How did a kata evolve?

Great question, and one i have been researching all my life. The origins of the original Kata are always in debate by different martial artists. Some of the Kata seem to have definite beginnings having been created by know martial arts legends. But even further back things get fuzzy and of debate.

I have read that the creator of Tai Chi Chuan created it to hide the more deadly Dim Mak he had created. Supposedly he created Tai Chi and its original forms to hide the true applications of the Dim Mak. This not only hid the real applications, but also created a catalog of all of them. Students learning the Tai Chi were developing the physical skills, but not the real applications. The creator could then teach those he deemed worthy the more deadly applications. The others developed something useful, yet did not know that more was hidden in the art.

That being said, I have also heard that some of the original Karate Kata were actually created from some of the individuals favorite techniques from the Tai Chi. Once I heard that the original Naihanchi Kata was created by a Chinese Sailor that had created it from his favorite Tai-Chi / Dim Mak techniques. However, finding any real proof of these stories has not produced any verifiable sources. The problem is that much of the old original arts was never written down. The few text that did exist have been lost. much of the history of various arts and Kata was and still is passed down from one generation to the next. Unfortunately when this happens, things get changed, not by intention, but be human nature, language skills, ...etc. It is like the party game where a line of people whisper a story from one end of the line to the other. Almost always the last persons version is not what the original story was.

I'm always interested in any info about the origins of Kata. I look forward to any new information.

Sensei Scandal ...... Excellent info. Did you learn that in books, or from your instructor/s? If in books, would you tell us where we can find it? :)

...

Kata teach conceptual thought. They were formed as a set involving techniques primarily along the chosen concept. As jw said many of the techniques were hidden within the seemingly simple movements, and along with each hidden technique was the principle of movement and attack/defense. The techniques are also designed to be functional with various attacks and not just one or two; this is really where the conceptual thinking is displayed best.

That is why, when you are running through your kata, you should not think, this punch that block, etc. Instead it's this type of attack - that type of defense. It is much easier to grasp, learn, and execute properly than to memorize the endless different techniques for the endless different attack combinations.

Sorry, if it's a little cryptic, I am in a hurry and will try to revise this when I get back from my boating.

Cool question btw.

I'm sure there are a few on here more qualified than I to respond to this question. Many people today are creating their own kata. This leads to the ideal that some say kata is like a dance. Just a set of movements done in martial arts. Others believe that in kata you are in a fight with multiple people. To them it is one continuous fight with 5 or more persons. Those ideas are way off.

Kata does not change. The same kata that was done an hundred years ago should be done the same way today. Within those kata there are many applications of self defense. Kata is supposed to be a specific set of techniques used within your style. It was meant to be deceptive as well. You can watch a person kata and believe what you are seeing is a strike or a block. But in reality those can be a pressure point attack, joint lock or throw. As you progress in your art after many years you are taught how to interpret the kata. However, many do not stay in their art long enough to learn the value of kata. Many don't learn because their instructors never learned. Your kata should contain everything that is in your style.

GRRRRRRRREEEEEAAAAAT question!

All of the kata within Karate that are "Koryu" kata were developed by the Bodyguards of the Ryukyu Sho Kings. Many of them were healers who learned Traditional Chinese Medicine from Chinese that were living in Okinawa since the 1300's. There is a section in Okinawa called Kumemura and the citizens there are Chinese descendents of these Families. The family of Meitoku Yagi, a Senior student of Chojun Miyagi is from there, he is Chinese.

These Bodyguards lived in the Castles with their Families. There were also Doctors in the Castles who served in their capacities but also collaborated with the Guards in the development of the kata.

The sciences that make up Acupuncture and Tui Na were incorporated within the techniques. They used human anatomy also. They had an understanding of the skeletal structure, muscle and sinews.

They used the kata to be a guide to place the body in the correct posture to have a specific effect on the attacker. That is why the Middle Block is a technique that requires the elbow to bend at a about a 90 degree angle, and be a fist away from your ribs - which is a Vital Point in which 3 Yin Meridians cross, etc. That is why when you see the pictures of the Old Masters in posture, their "chamber" fist is not pulled to the side of the body but directly under the breasts - also protecting that vital point.

When you see kata that have been changed, you are seeing kata that have no essence. It loses its very reason for exsisting. They lost the map to the treasure.

You're right, oh so right, in saying they are not random moves.

So all the people who don't train in kata lose the true art and have to resort to block/kick/punch.

There is no blocking in Karate.

In the case of Naha Te kata, as in Goju Ryu, To'on Ryu and Uechi Ryu, these techniques were not handed down via the Bodyguards but directly to civilians from Chinese martial artists like Ryu Ryu Ko, who taught Kanryo Higaonna, Miyagi's Master - however, Higaonna also learned from Aragaki Seisho, who was a high government official.

I am researching Aragaki Seisho's teacher and have discovered during what time frame he studied White Crane fist. I've sent out emails hoping to get the correct Kanji of the names of two Okinawans that went to Yong Chun Village. I already know during what Yong Chun Crane generation they visited, I just want to make sure if the reseach has lead me to the right path.

