how to ride one. The moves would feel very awkward and unfamiliar to them.
When a kata is broken down into individual steps it becomes apparent that each individual step is not only an individual fighting or defensive technique, but is in fact a smaller kata within the larger one. They are katas within a kata. It also becomes very apparent, that every kata regardless of how basic it is contains possibly an infinite number of katas within them. What is also surprising about this is how even the most basic Taikyoku kata can contain some of the most advanced techniques if it is practiced and studied enough.
A kata is not meant to just be representative of an imaginary fight. Each kata we learn is also to be used as a guide book, an encyclopedia with each individual step of that kata being a chapter which contains the needed information to develop a better understanding of techniques, making us better martial artist. Watch a martial artist with devastating technique and you will see a martial artist that is a true and accomplished practitioner of kata.
To borrow from Renshi Helmick’s essay on the Pinan katas where he shows the significance of having a “peaceful mind”, I would like to add with his permission that the more we practice our katas and become truly familiar with them, the more we come to understand how all katas lead us to greater confidence and therefore inner peace in our ability to use the Arts the way they were meant to be used. We also learn that in achieving a “peaceful mind” we begin to see the need for a balance and unity of our strength of body, understanding in mind and calmness of spirit. And so begins our journey towards achieving Sanchin.
In conclusion it can be seen that all katas (and their inner katas) are “Pinan” katas and are a guide to a “peaceful mind”, leading to a unified and balanced life.
John Dumond Renshi
