| Kata is central to good Karate training. Karate | | | | remember things. |
| kata have existed for hundreds of years and | | | | Karate techniques had to be kept away from |
| have their origins within the Chinese fighting | | | | prying eyes in case your fighting methods were |
| systems. | | | | discovered by your enemies. The forms (kata) |
| There is no direct translation of the term Kata | | | | encoded information which enabled anyone to |
| into English. The best we can come up with is | | | | train, but only the chosen few had the password |
| form or pattern. Kata is a predefined sequence of | | | | to decrypt the real information. |
| movements performed in a special order to | | | | A logical sequence of body movements combined |
| maximize your practice time. | | | | with mental focus and visualization allowed |
| Kata teach you about body movement, weight | | | | teachers to pass on the important parts of their |
| distribution, angles, turning, awareness and how to | | | | systems. Not every small piece of information is |
| deal with a variety of situations. Kata are | | | | in there because some of it would be common |
| composed of martial-type movements that help | | | | knowledge that wouldn't require constant |
| you learn certain skills. | | | | repetition to learn. So the kata only contains the |
| Karate kata comes from a time where few | | | | key principles and concepts that need to be |
| people knew how to read or write. Information | | | | preserved. |
| was passed down from the previous generation in | | | | It's a tool to remember things by. It's a reference |
| the form of song, dance, ritual, poetry and | | | | work, a library, a mnemonic, a way of movement |
| stories. The human mind works with imagery and | | | | and a way of working your mind. Karate kata |
| feeling, not lists of facts and figures. Using | | | | represent a complete system for learning and |
| enjoyable playful learning tools like these are the | | | | recording body, mind, breathing and essential |
| most natural and efficient way to learn and | | | | fighting skills. |