Bunkai: Kata vs. Street
Monday, October 4, 2010 at 9:55AM Sensei Erik Larsen
Kobushi Shotokan Karate-Do
Bunkai, Kata vs. Street
Today in many dojos around the world, I suspect that kata remains one of the most popular aspects of karate training for a lot of the students. In my 37 years of karate training I have found out that the majority of Karateka of all ranks have little or no idea of what they are doing in the kata beyond just blocking and striking. Bunkai is the secret to unlocking what you are doing in kata. What is Bunkai? Bunkai literally means “analysis” or “disassembly”, so you have to break the kata up move by move to find what you feel is the best application that works against an opponent.
So how do you go about breaking down kata? Karate’s katas cannot be used just as they are. The reason for this is two fold, one is that back when the katas were created they performed them in a way that kept their true meaning hidden to insure secrecy to outsiders, and the other is to maintain a progression of advancement from beginner to advanced level. Katas have also become stylized for the purpose of presentation in competition, further confusing the line between usable and unusable katas.
Bunkai is usually performed with a partner or a group of partners, who execute predefined attacks, and the student performing the kata responds with defenses, counterattacks, or other actions, based on a part of the kata. This allows the student who is performing the kata to understand what the movements in the kata are meant to accomplish. It may also illustrate how to improve technique by adjusting distance, timing, and vulnerable areas to attack your opponent. When you are teaching kata to your students, (and yes bunkai should be part of your kata training) what I like to do is after I have taught the kata and the students know the direction of all the moves well, I take a part of the kata that I feel is the most simple moves to come up with bunkai and ask him or her to practice that part with a partner and the two of them need to come up with two or three different bunkai. By doing this I am trying to pull out of my students their God given ability to be creative. To many people these days are told what to do and when to do it that they forgot or have never had the opportunity to think for themselves. To get your students to think creatively takes a long time, and it only works if the Sensei is thinking creatively. When your students come up with their bunkai allow them to show you what they have and give them great praise for it. After they showed their bunkai, you can show them one additional to allow them to see that there is more then one correct bunkai.
The reason I feel most people have a problem with bunkai is because of the way kata is taught by most Sensei’s. For example is Heian Shodan, the fist two moves are down block, step in punch. So you tell your student step out to the left and down block, now step in and punch your opponent. Now in kata application of bunkai that is great, because that is literally showing what the kata as it is put together is doing. Where I have a problem is that down block step in punch is not effective in a real fight. No one is going to step in and punch at you and then because you blocked them step back and allow you to punch them. The solution comes from what I like to call street bunkai. That first move of Heian Shodan does not have to be a block. You use a draw hand in all of your moves for a reason, not just for helping you obtain hip rotation. That draw hand can be the block and the down block can really be an arm break, or a hammer strike to the groin or face. It also can be an open hand chop to the throat or a take down as illustrated in example #1A and 1B. Another area in Heian Shodan that I would like to point out the difference between Kata and street bunkai, is the three up blocks, turn down block. The first problem comes that you would not find yourself in a street fight stepping in blocking a face attack three times, and then on top of that after you have blocked them turning your back on that attacker and down blocking someone else. What I feel the proper bunkai for this section of kata would be that you are attacked with a head strike and you step back twice and block with an up block, then you find an opening and step in and attack with a rising strike under the chin or to the throat. After you strike, the part that looks like a down block is really a hip through. This example is illustrated in example #2A and 2B.
The final kata that I wanted to focus on today is Heian Yondan. Particularly the section leading up to the first kia. Just after the two side snap kicks, back hands, and elbows, you block a low level attack with you left hand and then pivot your feet the other direction and strike the neck with a chop with the right hand. After the chop the kata has you perform a face level front kick, leap forward a step and a half and back fist strike your opponent in the face. The problem with this is the feasibility of this series of technique. It is physically impossible to kick someone in the face at the same range in which you just chopped his neck with you right arm. You got to remember that kata was changed to be more appealing to the eye when it was demonstrated in tournaments. What you need to do whenever you are trying to figure out bunkai is to ask your self would this work in a real fight. If you take that section of kata and apply it to a real life situation. After you have blocked their kick and chopped their neck the next technique has to be a groin kick. Now as you kick someone in the groin their body naturally will bend forward, which prevents you from hammer striking them in the face. So the next technique after the kick to the groin is a downward elbow strike to the back of the neck. As shown in examples #3A and #3B.
In conclusion, when you are practicing kata I feel it is very important to practice bunkai so you will have a greater understanding of what you are performing. When you are practicing bunkai always remember that kata is not always done the way it is performed in class or in a tournament, the way it would be performed in a real fight. There are many bunkai for every technique performed in kata. For example my students came up with 14 different bunkai for the first move of Heian Shodan (down block). Just think about how many other bunkai there are in Heian Shodan let alone the other Shotokan katas. The two most important things to remember when you are training bunkai, first make sure it is street applicable, and second be creative.
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