“If you can prove that the techniques that you are teaching are realistic and valid, then your Bunkai will stand up to scrutiny, in other words if it don’t work then don’t teach it.” ~ John Johnson 8th dan – Adaptive Karate
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形. Kata is not an ‘alternative’ or ‘substitute’ for two-man training; it is the syllabus that tells us what to do in that two-man training and a means of supplementary solo practice.
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When modern day practitioners of karate choose not to bother with kata, they often do so in the name of ‘realism’. What they fail to realize is that by abandoning kata they have effectively abandoned the very syllabus of the original fighting system. Without kata, all that remains of karate is a ‘shell’ of the original art.
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Kata has great value when correctly approached. It is the very thing that ensures karate is a workable system. If we approach kata in the way we were originally supposed to, we will ensure that karate is a functional, holistic, and pragmatic martial system. ??
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? Picture Credit: John Johnson Adaptive Karate – With thanks to Iain Abernethy