Kata
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Kata | |||||
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Japanese name | |||||
Kanji | 1. 型 2. 形 | ||||
Hiragana | かた | ||||
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Kata is a Japanese word (
Kata are also used in many traditional Japanese arts such as theatre forms like
Background
Kata originally were teaching and training methods by which successful combat techniques were preserved and passed on. Practicing kata allowed a company of persons to engage in a struggle using a systematic approach, rather by practicing in a repetitive manner the learner develops the ability to execute those techniques and movements in a natural, reflex-like manner. Systematic practice does not mean permanently rigid. The goal is to internalize the movements and techniques of a kata so they can be executed and adapted under different circumstances, without thought or hesitation. A novice's actions will look uneven and difficult, while a master's appear simple and smooth.[2]
Kata is a loanword in English, from the 1950s in reference to the
Japanese martial arts
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In kenjutsu, paired kata at the beginners level can appear to be stilted. At higher levels serious injury is prevented only by a high sensitivity of both participants to important concepts being taught and trained for. These include timing and distance, with the kata practised at realistic speed. This adjustability of kata training is found in other Japanese arts with roles of attacker and defender often interchanging within the sequence.[4] Many martial arts use kata for public demonstrations and in competitions, awarding points for such aspects of technique as style, balance, timing, and verisimilitude (appearance of being real).
Karate
The most popular image associated with kata is that of a karate practitioner performing a series of punches and kicks in the air. The kata are executed as a specified series of approximately 20 to 70 moves, generally with stepping and turning, while attempting to maintain perfect form. There are perhaps 100 kata across the various forms of karate, each with many minor variations. The number of moves in a kata may be referred to in the name of the kata, e.g., Gojū Shiho, which means "54 steps." The practitioner is generally counselled to visualize the enemy attacks, and his responses, as actually occurring, and karateka are often told to "read" a kata, to explain the imagined events. Kata can contain techniques beyond the superficially obvious ones. The study of the meaning of the movements is referred to as the bunkai, meaning analysis, of the kata.[5]
One explanation of the use of kata is as a reference guide for a set of moves. Not to be used following that "set" pattern but to keep the movements "filed". After learning these kata, this set of learned skills can then be used in a sparring scenario (particularly without points). The main objective here is to try out different combinations of techniques in a safe environment to ultimately find out how to defeat your opponent.
Recently, with the spread of extreme martial arts, or XMA, a style of kata called CMX kata has formed. These kata are performed in tournaments and include gymnastics related elements, such as backflips, cartwheels, and splits. These kata can also be performed with weapons such as the bō staff.
Judo
Non-Japanese martial arts
South and
In
In
In historical European martial arts and their modern reconstructions, there are forms, plays, drills and flourishes.[citation needed]
Outside martial arts
More recently kata has come to be used in English in a more general or figurative sense, referring to any basic form, routine, or pattern of behavior that is practised to various levels of mastery.[9]
In Japanese language kata (though written as 方) is a frequently-used suffix meaning “way of doing,” with emphasis on the form and order of the process. Other meanings are “training method” and “formal exercise.” The goal of a painter's practising, for example, is to merge their consciousness with their brush; the potter's with their clay; the garden designer's with the materials of the garden. Once such mastery is achieved, the theory goes, the doing of a thing perfectly is as easy as thinking it.[10]
Kata is a term used by some programmers in the Software Craftsmanship[11] movement. Computer programmers who call themselves "Software Craftsmen"[12] will write 'Kata'[13] - small snippets of code that they write in one sitting, sometimes repeatedly,[14] often daily, in order to build muscle memory and practise their craft.[13]
In 1999, the term was used by Dave Thomas, co-author of the book The Pragmatic Programmer.[15] The concept was implemented by Laurent Bossavit and Emmanuel Gaillot who talked about it at XP2005 in Sheffield (UK).[16] Following this conference, Robert C. Martin described the concept and initial usages in his article "The Programming Dojo".[17]
One of the things that characterize an organization's culture is its kata – its routines of thinking and practice.[18] Edgar Schein suggests an organization's culture helps it cope with its environment,[19] and one meaning of kata is, "a way to keep two things in sync or harmony with one another." A task for leaders and managers is to create and maintain the organizational culture through consistent role modeling, teaching, and coaching, which is in many ways analogous to how kata are taught in the martial arts.
See also
References
- ^ "World junior and cadet championships 2005".
- ^ Rosenbaum, Michael. Kata and the Transmission of Knowledge in Traditional Martial Arts. YMAA Publication Center, Boston, 2004.
- ISBN 978007163523-3.
- ^ "Classical Japanese Warrior Training Methods The Kata". www.shinmunenryu.org. Retrieved 28 February 2018.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Karate, Okinawan Kobudo and Kendo Kata videos
- ^ "Forms of Judo: Kata – Judo Info". www.judoinfo.com.
- ^ "Kata, nage, karame, gonosen, itsutsu, kime, no, video, movie, film, armlock, judo, Judoschool Jan Snijders, Oirschot, Bladel, Deurne, Gemert". www.judo-snijders.nl.
- ISBN 978-983-42328-0-1.
- ^ Shook, John. Managing to Learn. Lean Enterprise Institute, 2008, p. 32
- ^ DeMenthe, Boye Lafayette. Kata, The Key to Understanding and Dealing with the Japanese! Tuttle Publishing, 2003, pp. 1–3
- ^ The Software Craftsmanship Movement
- ^ Martin, Micah; Steensma, Kelly (May 28, 2013). "Performing Code Katas - 8th Light". 8thlight.com.
- ^ a b "What's all this Nonsense about Katas? - Clean Coder". sites.google.com. November 21, 2009.
- ^ Thomas, Dave (December 30, 2013). "CodeKata: How It Started". codekata.com.
- ISBN 020161622X.
- ^ The Coder's Dojo - A Different Way to Teach and Learn Programming. XP2005 in Sheffield (UK).
- ^ "The Programming Dojo"
- ^ Ichijo, Kazuo and Nonaka, Ikujiro, Knowledge Creation and Management: New Challenges for Managers, Oxford University Press, 2006, page 25
- ^ Schein, Edgar. Organizational Culture and Leadership: A Dynamic View. Jossey-Bass, 1985, p. 57
- ^ "Toyota Kata (Lean Culture Building) | UT Center for Industrial Services". cis.tennessee.edu. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
Further reading
- Martin, Robert C. (2011). The Clean Coder: A Code of Conduct for Professional Programmers. Pearson Education. ISBN 9780137081073.