Kata Bunkai Rule #2: Break the Form

If we agree that Kata application should be effective then there are certain rules or principles we can agree on for kata bunkai.
My #2 rule for bunkai is that we need to "break the form". We often see kata bunkai where the kata is being applied "as is" without consideration for the nature of natural movements.
Shotokan Kata are typically done with an erect posture, long stances and unnatural footwork. We can't fight like this. We need to break the form to apply the kata.
Funakoshi 18th precept in his niju kun reads, "Apply kata exactly. Actual combat is another matter. Nakasone writes," It will not do to be shackled by the rituals of kata. Instead, move freely according to the strengths and weaknesses of your opponent."
Kata cannot teach us HOW to move when protecting ourselves. It is the principles found in kata that are important.

[@martyp365]

Thank you for this breakdown. I appreciate how you added quotes from Funakoshi and videos of kata including 'traditional bunkai' and videos of breaking the form to achieve practical application. Well done as always.

[@AppliedShotokan]

Thanks for your comment!

[@stefansandbergsweden]

You Andy, as well as Iain, are my main influences when it comes to how I watch and want to train my kata ōyō. 🥋

[@AppliedShotokan]

Thank you so much. I have to give credit to Iain. I would never have changed my outlook if it weren't for him.

[@alexanderren1097]

Great video! When I first started learning Shotokan 20 years ago I was never satisfied with any of the applications we were told. Even if the rare cases when we were TOLD that a movement in the kata was supposed to be a throw, we were never actually taught the throw or allowed to try experimenting with it in a two-person format.

[@AppliedShotokan]

I can relate. I saw that all the time with high rankings masters.

[@jasonandkrishandy-kraus123]

Right! But before you can learn to throw, you should learn to fall. And that's not taught because many instructors don't know how themselves.

[@alexanderren1097]

@@jasonandkrishandy-kraus123 I already knew how to breakfall from having taken Judo for a couple years as a kid but yes, that’s definitely another thing karate schools should definitely teach too

[@Vincentorix]

Kata is like practicing a plan before battle however, no plan survives first contact with the enemy.

[@NBTKDA]

Well said, love it! I look at poomsae bunhae and thus kata bunkai as a series of malleable concepts rather than a step-by-step how to. Looking forward to hearing more of your insights on the matter.

[@AppliedShotokan]

Thanks for your comment! I will try to get the next vid out next week.

[@stevegray4012]

Hi Andy, Like you I have changed my views on kata, from what was initially taught. Here's a question that has rattled around in my mind for some time. Funakoshi states in his book do the kata exactly as shown, but move freely according to the strengths and weakness of the opponent, This doesn't explain the large number of variations in how different styles practice the same kata. For instance I have studied in 3 different Go Ju schools and they each do Saifa differently, I've also studied Shotokan's Seiunchin as well as the Go Ju version and the Shitoryu version, they all have differences in how the kata's are performed. Another example would be Hungetsu (Shotokan) and the Go Ju version Seisan, All these discrepancies have led me to believe that what Masters may have written many years ago is not interpreted correctly by modern day practitioners. Modern practitioners like Sensei Paul Enfield practice Renzuko Bunkai and show a complete end to end use of the kata (Look up Michelle Enfield doing exactly that). Here is what I now believe about kata.
Kata is taught as a one sided fight where the practitioner always wins! This doesn't allow for a response from the attacker that defeats the practitioners technique (We rarely get taught how to defend against the kata's moves, See Paul Enfield talking about Kururunfa) we should, the answer is in the kata.
Kata is taught as a sequence of small sections all linked together, but separate. Finish 1 sequence and another opponent appears, this is unlikely, The old masters say this in their teachings. I ni longer believe this.
Kata is teaching us the principles of dealing with various initial attacks, and there are only 10 responses we can make, Forwards, backwards, to either side and the 4 diagonals, stay in place or drop.
By way of example I was recently training Shitoyu and was learning their versions of the Pinan katas, At some point I was asked by the Sensei what I thought of them, my reply was that they were essentially the same kata, the first move was always a move to the right into Neko, In other words get off the line by moving to the right and dropping, followed by a forwards movement (In the new direction). All the techniques contained in the Pinan kata's appear in many other kata's.
Very few Sensei's are teaching proper use of the stances in kata, I'll use Paul Enfield again as an example, he jokingly says while performing Seiunchin "there are no kicks in Seiunchin, right"

[@abpcg]

Very good!

[@matthewbaumann630]

The first move of Empi looks almost like the throw from Heian Godan.