What do you get of of kata?
kata has various levels of practice from the most basic to complex, there are several levels
Bunkai – Means to take apart or dissect. There are various levels or degrees of taking apart bunkai.
Kata without proper bunkai is meaningless; it is the most fundamental part of kata. While the techniques can be learned in a few days for kata the bunkai can take years to understand.
Omote - Means obvious or obvious application or a straight forward explanation of the technique, such as a block or a strike.
Ura or Gyakute – From my understanding mean have a similar definition, alternative and it is a reference to what happens between the beginning and the end of the technique.
kata has various levels of practice from the most basic to complex, there are several levels
Bunkai – Means to take apart or dissect. There are various levels or degrees of taking apart bunkai.
Kata without proper bunkai is meaningless; it is the most fundamental part of kata. While the techniques can be learned in a few days for kata the bunkai can take years to understand.
Omote - Means obvious or obvious application or a straight forward explanation of the technique, such as a block or a strike.
Ura or Gyakute – From my understanding mean have a similar definition, alternative and it is a reference to what happens between the beginning and the end of the technique.
Okuden or Kakushi - Means hidden, concealed some refer to it as secret, which I think is a poor explanation of it but its more like you do not have knowledge of techniques such as grappling or applied pressure techniques, then techniques may not be apparent to you, hence they are hidden.
Henka – means along the lines of variation of a technique or the development. The henka may not look identical to technique in the kata. However, the variation must have the same underlining principle found in the kata and displayed in the bunkai and oyo.
Sutemi – Referring to a sacrifice technique, are techniques to be used when you are in disadvantageous or awkward positions, as well as those techniques in which you purposefully throw yourself off balance or in a seemingly inappropriate position, which allows you to counter attack the assailant by surprise.
Kata is not that simple,
it takes years to understand the simplest kata, there are different levels of studying bunkai, it can be anywhere from a basic understanding to a very advance one. and its not always a block or punch, take the kata tekki (naihanchin) this kata is all grappling moves with few strikes.
each kata has a number of interpretations some depend on your level of understand and others very from teach or style. there is no one answer for what the bunkai is.
Kata at its core teaches the following
Technique (waza)
Tactics (bugei)
Kokyu (breathe control)
Kaeshu (reversals)
Atemi (vital strike to vital area)
Kyusho (pressure point strikes)
Kensetsu (bone or joint bending)
Appaku (applied pressure)
Kotekitai (absorbing and controlling pain)
Nage (throwing)
Chime (choking)
Reference: (the last section came from Robert Trias)
http://www.americansamurai.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=178&Itemid=2
