Before studying the information that the various Katas contain, it is important to understand exactly what that information is for. 

Karate is a civil tradition and hence the fighting methods recorded within the Katas are for use within a civilian environment. 

The applications of the karate Katas are for use against the attacks of the violent and untrained, they are not for use against a skilled warrior on a battlefield, or in a sporting contest. The methodology applied in the Katas is ideal for self-defence today (if correctly interpreted and expressed). 

There is very little difference between a civilian fight in feudal Okinawa and a civilian fight today. However, the way in which battles are conducted has radically altered. 
A samurai warrior armed with feudal weaponry would not last long against the missiles, tanks, etc. employed by their modern counterparts. The weapons of war may have evolved a long way, but the human body has not. 
Two unarmed civilians brawling in an Okinawan street would employ similar methods to two unarmed civilians fighting in a modern city. In order to understand and apply the methods contained within the Katas, it is necessary to understand the nature of civilian combat.

What we will be looking at in this section is what happens at the start of fights, not what caused the fight to begin in the first place. “Why” fights start is beyond the scope of this article, but I feel this aspect deserves a brief mention, as it is very important when discussing self-defence. 

I would encourage you to research why fights begin in great detail, as it is with this knowledge that fights can be effectively avoided (Geoff Thompson’s “The art of fighting without fighting” is well worth a look). 
Try to avoid placing yourself in locations or situations were violence is likely. Also, be sure not to make yourself an attractive target to any would be attackers. 

Keep all valuables out of sight, park your car in well lit areas, avoid isolated places, travel with the car doors locked, avoid suspicious looking people and situations, don’t consume too much alcohol, walk towards oncoming traffic, keep away from aggressive individuals or groups, do not stop to talk to strangers etc. 
Be aware of your surroundings and should an undesirable situation start to develop, you may be able to avoid it all together, and if you can’t, then at least the element of surprise is lost to your assailant. 

Gichin Funakoshi (Karate-Do Kyohan) wrote, “The secret principle of martial arts is not vanquishing the attacker but resolving to avoid an encounter before its occurrence. To become the object of an attack is an indication that there was an opening in one’s guard and the important thing is to be on guard at all times.” 

A fight avoided is a fight won. Good martial artists are secure enough in themselves, and humble enough, to be able to walk away from a fight. It is a sorry state of affairs when an individual’s ego prevents them from avoiding violence. 

A true martial artist will have the wisdom to avoid placing themselves in danger, and the compassion to avoid placing their opponent in danger unless violence becomes absolutely necessary. If you have done everything possible to avoid the confrontation, you will be unfettered by any moral concerns, as you know that harming the opponent is now the only option left available to you.

If your awareness is not what it should be, the opponent will be able to take you by surprise and hence will have a large advantage. 
As you’ll be aware, the Katas should always be performed with Zanshin (awareness) and hence they will further develop that awareness and serve to remind the kata’s practitioner of its importance. 
If the opportunity for ambush is lost to the opponent they will have no option but to attempt a direct attack. 

As an aside, directly approaching an individual takes greater courage on the part of the assailant, as the potential risk - either in terms of physical injury or the fact that others may be alerted to their activities - is now greater. 
This may cause the assailant to abort their attack in favour of finding an easier victim later on. An assailant who approaches you directly may appear to be very friendly at first as an attempt to still yet take you by surprise. 
They may ask you for directions, or for a light, in a very friendly manner in the hope that you will drop your defences and allow them to get closer. When close enough they will then launch their assault, either verbal or physical. 

It is very common for an assailant to begin their attack with a barrage of swearing and verbal abuse. The assailant may wish to frighten you in order to get you to comply with their requests (give them your money etc.), or they may simply be after a fight, in which case the verbal attack is being used in order to soften you up. 
It may also be that your would be assailant is not overly sure of their ability to beat you and hence the verbal exchange is an “interview” of sorts, that will help them to determine the risk of engaging in a fight. 

Either way, the important thing to note is that there is very likely to be some kind of verbal exchange before a fight begins. It does not take a psychic to see when an attack is about to commence. 
Your assailant is likely to do a number of the following when their verbal aggression is about to escalate to the physical. Look for a change in skin colour, rapid breathing, an aggressive facial expression or stare, a clenching or shaking of the fists, pointing or pushing, a change in voice tone or pattern, excessive swearing, insults or challenges.

Many of the techniques within the Katas incapacitate the opponent at this early stage. Although the attack has not yet escalated to the physical, it makes little sense to wait until it does. 

