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The word kata means "form". The form can be composed for solo practise, like in karate, or for exercise in pairs.

According to legend, the kata in Karate were devised by a Japanese master, banished to a small island for his drunkenness. With no one to practice with, he instead put together sequences of moves performed solo. Karate students rowing to the island were then taught the kata in return for smuggled alcohol.

The kata practitioner executes a specified series of from 20 or so to as many as 70 moves, generally with stepping and turning, and attempting to maintain as nearly-perfect form as possible. The number of moves in a kata may be referred to in the name of the kata eg. Gojushiho, which means 54 steps. The number of moves may also have links with Buddhist spirituality - the number 108 is significant in BuddhismTian Tan Buddha statue in Hong Kong, remind followers to practice right living. Buddhism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of Siddhrtha Gautama ( Sanskrit; in Pli, Siddhattha Gotama , who lived between approximately 563 and 483 BCE. and kata whose numbers of moves are factors of 108 such as 54, 36 and 27 reflect this link.

The practitioner is generally counselled to visualize the enemy attacks, and his or her responses, as actually occurring.

Kata may be performed unarmed or with traditional weapons such as swordA sword (from Old English sweord akin to Old High German swerd is a bladed weapon, consisting in its most fundamental design of a blade and a handle. The blade is normally of metal and often ground to at least one sharp edge and usually has a pointed tip, spearA spear is an ancient weapon, used for hunting and war. It consists of a shaft, usually of wood, with a sharpened head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with bamboo spears, or it may be of another material faste, staffA quarterstaff is a Medieval English variant of the staff weapon, consisting simply of a long shaft of hardwood, usually oak, hawthorn, hazel or ash. The weapon's name comes from the way it is commonly held: one hand at the center of the staff, and one ha, or nunchakuA nunchaku ( Chinese: shung jie gun, ling jie gun, or sn jie gun), also called nunchucks or nunchuks (sometimes hyphenated as nun-chucks or nun-chuks or spaced as nun chucks or nun chuks , is a martial arts weapon of the kobudo weapons' set and consists o.

In teaching the open handed kata, most systems start with a series of five basic kata named Pinan in some systems and Heian in others. By working through this series (in order: Shodan, Nidan, Sandan, Yodan, Godan) the practitioner learns all the basic stances and techniques before moving on to more advanced kata. Traditionally, kata are taught in stages, with previously learned kata being returned to in order to show more advanced techniques or ways of doing things, as beginners don't have the same knowledge and experience that practioners further up the ranks have. It is not uncommon in some styles to have students going for Shodan (first rank black belt) gradings to have to repeat every kata they've learned from the first belt, but at a "black belt" level, ie with better technique, power, etc. This system is often used for the lower grades as well, where they do one new kata and one or two previous ones, to see how much they have progressed and how quickly they can learn new things.

Many martial arts use kata for public demonstrations and in competitions, awarding points for such aspects of technique as style, balance, timing, and verisimilitude (appearance of being real).

Critics of kata argue that they produce stereotyped responses, making unexpected moves by opponents more dangerous. They claim that kata teaches the student very little, since it is mostly a matter of 'monkey see - monkey do' instead of the actual mastery of techniques. Martial arts is the livelihood for many teachers. As many, or even most people do not have the skills to become an accomplished martial artist, failure might turn them away from martial arts, thus threatening the income of the teacher. Critics of Kata claim that kata gives the teacher a chance to give students the impression that they have really learned something, while all they have learned is mimic the teacher's moves. The object of these teachers, then, is not to teach the students something useful, but to make them continue their lessons (and pay the teacher's fees). Critics also make the same point about the (coloured) belt system, claiming it is more about giving the student a sense of accomplishment so that they will continue to follow lessons than indicating actual skill, however defenders of the belt system point out that it is just as important for teaching reasons as having different grades in school, and any arrogance, etc about belt grades is a failure to teach them the more spiritual aspects of karate, such as humility and self-control.

Defenders of kata practice say that it is akin to the practice of meditationMeditation usually refers to a state of extreme relaxation and concentration, in which the body is generally at rest and the mind quieted of surface thoughts. Several major religions include ritual meditation; however, meditation itself need not be a reli and that performing these ritualized moves again and again means that they can be performed without thinking, exactly the sort of ability you may need in a genuine self-defense situation. Kata, then, is a form of 'moving meditation,' giving the martial artist the unthinking muscle-memory upon which to draw in the heat of battle, where the time spent having to think about what to do next may mean the difference between victory and defeat. Kata practice may also provide the more traditional benefits of meditation: increased focus, awareness and self-discipline. Also, as kata are solo battles, they enable various techniques and concepts to be practiced for actualy use in fights. The Goju-Ryu kata of Saifa, for example, aims to teach the student correct movement of hips to generate power in short spaces or when grabbed, and thus incorporates techniques that can only work if you use your hips correctly.