Ok, now to talk about kata and aspect number four (actually I’m home working on Turbo Tax today and sneaking a break away from the numbers and paperwork)….timing/rhythm. You know the sequence, have pretty good form, and have at least a rudimentary vision of what the moves and key combinations within a particular kata mean to you. Now we can do a brief examination of timing and rhythm (at least from my viewpoint), as these apply to kata. Like the other aspects, T/R exists on several different levels and, unless you’re part of some competition three-person kata team, is a little different for each person. Of course, there is the basic timing we’re taught when we learn the kata. No kata, not even Heian Shodan, consists of exactly the same cadence from move to move….the most obvious segment being the three stepping age-ukes, and later in the kata, the three stepping oi-zukes. So, in our first Shotokan kata, we’re introduced to a timing change, a speed-up between the second and third techniques in both the stepping blocks and the stepping punches. As we learn other katas, there are many other speed-ups, slow-downs, and outright pauses throughout each one. Without an [...]

Ok, I apologize for getting sidetracked on my last note by thoughts on bowling, of all topics, haha. Back to discussing the five aspects of kata (as seen through my eyes). So far we’ve covered sequence and posture. I’d like to speak to applications contained within, variously referred to as: bunkai, yakusoku, oyo, etc. One can perform and actually do very well in training and even in kata competition if one has truly outstanding posture (including power and speed) and knows the sequence by heart. However, without the ability to envision or understand any kind of meaning to the movements, one’s kata becomes what some would call “martial dancing”. I don’t use the term dance, to demean the activity, since professional dancers, those preserving cultural dance, etc; express much meaning in the movements they execute. I’m referring to doing movement purely as exercise, or for aesthetics, without any depth to what one is trying to portray to execute. The example I often cite is someone using a heavy pick to break ground in one’s yard or at work. Many of us have had to do some picking in the yard at some time…it can be hard, sweaty work, and requires [...]

One of the very popular pastimes I remember as a kid, growing up in the fifties was…bowling. Not sure what the trends are on the mainland, but in Hawaii, there used to be so many bowling alleys throughout Oahu. These were great gathering places for co-workers, friends, family, etc to spend several enjoyable hours together. Except for the really competitive ones, the score wasn’t so important, as having a good time spent in fellowship. Over the years, just like the once popular drive-in theaters, one by one, the bowling alleys have shut down, leaving a precious few. Boy, there was a whole regimen associated with the sport, including: bowling gloves, bowling shoes, powder, customized bowling ball and bag (unless you were willing to use a pink or orange marble alley ball) bowling rag, the neat-o automatic bowling ball cleaning machine, not to mention the usually great snack shop right there in the establishment. One of the not so great things was the opportunity to catch a lot of second-hand smoke. Hard to beat being immersed in the sights and sounds that only the bowling alley has. In Hawaii, one of the few bastions of bowling are the military installations, where [...]