Kata by David A.

Hall

1 of 5

http://www.koryu.com/library/dhall1.html

Kata
by David A. Hall
Home
Ryu Guide
Articles
Reviews
Bookstore
Links
Search
Contents
View Cart

[Var. ]
As pre-arranged combative forms, kata played a significant
role in the training of the classical Japanese warrior. The
earliest kata we are familiar with began to appear during
the late-Kamakura to early-Muromachi period although we
know little about them except a few of their names. Kata,
in fact, are still being created today.
However, in the classical martial traditions (kory) 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 at least three categories of kata developed in
the classical systems: 1) those forms which were designed
by warriors who, having survived battle and/or personal
duel, encoded their successful strategies as pre-arranged
combative scenarios--they were often seen as divinely
inspired by a particular deity; 2) those forms which were
created by warriors, most without battle experience, in the
peaceful years of the Tokugawa Shogunate or later; and 3)
those forms which were extrapolated from earlier forms in
order to teach basic and intermediate combative technique
or to cover variations in earlier combative scenarios.
In the case of this first category, some warriors--martial
geniuses--were able, in the midst of battle or at locations
of spiritual power, to intuit and create highly effective
strategies and tactics for combat. The strategies (heih)
were not simply techniques in the sense of manipulating a
weapon. They were methods requiring psycho-physical
perfection; a supreme synergy of 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 movements. While
we may analyze these strategies through our own cognitive
abilities, they were not designed constructions arrived at

2/17/2010 10:02 AM

Kata by David A. Hall

2 of 5

http://www.koryu.com/library/dhall1.html

through normal cognition. They were, instead, intuited in

the heat of battle or as the culmination of exhaustive,
protracted religious austerities. 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 intuition
under stressful conditions; in several martial traditions
this was accomplished in front of altars indicating a line of
direct transmission from the divine.
In addition, these subtle strategies were not "taught" in an
intellectual sense. Learning them required the disciple to
use intuition based on years of experience and training.
This teaching 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 the thousands of hours of effort
the 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
internalized knowledge. The aim of this method was to give
the trainee the ability to make intuitive leaps in the midst
of combat instead of taking a plodding, analytical approach
to dealing with a dangerous enemy. In addition to
cultivating intuition, training in these scenarios was aimed
at developing a variety of other combative capabilities. (See
Guide article on bu no ri.)
Finally, and probably due to the influence of Buddhism-especially Rinzai Zen--many of these early, classical kata
were constructed, both in name and pedagogy, in the form
of riddles. The Zen kan was a teaching method popular in
Rinzai Zen and its intent was to force the student to intuit
an answer under stressful situations. Some warriors, such
as Kamiizumi Ise-no-Kami, took phrases directly from
collections of Zen kan and applied them as names of
kata.
The second type of kata--those created by samurai, some
as headmasters of older schools, others as founders of new
schools--were intended to have the same purpose as
earlier forms. However, with the evolution of the warrior's

2/17/2010 10:02 AM

Kata by David A. Hall

3 of 5

http://www.koryu.com/library/dhall1.html

art and capabilities during the years of Tokugawa peace,

these forms often lack the depth and vigor of their Sengoku
period predecessors.
The third type of kata as noted above often had no
pretention of being battlefield inspired. They are a mixed
bag, many limited to the repetitive teaching of specific
techniques, and, during the mid- to late-Tokugawa period,
were often aimed at success in sportive, competitive
matches with other schools (taryjiai). This process is still
in play today.
Many classical ry which have come down to us today
contain kata of all three types.
Further readings in English:
Draeger, Donn F. (1973a). Classical Bujutsu: The Martial
arts and ways of Japan (Vol. 1). Tky: Weatherhill.
______. (1973b). Classical Budo: The Martial arts and ways
of Japan (Vol. 2). Tky: Weatherhill.
______. (1974a). Modern Bujutsu and Budo: The Martial arts
and ways of Japan (Vol. 3). Tky: 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). "Marishiten: Buddhist Influences on
Combative Behavior." In Koryu Bujutsu: Classical Warrior
Traditions of Japan. Edited by Diane Skoss. Koryu Books,
pp. 87-119.
Hayes, Richard. (1984a). "Paleolithic Adaptive traits and
the Fighting Man." Hoplos. 4, no. 2 (June 1984): 9-11.
______. (1984b). "Conceptual Tools for the Hoplologist: The
IAT/MAT Continued." Hoplos. 4, no. 3 (December 1984):
2-4.
______. (1985). "Conceptual Tools for the Hoplologist: The
IAT/MAT Continued." Hoplos. 4, no. 4 (August 1985):

2/17/2010 10:02 AM

Kata by David A. Hall

4 of 5

http://www.koryu.com/library/dhall1.html

23-24.
______.(1986). "Conceptual Tools for the Hoplologist: The
IAT/MAT Continued." Hoplos. 5, no. 1 & 2. (Spring 1986):
31-34.
______. (1987a): "Hoplology Theoretics, An Overview: Part 1
The IAT/MAT." Hoplos: The Journal of the International
Hoplology Society. 5, nos. 3 & 4 (Spring 1987): 24-26.
______. (1987b): "Hoplology Theoretics, An Overview: Part 2
The Innate/Manifest Volitional Trait." HIS Newsletter
(December 1987): 2-3.
______. (1988a): "Hoplology Theoretics, An Overview: Part 3
The Innate/Manifest Cognitive/Intuitive Trait." Hoplos:
The Journal of the International Hoplology Society. 6, nos. 1
& 2 (Winter 1988): 25-26.
______. (1988b): "Hoplology Theoretics, An Overview: Part 4
The Innate/Manifest Imperturbablemind/Steadfast-mind Trait." Hoplos: The Journal of the
International Hoplology Society. 6, nos. 3 (Fall 1988): 7-12.
______. (1989): "Hoplology Theoretics, An Overview: Part 5
The Innate/Manifest Omnipoise Trait." Hoplos: The Journal
of the International Hoplology Society. 6, nos. 4 (Winter
1989): 29-31.
______. (1992). "Hoplology Theoretics, an Overview:
Innate/Manifest Force/Yield Trait and Innate/Manifest
Synchronous Trait. Part 7." Hoplos 7, no. 2 (Winter 1992):
27-29.
______. (1994). "Hoplology Theoretics, an Overview:
Transcendent Synergy of the Manifest Adaptive Traits. Part
8 (and) Practical Application. Part 9." 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. YMAA Publication
Center.

2/17/2010 10:02 AM

Kata by David A. Hall

5 of 5

http://www.koryu.com/library/dhall1.html

Copyright 2008 David A. Hall. All rights reserved.

Excerpted from A Guide to Classical Japanese Combative Culture
(forthcoming).

Contact Koryu.com
Last modified on November 24, 2008
URL: http://www.koryu.com /library/dhall1.html
Copyright 2009 Koryu Books. All rights reserved.

2/17/2010 10:02 AM