Kata

Background

Kata originated as teaching and training methods to preserve and pass on successful combat techniques. Practicing kata allowed groups to engage in systematic struggle, and repetitive practice develops the ability to execute movements in a natural, reflex-like manner. The goal is internalization so techniques can be adapted under different circumstances without hesitation. A novice's actions appear uneven, while a master's seem simple and smooth.

Japanese martial arts

In kenjutsu, paired kata at beginner levels can appear stilted, but at higher levels serious injury is prevented only by high sensitivity to timing and distance, with kata practiced at realistic speed. Roles of attacker and defender often interchange within sequences. In budō and bujutsu, there are two roles: shidachi (disciple) and uchidachi (instructor).

Many martial arts use kata for public demonstrations and competitions, awarding points for style, balance, timing, and verisimilitude. The most popular image is a karate practitioner performing punches and kicks in the air, executing a specified series of approximately 20 to 70 moves with stepping and turning while maintaining perfect form. There are perhaps 100 kata across karate forms, each with minor variations; the number of moves may appear in the name, e.g., Gojū Shiho (54 steps). Practitioners are counselled to visualize enemy attacks and responses, and to 'read' a kata to explain imagined events.

The study of movement meaning is called bunkai (analysis). Kata can serve as a reference guide for a set of moves, not to be followed rigidly but to keep movements 'filed' for use in sparring. Recently, extreme martial arts (XMA) have produced CMX kata performed in tournaments, including gymnastics elements like backflips, cartwheels, and splits, sometimes with weapons such as the bō staff.

Non-Japanese martial arts

South and Southeast Asian martial arts incorporate preset and freestyle forms; in silat these are jurus and tari respectively. Malay folklore credits the introduction of forms to the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma.

Korean martial arts like taekwondo and Tang Soo Do use hyung or hyeong, while the International Taekwon-Do Federation uses tul and the World Taekwondo Federation uses poomsae or 'pattern'/'form.' Taekwondo patterns include Palgwe and Taeguk forms. In Sanskrit, forms are yudhan or pentra; other terms include Burmese aka, Vietnamese quyen, and Kashmiri khawankay. Historical European martial arts have forms, plays, drills, and flourishes.

Outside martial arts

Kata has come to be used in English in a general or figurative sense for any basic form, routine, or pattern of behavior practiced to various mastery levels. In Japanese, kata (written as 方) is a suffix meaning 'way of doing,' emphasizing form and order, with other meanings including 'training method' and 'formal exercise.' The goal in arts like painting, pottery, or garden design is to merge consciousness with materials; once mastery is achieved, doing a thing perfectly is as easy as thinking it.

In software development, programmers in the Software Craftsmanship movement write 'Kata'—small code snippets written repeatedly to build muscle memory. The term was used by Dave Thomas in 1999, implemented by Laurent Bossavit and Emmanuel Gaillot at XP2005, and described by Robert C. Martin in 'The Programming Dojo.' Magicians also use katas to practice sleight of hand sequences. Organizational culture can be characterized by its kata—routines of thinking and practice; Edgar Schein suggests kata helps an organization cope with its environment, meaning 'a way to keep two things in sync.' The 2009 book Toyota Kata by Mike Rother aims to establish a routine for continuous improvement.