Kata 形、型

Kata

Or is it 形? One means form or appearance , other  pattern or sample. So is it 空手の型 or 空手の形。In Judo it is 投げの形、柔の形、捨て身の形、護身の形、etc. Most Karate organizations go with 型。Why? I really can't answer that. Perhaps the Karate Sensei's wanted to stress the difference between karate and Judo. In the height of Judo's popularity, karate was the "Bad Guy". (^^) Did you know that? For reasons unknown to me, the Karate character was always a mean and dirty character, wearing a black Gi. Definitely should of being going to AA meetings. The Judo character was always clean and pure wearing a white Gi.  Fufu. Which makes me gray since I do both arts.

Back to Kata. Just as there are two ways to write kata in Japanese. There are countless ways in performing the same Kata. In some cases, especially in Kyokushin lines, the Katas do not resemble the original Katas taken form Goju and Shotokan. Perhaps Oyama arranged the original Kata in his own style and vision of the kata. No problem.
Kata even differs within the same system depending on the Dojo. Add to that competition Kata! The varieties are countless just in "traditional" katas. Now we have "free style" kata, influenced by Wushu with lots of acrobatics. All that is fine also. We must remember that no matter what "form" we take to do a Kata, the basics are the same. Balance/Coordination, Concentration, and execution of the technique.
One national level Japanese Kata competitor made an interesting comment. She stated that should she perform Kata as it is done in her style, she could not win. She had to do the Kata in line with competition requirements. In short, competition Kata was a different animal. Hmmmm. I am still pondering over her statement.
There are many karatekas that scoff or completely reject Kata as being useless. Many of these people are into the "reality" and "aliveness" mode. But wait a minute, they do prearranged drills as well, don't they?
The usual is"If this type of attack comes, then you do X, Y, and Z." Isn't that just a shortened Kata?
Kata is a series of movements which is repeated over and over. How is it any different from these "reality" "aliveness" training? Proponents like to say that they do not use compliant partners. So I say "What's new?" Nothing as far as I'm concerned.  Traditional kata is always broken down into smaller patterns, some call it one step sparring. You practice a certain move that is in the Kata until you can use it. Depending on the Dojo, the severity of the attack changes. At least that is the way I was taught in Okinawa. (^^). My right elbow is still out of alignment. Fufu.
One "reality based" or "aliveness" seminar is not going to make anyone invincible nor is anyone going to be able to effectively use the techniques that are taught. So what do you do? You go back to your own space and practice what you learned over and over. Repetition after repetition. Wait! Doesn't that sound like Kata? (^^)