Kata facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Kata |
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Solo training of kata is the primary form of practice in some martial arts, such as iaido.
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| Kanji | 1. 型 2. 形 |
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| Hiragana | かた | ||||
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Kata, a Japanese word, meaning literally: form, is a detailed choreographed pattern of movements made to be practiced alone, but are also practiced within groups and in unison when training. It is practiced as a way to memorize and perfect the movement being executed. There are many professions which use the term Kata, but Kata as a term is known generally by the Martial Arts world, and typically reserved for Japanese empty hand combat systems (Karate -meaning empty hand).
Traditional Korean Karate, called (Tang Soo Do) uses the term Kata and some Tang Soo Do schools do not, which is brought on by the memory of the Japanese and Korean war, where in at that time traditional Korean Karate was introduced.
Kata are used in many traditional Japanese arts such as theatre forms like kabuki and schools of tea ceremony (chadō), but are most commonly known for the presence in the martial arts. Kata are used by most Japanese and Okinawan martial arts, such as aikido, judo, kendo, kenpo, and karate.
Outside martial arts
More recently kata has come to be used in English in a more general or figurative sense, referring to any basic form, routine, or pattern of behavior that is practiced to various levels of mastery.
In Japanese language kata is a frequently-used suffix meaning “way of doing,” with emphasis on the form and order of the process. Other meanings are “training method” and “formal exercise.” The goal of a painter’s practicing, for example, is to merge his consciousness with his brush; the potter’s with his clay; the garden designer’s with the materials of the garden. Once such mastery is achieved, the theory goes, the doing of a thing perfectly is as easy as thinking it.
Kata is a term used by some programmers in the Software Craftsmanship movement. Computer programmers who call themselves "Software Craftsmen" will write 'Kata' - small snippets of code that they write in one sitting, sometimes repeatedly, often daily, in order to build muscle memory and practise their craft.
One of the things that characterize an organization’s culture is its kata – its routines of thinking and practice. Edgar Schein suggests an organization's culture helps it cope with its environment, and one meaning of kata is, "a way to keep two things in sync or harmony with one another." A task for leaders and managers is to create and maintain the organizational culture through consistent role modeling, teaching, and coaching, which is in many ways analogous to how kata are taught in the martial arts.
Images for kids
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Solo training of kata is the primary form of practice in some martial arts, such as iaido.
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Koshiki-no-kata by Kano(l) and Yamashita(r)
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Aka with stick (4 Winds)
See also
In Spanish: Kata para niños
