Just an idle thought (And the actual way I think about certain specific instances where a move in a kata just seems absolutely bizarrely placed): Going by a sort of occam's razor-ish viewpoint, what if certain types of movements in kata exist simply as a way of formalizing a "reset" to a position that more easily enables you to perform the following sequence, or does so in a way that makes the kata's embu more space-efficient? Examples include the stepping back into shiko-dachi with gedan-barai present in the gekisai kata and derivatives, in seienchin and in seipai (As well as in at least one ryuei kata), and the manji-gamae in shotokan's sochin. Taking the goju kata as an example, the simplest reason I see to put such a move in there (Not necessarily the correct reason, of course, just the simplest one) is because they facilitate the performance of the mirrored second instance of the sequence, and after that they leave you in roughly the same place, so you can continue along a perpendicular line without having significantly veered to one side or the other, which could be problematic, like sometimes happens with kung fu forms, many of which are done in long straight lines that go in one direction and then back, or at least going in one general direction and then back, even accounting for lateral and diagonal motion. The neat embu that many kata have (In some cases even forming kanji, as far as I'm aware) are more suited to practice in smaller spaces (At least in comparison with CMA taolu), and are made possible precisely because of such movements. In the case of sochin, though, we have the opposite, with the seemingly out of place movement coming before the main sequence it belongs to, in this case a completely random manji-gamae immediately before the second and third instance of the double low-high block. How do I see this? Simple, when you do the first one at the very start of the kata, you raise the right arm to execute the low block, and I consider the manji-gamae to be simply an over-formalized way of doing the exact same thing, while re-positioning the feet (Since you have the left foot forwards and need to turn to the left and end up right foot forwards), leaving you in an easy position from which to step forwards with the right foot and swing the right arm down and left arm up, just done with an intermediary standardized kihon move rather than a more casual shift. Any thoughts on this? Any objections? Any other examples of kata where this might apply? Any where it might SEEM to apply but actually doesn't?
There are a few kata where you explicitly stand up into heisoku dachi with your arms by your sides. e.g. gankaku, jion, jitte. I would imagine that there are bunkai for these movements from the school of thought that every single step of a kata has a fighting application, but the most obvious implication would be that you're just getting ready for a new sequence.
I'd disagree with the gekisai example you gave for the simple reason that it maps very well to a finishing-move takedown after the movements previous to it (an interpretation that also fits with the 'rules' of kata in Kane and Wilder's book 'the way of kata' of shikodachi as a stance that is shorthand for a takedown or off-balancing of the opponent). I would have said that sanseru gives a better example, where after doing the first pull-back/sweep and double-punch, you turn with a chudan uke, immediately followed by another chudan uke - which allows the other side to repeat the previous technique sequence. Another example would be in shisochin where after the kakie uke - kick - enpi sequence to the right, you pivot 180 deg. and do 2 kakie ukes to set up for repeating the sequence on the left hand side.
katas are generally designed for practical reasons. Sometimes it's not obvious what it is. You might try meditating on it for a while (and going through the motions very slowly) or asking an expert. My current henshi is a collector of kata, and knows not only the forms but how they can be applied. It's quite amazing and takes some real effort and/or research to learn. Just my 2 cents.
Well in the context of fitting all the movements into a confined area, the sequence of many karate forms end up finishing at the same point where they started from. I'm pretty sure the sequence was created on purpose so that you end up where you started. However, the movements themselves in forms really depend on context. Many weapon forms are actually two person sets. Many open hand forms are actually multiple attacker scenarios, strung together into longer sequences to create the overall kata. I would say that the idea of a reset is there but I would call it a "recovery". A break in a sequence when a new attacker comes from a different vector. For example, an attacker from front is dispatched and then comes a reset as an attacker comes from behind and as you assess the situation. Bear in mind that the movements in kata are very generic and can mean many things. The more subtle movements are not expressed in kata because there is no exact threat. In application of kata or bunkai, these subtle movements are applied. For example, a form might keep the head at the same height through a sequence, but in bunkai, you might be grabbed and have to change level, tuck the chin, and roll the shoulders to counter... these subtle movements are part of application but not shown in the form. Subtle meaning that these movements are not seen with the naked eye but only done off of intuition and feeling/sensitivity. IMHO.
I think that most kata do not reset between sequences, specifically because removing them opens the door for more applications to be developed. That said, I do think that some kata have movements that can be construed as "resetting"--someone mentioned a few examples, and I would add Tawada Passai to that list. There are also some kata that have extra movements that were added for the sake of symmetry or to facilitate the enbusen, but that doesn't mean they don't also have applications.
Also don't forget that over time (especially if there is a tradition of focusing on the form rather than function) a flowing move may have been broken into multiple parts. Individually and in isolation those parts may not make sense from an application perspective, which leads to a suggestion that they are "reset" moves. An example where a single move in a kata has been broken into two could potentially be the final two movements in Bassai-dai.
Hi Moosey weeeeelll, kind of. Not the first shuto but the movement after, which combines the weird look to the left whilst slowly moving to the right (as if you're in a kung-fu movie) and then the final step and shuto in the opposite direction. I believe they originally were incorporated into a single movement. The shuto application is the finishing move following a defence against a front choke... similar to the following application shown here by Tomaz Stanovnik..(from about 1:00) [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V51GIaakjQM"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V51GIaakjQM[/ame] ..but rather finishing with an Enpi, you scoop the arms as in Bassai and finish with a shuto...as seen at 0:30 in Angel Lemus's video [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k36zgqim0c4"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k36zgqim0c4[/ame] You can see how the two shuto's now make sense at the end of Bassai...
