In this section:
Rewiring the system.
Pedagogy.
The ‘aesthetic’ myth.
Moulding the product.
How other styles see us.
If you are a karate stylist from another tradition, or a diehard Wado practitioner, in this two-part examination I am planning to unpack just what it is that is really going on within the whole ‘solo kata’ methodology.
This is by no means intended to be an exhaustive and definitive study. As with many areas of my own journey into Budo through Wado karate, my ideas continue to change, so please bear with me.
I am also aware that this might ruffle a few feathers, but, so what?
You gotta start somewhere.
If you ask an untrained person to throw a punch at a focus mitt or some other target, you will notice quite a few interesting things, not least that nearly all of these will be from the root of pure instinct. For instance:
· It is highly likely they will line up to throw their best hand, along the usual direction of left/right bias. If they are right-handed, they will probably put their left foot forward (instinctively preparing the left hand to either fend off or grab. Left handers, or southpaw, do it the other way round).
· It is surprising how they struggle to calculate distance. Oh, their eye/brain judgement will be really good, but they won’t necessarily be able to marry it up with the actual action of striking; probably because it is so unfamiliar.
· Also, their body is hardwired to only access the most applicable and usable muscles, in a very short-term and expedient way, certainly not in the efficient manner a boxer or an experienced martial artist. To them it will most likely be the shoulder and arm.
· The action will not be an efficient or skilled movement; to put it bluntly, the body will bodge the job (emergency action over refinement).
· To generate power there will probably be a huge wind-up. The fist will go a long way back before going forward, thus slowing the whole process down and telegraphing the strike.
· Little consideration will be made about the structural integrity of the fist (or other applicable striking areas). A high risk of damaging the delicate bones of the hand and fingers.
· There will only be the most rudimentary consideration about recovery after the hit (the follow through). In extreme cases this will cause the generation of so much energy and momentum to go totally out of control and maybe even cause them to fall over – not cool.
Clearly, martial arts training should be constructed in such a was as to eliminate this catalogue of errors. If so, how do we achieve that objective?
It’s all in the teaching method.
In karate and other martial arts the pedagogy is designed to rewire these instinctive actions; to create a more refined, cultured and efficient use of the body, directed towards the purposes of attack and defence. This doesn’t just exist within the realms of striking and kicking, but it is included in all forms of body management, (in Wado karate we use the phrase Tai Sabaki, which is the same way as saying ‘body management’).