Recently, Andre Bertel wrote a really thought provoking article on the idea of kihon-centric karate (Please Read Here). In the article a number of points were made. The main point that interested me was his argument that the current focus in the West on bunkai instead of kihon is problematic. He reasons that this leads to a waste in training time as without adequate skill in kihon; the karateka is unlikely to be able to execute the technique effectively. As usual Andre’s views are pretty spot on and well argued.
However, what can be done about this?
One difficulty is that in many cases I think that Western karateka are justified in the move from kihon-centric karate. These karateka have simply never been taught realistic applications for kata, even when they have often been the direct and long time students of very high ranking Japanese instructors. To train kata without a set of valid applications would surely count as a waste of training time? If the Japanese don’t appear to have the answers (or are unwilling to teach them), it makes sense then, for Western karateka to move away from kihon-centric karate and to investigate applications for themselves. The traditional Japanese method of teaching overly simplified applications (whether intentionally or not) has not worked in the West.
Unfortunately this is not a satisfactory situation. As Andre has pointed out – we need good kihon, but we also need good application.
One simple solution to this problem would be for instructors (both Western and Japanese) to teach authentic applications from the start. For example, for the opening moves of Heian Nidan, many instructors tend to teach this as an arm catching technique or double block. Below are links to a few common examples:
Example 1 (Click Here)
Example 2 (Click Here)
Please note that I’m not endorsing or presenting these as a comment on the effectiveness of these applications, at the end of the day it is best to test these out for yourself with a resisting partner.
However, my concern from a teaching perspective is that these applications (which are not much different to that taught by many traditional instructors) just encourage poor understanding of maai and body mechanics, this in turn has a knock on effect, requiring the karateka to either deviate from the form, (such as stepping or shifting) or a poor kokutsu-dachi as the student tries to compensate by leaning forward, change the weight distribution etc. There is an argument that these variations might be fine for an advanced karateka that already has a strong grasp of the kata and underlying kihon (certainly, one of the clips is tagged “advanced”), but it certainly doesn’t do much good for a beginner who is still trying to master the most basic elements of the kata and of course, kihon!
If taught an appropriate the application, the beginner will fully understand and appreciate the need for a good kokutsu-dachi (especially in terms of placement of rear foot and the essential need for the more severe JKA style weight distribution) early in their careers, thus motivating them to work hard at getting this tricky stance right. Again, from an instructional point of view, this will mean less correcting of faulty kihon in later grades.
In summary, appropriate bunkai need to be taught that:
1. Assists the karateka in learning the form
2. Ensures good kihon
3. Are practical and useful
Adopting this strategy of teaching kata and bunkai can only be of benefit.
Project Mawashi 