When analysing Kata, it is important to understand that many fights will begin with the protagonists involved in a verbal exchange as one, or both, attempt to close the distance.

Action is always faster than reaction. 
In a real fight you must never allow the opponent to gain the advantage. You must be the one who takes control of the situation and you should not simply “respond” to your opponent’s actions. 

If you allow the opponent to land the first punch they will most likely be the winners. Whilst in karate much store is placed in “Karate ni sente nashi” or “there is no first attack in karate” I feel this statement needs closer examination. 

Most people interpret this statement as an instruction to let the opponent launch the first attack - which is a suicidal strategy in a live fight - but it is my belief that “Karate ni sente nashi” is a far more profound message which does not require the Karateka to act in such a suicidal fashion. 

See my book, “Karate’s Grappling Methods.” for further details.

Modern day sparring matches tend to be conducted with the combatants outside kicking distance. From there, one or both of them will close the distance, execute a few techniques and then move back out again. 

This exaggerated distance is also often employed during pre-arranged sparring. 
Real fights typically begin at punching / conversation range and rarely, if ever, have the back and forth motion seen during a boxing match or a karate tournament. 

A few punches will be thrown, and if none should stop the fight, it will quickly collapse into grappling range. Once the combatants have latched onto one another, moving back to punching range will not be possible due to the opponent’s grip keeping them in close. 

The techniques within kata are for use within real fights and hence the majority of kata applications are for dealing with an opponent who is close up. 
It is also important to understand that because most fights involve some form of grappling, so do the applications of the kata.

In a real fight, it is highly unlikely that the opponents will use techniques such as Oi-Zuki’s or Mawashigeris. 

Karate is a civil tradition and hence kata contains very few techniques for dealing with the skilled combinations of a trained fighter. 
Kata is all about defeating an attacker in a real life civilian encounter. Kata is not about winning trophies in the rule bound arena or about defeating a warrior on a battlefield. 

As martial artists we spend a great deal of time practising with, and against, practitioners of the same discipline. 
As a result boxers get good at fighting boxers, Judoka get good at fighting other Judoka, and Karateka get good at fighting other Karateka. 

The techniques within kata are designed for use against the violent and untrained not other martial artists. Kata techniques are most often counters to attacks such as wild swings, grabs, tackles etc. 
Any kata application that is interpreted as a defence against a lunging punch or other such karate technique is unrealistic and is hence incorrect.

Real fights are not choreographed like the fights in films, nor are the combatants limited to a certain set of techniques as they are in sporting matches. 
Real fights are not visually pleasing and are extremely sloppy, fast and crude affairs. 

As martial artists we spend a great deal of time trying to perfect our techniques. A well-executed technique is very often visually striking to those who witness it. 
In a real fight, the opponent will not “play ball” in the same way a compliant practice partner would and hence the technique will not be as pretty in appearance. 

What is a graceful movement when performed in the kata, or against a compliant practice partner, will become rough round the edges when applied in an all out situation. A technique that is very easy to apply on a compliant practice partner may become next to impossible on a live opponent. In particular, the accurate placement of blows becomes much more difficult. 

The more complex a technique, the greater that chances of it failing in a real situation. It is also important to understand that the effects of the huge adrenaline surge you will experience in a live situation will greatly reduce your ability to perform complex tasks. 
The techniques of the Katas should be relatively simple to apply. Should a suggested kata application be overly complex, or if it is reliant upon the opponent behaving in a certain way, it is extremely unlikely to work and hence is incorrect.

That’s all for now. 

In Part 2 we will conclude this article by looking at more important aspects of real fights and how they apply to karate kata. 

In closing, Gichin Funakoshi (founder of Shotokan) said that kata was useless without knowledge of how to apply them in an emergency. If you don’t want to practice “useless kata”, be sure to digest the aspects of fighting discussed in this article and begin applying them to your training.

“Iain brings Karate back into the real arena with his pioneering concepts of Kata Bunkai” - Geoff Thompson. Iain Abernethy can be contacted on 01900-829406 or e-mailed at “i.abernethy@btinternet.com”

To order a copy of Iain’s book, “Karate’s Grappling Methods” (£18.49 inc. P&P) or the accompanying videos, “Karate’s Grappling Methods - Vol.1” & “Karate’s Grappling Methods - Vol.2” (£16.50 each inc. P&P) Phone the 24 Hour Credit / Debit card hotline on 01900829406 or send a Cheque or postal order made payable to “NETH Publishing” to NETH Publishing, PO Box 38, Cockermouth, CA13 OGS.

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