Continuing Steps in Karate

Just a random thought - it's generally held that when turning, or changing direction in kata, the sequence is head-feet-hands.  But, what if the sequence finishes after the turn?  What order should it be then?   Some places where this does occur, or could occur, are in kururunfa with the west and east open-hand soto ukes; sanseru with the 4-directions technique sequences; and in seisan, particularly on the first 180 degree turn.

This post is related to, but is not a direct follow-on from the previous post on the original kata. In my school, and within its parent tradition, many of the kata have different variations.  For instance, in the kata Saifa, there are two different starts, two different ways to do the first section and two variants on the turn/sweep/hammerfist that are not only different from each other, but from other traditions as well.  Similar (accepted and taught) alternate variations exist in sanseru, shisochin, suparinpei, kururunfa, sepai, and seienchin.  Some of these kata have only one or two minor alternatives, others have more, with varying degrees of difference. Why? And what does it mean for understanding the origins and purpose of kata? There are obvious advantages pedagogically for teaching only one version of a kata, particularly to large groups of individuals.  Having a standard approach for everyone and every time makes it easier for the instructor to not onl...

How can we know that the kata we are learning is the original form? One of the things that we are told - often unsolicited - is that we should do kata exactly as we have been taught, because 'the old masters knew what they were doing' or 'we will lose the meaning of the kata if we do'. Leaving those two very leading assumptions aside (for now), implied in that is that the kata have been unchanged as they have been taught and handed down from generation to generation. But is that actually true? There is no denying that each kata had, at some stage, a starting point where someone (or someones) created it. At that point in time, there was indeed, only one version of the kata and it was undoubtedly the correct one. But who created it, when and for what purpose, is often difficult to determine. For some kata such as tensho, the gekisai and pinan kata, we do know who created them, when and have at least some recorded information about their intended purpose. So surely, th...

More and more, I see (or have pointed out to me) similar techniques across different kata.  They are not all identical, but have the same intention or principles behind them. Some of the ones I have encountered recently are: Head/neck grab and crank: saifa, sepai, seisan, sanseru (seienchin as well, but not in the tradition I am training in) standing arm bar: seienchin, saifa, shisochin different standing arm bar (I've forgotten its name): kururunfa, sepai escape from rear bear hug: shisochin, seienchin, seisan guardian opens and closes the gate: saifa, seienchin, seisan, kururunfa, shisochin, hakkucho escape from front bear hug: kururunfa, happoren, shisochin leg takedown: sanseru, kururunfa, tensho (with interpretation) shoulder wheel throw (kata garuma): kururunfa, shisochin front strangle escape: seienchin, shisochin, happoren There are plenty of others, too.  It raises the question: Why have so many kata, if there is so much overlap?  But that's a questi...