Uechi Ryu is a true Chinese Art taught to Kambun Uechi by Chou Tzu Hou aka Shushiwa(Okinawa Hogen) called Puan Ngai Noon - Half Hard, Half Soft.

And a quick note: Kara does not mean Empty. It means Vastness, Expansion. When you think about this, you realize that you have been given EMPTY information. Karate does not mean "empty hand" but VASTNESS Hand!

The names of the kata also are meant to give you a deeper understanding of how the kata is used.

So in essense, the Kata is really your Teacher!

Your Sensei is the Conveyor.

Kata evolved by the fusion of combat with TCM.

Edit:

Outstanding answer by Master Pugpaws. Chang Sanfeng's technique was known back then as "Poison Hand". Today the term is mistaken for some mysterious technique that has to do with poisons.

It comes from the way Dim Mak affected the victim. It made people react as if they were poisoned.

Edit:

Master Pugpaws - Most of the info is from Sensei and Lao Shr.

Lao Shr studied Chinese History and Philosophy at Tai Tung University - Taiwan. Sensei is probably one of the top researchers for Okinawan Arts in the country. He does not skip one note. He has unlimited access to the most extensive Museum of Okinawan Arts on the Island - run by one of the highest level practitioners of this time. I've been fortunate to have their guidance.

I will gladly impart my sources with you and the few others who know who they are. Not just Senior Practitioners but also Juniors who have shown themselves to have the true spirit.

Basically after someone mastered the basics they could put them together in a sequence. I've met only 2 shihans who were considered to be on a level where they were capable of "creating" a kata. It's basic movements in a series. The design is to teach you how to attack/defend in fluid movement. Kata isn't pointless because it's basics, so you can study it and stress basics, and then you can build fluid movements out of basic techniques (everything is built on basics). That's why they're so important. And that's not even the philosophical side of the discipline of training in basics and mastering the sequence in basics and so on.

My only contribution is how the 3 external sets (kata) of CLC Bak Mei were created.

Cheung Lai Chuen studied 3 styles of external kung fu before he met the two monks, Kwang Heui and Fah Yeun, who taught him the internal concepts and techniques that comprise what became known as Bak Mei.

Cheung Lai Chuen created the 3 external sets to pay tribute to each of his 3 teachers. He took what he felt was the best techniques and concepts from those three styles and made the three external sets.

Since CLC was a fighter, a very serious fighter who tested himself and his skills in the crucible of conflict, it is likely he selected all the techniques from those three styles that worked best for him in his fighting experience.

It is my assumption that any old kata created by martial artists were the compilation of the techniques and concepts that served them well in their life experience under the context of fighting. They were not created for aesthetic beauty or to exhibit the individuals personal capabilities (strength, flexibility, acrobatics). The katas were created as a physical encyclopedia of effective techniques that had been tested and found to be truely useful to the creator.

This is why I believe that "creative katas" are trash. Because the techniques contained in such displays have not been tested for usefulness.

Katas were originally created as tools for teaching those who follow in the next generation, often people who the teacher loved and wished to protect from harm (family members and close intimate friends) the techniques, concepts, and applications that protected the teacher from harm in times of violence. With the motivation of protecting loved ones from harm the original katas contain invaluable information.

Over time, through each transmission to the next generation there is some loss (sometimes significant) of the original content. It is the duty of each advanced practitioner to deeply explore and contemplate the katas from their own perspective. If one does not understand the purpose or usefulness of a technique or movement in a kata then it is the responsibility of the student to learn for what purpose it was created. Sometimes you learn by asking your teacher/instructor and sometimes they do not know. Every movement and every technique has a purpose. There is no reason to believe any movement was added to just fill visual space in transition to different movements. It is up to the individual artist to explore ways to discern the purpose of the movements in kata.

I was told by my late sigung, Dr. Y.Q. Wong, that when one learns the sets (kata) they are given a corner and a leg of a table. Then they are told, during the teaching process, about what a table is and what purpose it serves. He said it is then up to the student to take the knowledge and the piece of the table to go and reconstruct the entire table as it originally looked. He said some will prevail through their efforts to duplicate the original, some will create something that resembles the original but is inferior, and some will fail entirely to produce anything close to the original. He went on to conclude by saying the teacher can only do his best to give the student whatever guidance he can but that ultimately the individual success or failure of the student was dependent on their own capabilities and providence. He often said, "It was meant to be." and referenced the Mandate of Heaven.

As for the evolution of kata, Dr. Wong said that each student builds the foundation from the guidance of the tradition but once they master the basics they then add their own signature to what they do. He made the simile that learning a style as a student is like learning the alphabet and how to print in block letters. Once the student learns how to print the alphabet and use it to form words they then progress to write in cursive and develope a unique style of handwriting. He told me that, within our style, when we look at other branches in the lineage we do not judge them by whether they look the same as us but by whether they contain the same concepts and applications (the same letters and words). Figuratively speaking, if we are speaking the same language then we are all Bak Mei. The differences in appearance are to be expected and accepted as expressions of the individuals involved in the teaching of that branch.