Thread: What Kata Isn't
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Old 12-10-2013, 11:58 AM   #19
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Re: What Kata Isn't

Quote:
Peter Boylan wrote: View Post
I would have to strongly disagree with this. Kumite is a term that comes out of the Okinawan Te tradition. Traditionally in Japan, all kata were and continue to be paired practice (with the exception of live blade iai, for obvious safety reasons).
There are some koryu that incorporate non-kata training. Just off the top of my head:

Maniwa Nen ryu does rules-bound sparring after the beginner level
Owari Kan ryu does rules-bound sparring before the beginner level

(but I have heard that the Owari Kan ryu practice (of the Shumpukan) is a post-Meiji addition. Maniwa Nen ryu might not have been using such practice methods until the Edo period.)

So that's actually kumite as Alec is referring to it. As far as solo:

Yagyu Shingan ryu teaches solo drills.
Kashima Shinden Jikishinkage ryu do lots of suburi.

I wonder if these are recent additions as well? I also wonder how far back the practice of solo iai kata goes...a guess a good starting place is Katori - did they always have solo iaijutsu or was it once paired?
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