Kata Lab # 2170: Blink-Of-An-Eye Bunkai

“Life and death in the street occurs in the blink-of-an-eye.” 
(Shihan Thomas DeFelice)

“Therefore kata bunkai (analysis) should include the blinking-of-an-eye.”
(Sensei John Szmitkowski)

Welcome to this teaser from my Kata Laboratory Series, Kata Lab #2170: Blink-Of-An-Eye Bunkai ©

Preface:

For a behind-the-scenes look at how this Kata Lab developed, please refer to this article using this convenient link:

Sensei John’s Kata Lab: “The Process” – Link:
https://senseijohn.me/2014/04/20/kata-lab-the-process-of-making-a-kata-lab/

Analyzing Ananku Kata in the Kata Lab

Background:
There are numerous karate-do techniques involving any number of striking surfaces with the hands, feet, knees, elbows, fingers and the like. These techniques are combined with any number of stances to form a posture.

These postures are linked together in a cohesive manner to form sequences which are combined to form a unified pattern called kata. This is the physical aspect of kata.

Bunkai (analysis) is used to understand the kata. The majority of practitioners limit their bunkai to the overt moves and sequences in kata. The transition from sequence-to-sequence, posture-to-posture that occur with a kata are often ignored in bunkai.
This Kata Lab looks at the physical aspects of those transitional movements.

Kata Lab: (Recommended Reader Experimentation)

To assist you in the process of this Kata Lab, I have a video after the procedural outline.

• Select a kata that you are familiar with utilizing bunkai to perform the physical applications of;
• Perform the kata slowly, paying particular attention to the transitions between movements;
• As to the transitions, notice the shifting of weight, body movements, and hand positions;
• Exaggerate the transitions so as to identify and define postures within these transitions, define a stance, and hand position;
• Again perform the kata slowly, this time inserting the transitional postures into the kata as if they themselves were overt moves;
• Perform the kata full speed, once again, insert the hidden postures into the kata as if they were overt moves. Does the kata maintain it’s “flow” when performed in this manner? If so, then your identification of the hidden postures was accurate.
• Analyze the kata transitional positions with a partner, pay particular attention to your previous analysis to determine the extent to which the transitional postures enrich your application. The transitions should allow you to see new self-defense application possibilities.

Closing:
Including the transitional postures in your bunkai (analysis) of kata will enrich your understanding of the application of the physical movements. You will begin to see new possibilities. Better still you will see self-defense possibilities that those who do no analyze the transitions will be ignorant of. Thus, your arsenal of defensive possibilities surpasses theirs.
Additionally, the understanding of the physical aspect of the transitional movements will begin to foster a desire to understand the transitional postures from a spiritual (psychological, emotional and stat-of-mind) aspect and a metaphysical (the manner in which the kata connects you to the environment) aspect.

Please remember, the mandate of the kata laboratory is

Cum superiorum privilegio veniaque (With the privilege and permission of the superiors)

Sensei John Szmitkowski

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Tags: Academy of Goshin-Do Karate, Ananku Kata, Blink Of An Eye, Bunkai, Kata Analysis, Kata Drills, Kata Exercises, Kata Experiments, Kata Laboratory, Kata Transition Moves, Life And Death In The Street, Sensei John, Shihan Thomas DeFelice