WUKO/WKF kata competition was comprised of three rounds. Each of the organization’s 144 member countries at the time was allowed to enter two kata competitors. So there could be as many as 288 in kata division. (Although that never actually happened, most countries entered at least one competitor.) Such a large field obviously needed to be whittled down quickly or we would have been there for weeks.
The first round cut the huge field down to just the top 16 competitors. The second round cut it further to the top 8. And the final round determined the order of finish, from first through eighth.
The kata a competitor performed during the first two rounds had to be selected from a list of 22 traditional Japanese/Okinawan kata. (This is why the division was also referred to as “Mandatory Kata”.) The kata selected for the final round was of the competitor’s choosing. It could be outside the 22 on the required list but still had to be a known traditional kata.
Unlike open tournaments, where competitors are often judged by their athletic and choreographic ability, competitors in traditional Japanese/Okinawan kata competition are judged on their ability to precisely perform kata created a hundred or more years ago by some of our greatest masters.
In old Olympic Ice Skating competition, competitors had to perform “Compulsory Figures”, in addition to their free skating programs. Various geometric designs were dyed into the ice. Then, competitors had to skate as close as they could to each of the thin design lines. Judges would get down on the ice with rulers to check the lines etched in the ice by the skaters’ skate blades and calculate which skater followed the lines the most precisely, meaning they had attained the greatest level of mastery over their skates. Scores from compulsory figures made up a significant portion of their final scores.
And this type of assessment also occurred in other Olympic sports. Compulsory dives are also required in Olympic Diving, compulsory routines in Olympic Ice Dancing, and compulsory routines in Olympic Gymnastics. These offer a very exact and accurate (side by side) method by which to judge the comparative technical skills of their competitors.
Kata competition in traditional Japanese/Okinawan kata is much the same. It’s a competitor’s ability to stay true to the kihon (karate basics), the proper sequence of techniques, and embusen (or kata line of travel), but also to do so with the utmost of speed and power, that makes for a great performance.
The Japanese were pushing at that time for WUKO/WKF to enact their much stricter standard. In Japan, they required competitors to perform kata selected from a list of only 8 approved kata. And each of the eight had to be performed exactly as specified, without any style or organizational variations allowed. These were called Shitei Kata. To assist competitors and coaches learn these exact versions, the Japan Karate Federation (JKF) published books and produced DVDs on the correct renditions of each of the eight mandatory kata, and sent out certified instructors to teach them. But WUKO/WKF didn’t accept that approach, at least not while I was active.
Here’s a link for the Shitei Kata. http://karatereferee.com/shiteikatas.php
I always evaluated a competitive kata performance based on five levels of mastery. The first level was Memorization. Did the competitor know the kata? If he made a mistake, or left out, added, or changed anything, the policy of the national and world organizations were that a competitor received a score of zero as he didn’t perform the kata. (He only performed something like the kata.)
Much like the password to your computer, a kata was either all right or it was wrong. You can’t leave out, add, or change even one digit when entering your password or you won’t be allowed access.
The second level of mastery was Kihon. Was his kihon (basics) performed correctly, almost correctly, or not even close? Was his back straight, his feet at the right width and depth and pointed according to standard, etc. On every single move, there could potentially be many kihon errors – a slight bend in the wrist, leaning a bit forward at the waist, one stance not matching the same when done later in the kata, left side stances and techniques not being symmetrical with those on the right, etc. The top competitors made few kihon errors but I never witnessed a performance that didn’t contain at least one. But even if there were kihon errors, a competitor would receive a score if he executed his flawed kihon in the proper sequence and followed the correct embusen for the kata.
The third level of mastery was Dynamic Kihon. Did he not only perform the kihon correctly but were his techniques executed with greater speed, power, extension, and stability, elevating his performance above the average for a competent black belt?
Fourth was Self Defense Awareness. Did he perform those often subtle little actions that demonstrated he understood the self defense application of each move?
And the fifth level of mastery was Spontaneity. Did he know the kata so thoroughly that he didn’t need to attend mentally to each move, yet each was performed flawlessly? The Japanese call this muga, perfection without awareness.
To realistically expect to win anything, a competitor had to have reached at least the 3rd level of mastery, but more likely the 4th.
In my next installment, I’ll look at things I learned to assist students develop this level of precision. And I'll also describe a referee's examination so scary it made more than one leave to throw up and forced us to call the paramedics because it stressed out one high level master so badly he started having bad chest pains.
Thanks again for your support and reading my humble ramblings.
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