Kata: The Formless Form
Konnichiwa!
Welcome to the very first cup of kick butt tea!
Riddle me this:
I teach self defense tactics. But not always.
I train you in grace, control, and other physical skills. But not always.
I temper the mind. But not always.
What am I?
Kata.
Form.
Whatever you call it, it has some definite meaning.
Have you ever wondered what a form is? I mean what it really is? If there were actually more to it than just a bunch of body positions and movements? Or if that thought has already popped into your cranium before, then how would you describe it?
Watch a class and see some bunkai, or applications, and you’re apt to think it is simply self defense tactics.
But then again, watch someone else do another form and you may think it is all a strange dance. A dance that improves balance, stamina, agility, coordination, and so on and so forth. Look at Tóngzigōng (You can watch one amazing demonstration of it here).
The thing is, both are definitely forms. Neither one is wrong.
But how can these two seemingly complete opposites be related and use the same name?
Heck, why is it even called a “form”? What are you forming? Are you supposed to be molding Play-doh or something?
Nope.
In essence, I believe forms can be summed up in one word: convey.
The goal is dependent on the form. Not all forms are meant for self defense. Likewise, not all are going to be focused on grace or balance. A tournament competitor is trying to convey skill to the judges through his performance. A self defense practitioner is practicing conveying his fist (or elbow, or knee, or foot, etc) to his opponents nose. Different forms, different goals.
Look at the powerful emotion emanating from him!
Did you know that kabuki, the Japanese theatre dramas, had kata? Their kata weren’t necessarily long dances though. Their kata were simply body movements and positions that expressed powerful emotion. That conveyed emotions to the audience
Turn your mind to the name itself. Emotion, concepts, and strategies all have something in common. Have you guessed it yet?
The have no absolute form. They’re formless. Think about? Try imagining anger. Not how it looks on your face or your friends, but rather anger itself. How about happiness? What about a tactical concept like advancing forward when a strike comes in?
Forms give you a physical lesson on these things. If I were to try and sound fancy-like, I would say something like:
It gives form to the formless.
There is a catch though. You see, forms have plenty to convey to you. But you’ve gotta listen to what it is saying. To absorb the formless aspect of it, you have to practice it and experiment with it. Try the form with your eyes closed, going Taijiquan (AKA Tai Chi) level slow, going as fast as possible, starting on the opposite side, whatever! That’s the best part. Get creative!
You can’t just go through the motions halfheartedly and occasionally. You have to put your mind and heart into it.Notice I didn’t say intensity. You can slow it down, but do it with some intention.
Elevate it into an art!
Here’s another fun fact for you: kabuki isn’t the only art to have kata. Another form of Japanese theatre had it too: Noh. Y’know, the Japanese plays with the masks.
Let that start to settle in for a second. The Noh performers had that big ol’ mask! They had to express emotion with an unchanging face. How did they do that, you ask? The performer had to merge his absolute whole being into the mask and the character, his medium. He had to take his movements and elevate every single detail of it to an art form…
Sound like Martial Arts yet?
It is up to the practitioner to act as doctor Frankenstein and add life to the lifeless.
Visualize! If you are focusing on just self defense, imagine an attacker. See their limbs, their tension, their reactions, their gaze, their emotion. Heck, you could give them a name!
If you are doing a flashy tournament form, see yourself doing everything PERFECTLY. Your kicks are sharper than cheese, your punches are crispier than crackers, your jumps are higher than Snoop Dogg.
I’m not the first one to say this either. Qigong practitioners are familiar with this idea as well. You don’t do qigong by only going though movements with coordinated breath. You do that AND you visualize.
You see the qi and where you direct it or what you do with it.
