Kata - Lucio Maurino

Our ambitions can be achieved only if they are proportioned to the labour and time we dedicated to them. - Lucio Maurino



The term “Kata” means “form”, “archetype”, or what represents an ancient and fundamental model containing its own essential codes of structuring. The Kata, for his articulated and deep symbolisms accessible for different degrees of awareness and competence of the apprentice, contains the assembled of the time and history of Karate: probably, in the “forms”, the great Teachers assembled and condensed the combative experiences of their whole life and delivered it as packet of information to their first disciple that he handed down it, in turn, to his successors.

Unfortunately such ancient and universal knowledge is been handed down from Teacher to student not so much by scientific-methodological principles, but through the way of body, for which today different styles of codification exist cause, in the historical tradition, the Teacher, founder of a school, delivered his own experience in the spirit and forms because of some particularly meaningful Katas.

Definition of Kata on computer base according to the modern theory of the systems
“The Kata is an imaginary-encoded-simulated fight, conceived as a systemic structure, with more or less complex communicative motion dense of meanings, that founds its own intrinsic and expressive harmony on the space-time scannings of the executive rhythms in operation of pre-arranged combative finalities.”

The practice of the kata is founded on the execution of motor structures predestined on the base of dynamic stereotypes opportunely assembled. It deals with a composite exercise appraisable under the qualitative meaning profile that prioritily hocks the closed skills of the individual.

The primary quality that a kata performer has to communicate is to play a fight, even though simulated, against imaginary opponents and inside a predestined form, in which the spirit of the ZANSHIN, or rather the state of promptness and elevated charge of vigilance that has also to characterize the circumstances of apparent calm.

The showing of kata is in its maximum expression and optimal expression of its essence, or rather from the fact to globally and intensely be meaningful under the martial profile, revealing and mirroring the identity of the discipline that represents in optimal way.

The characteristics that qualify a kata are:
- postural codification;
- finalized codification of the technical gesture
(attacks and parades);
- codification of the rhythms (temporal scannings) based
on the meaning of the motor gesture;
- harmony of structure;
- dosed global complexity;
- versatility of technique and gesture (bilateralism, symmetry);
- equilibrium of motor engagement (not inflated acrobatic phases);
- technical and tactical high level;
- strategic intelligence of the layout (embusen).

In the kata the gestures are multiform and they must be concretized through a polyvalent motor dynamism, where the variety of the native gestures of the martial art and the acrobatic actions melt themselves together, creating a noble formal expression characterized by specific connotations.
Kata is globally considered meaningful when its structure sufficiently shine through a complex tactical warp and through a configuration that it is born from a strategic orientation finalized to the fight against more adversaries.

The Kata, that means "form", "technical sequence", concerns the analysis and the study of the techniques of Karate practiced without adversaries (empty practice) putting in prominence the technical precision, the power (considered as the product of the strength for the speed) which the techniques are performed with. It contains, besides properly visual elements, also more depth educational meanings.

The Kata represents an attacks and defenses set, codified in an pre-arranged order by great experts. This set is studied to understand better the essence of a style, and it is practiced to get a technical improvement as well as for the beauty of the gesture.
We can define it as the "choreography" of the attack and defense, or the ritual forms of the techniques and movements.
In the Katas are picked almost all the techniques of attack and block, besides the numerous existing moves in the Karate.

Performing the Kata, the athlete has to follow a
pre-arranged layout, meticulously respecting
specify executive parameters:
- Technique (precision of the encoded gesture);
- Power (considered as the product of the strength
for the speed);
- Kimè (ability of muscular contraction and
decontraction);
- Rhythm (which the imaginary and encoded fights are
performed with);
- Expressiveness (if it deals with individual Kata), that is
the ability to communicate
through the technical gestures the own personality
and creativeness;
- Synchronization (if it deals with teams Kata)
These parameters determine the undisputed technical performance superiority in comparison to another.

- Lucio Maurino
http://www.luciomaurino.com