The Philosophy Behind Bunkai
So what is the philosophy behind bunkai.? This concept is a known Karate technique where kata is deconstructed and studied for its offensive and defensive elements. Let’s say your sensei selected a portion of a kata in order to show its practitioners how this kata element could be used to defend against an attack (straight punch, side kick, etc.). Bunkai does not have to be the same for each kata element because there can be different interpretations and applications. Understanding bunkai in more depth requires a partner or a small group so you can demonstrate attacks and counters measures.
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?
Quite simply if you were to use bunkai in a self defence scenario you would realise that every situation will be different. For instance your attackers could be different sizes, have different strengths but also weaknesses. Just like when you spar different people, what works against one opponent may not work for you against another. If practitioners only looked at kata in exactly the same way or only practiced the same offence and defence techniques.
You will build muscle memory but you can also fail to grasp the true purpose of what they’re trying to accomplish. The importance of learning how to adapt your techniques to different opponents but also the situation and surrounding environment.
ADAPTABILITY
Have you ever watched your instructors in your dojo show you a bunkai for a particular kata. You may have discovered that each sensei will often show a different bunkai for the same technique. This is because it all comes down to your own individual interpretation of the techniques but also the size of the opponent.
Why is this the case you may ask?. Well because even instructors also come in different sizes. One of my instructors is quite tall but my 2nd is shorter than me. Therefore they would need to adapt their bunkai accordingly to the situation to fight me as their opponent. This is exactly how bunkai is meant to be practiced.
The philosophy of bunkai is about analysing the kata and its many techniques from all different angles. But also as previously stated you need practice on different types of training partners. This includes larger, smaller, female, males and also different belt ranks. All these techniques are important to add to your martial arts arsenal for each technique and so it can be used at a moment’s notice.
HOW DO YOU PRACTICE BUNKAI?
By doing exactly what the word means: break down a kata.
The basic steps are:
- Choose a kata.
- Pick a sequence of the kata.
- Analyze the movements of that sequence.
- Apply the techniques in a self-defence scenario.
Sounds easy doesn’t it ? Trust me it’s not…
This process of “reverse engineering” a kata is difficult for many people, because of their limited ability to see kata as a pragmatic self-defence tool. Rather than an abstract dojo dance, holds them back from realizing the true potential of kata’s practical applications.
THE 1st PHASE OF LEARNING BUNKAI
The first phase of bunkai is learning the basics of your individual systems. By using the practice of kihon, drills, kata, and self defence we learn how to introduce our bodies to the art of fighting.
I remember when I first started to learn bunkai getting stuck in the first phase. Thinking if this person strikes like this, then I can block like that. Easy peasy right. But when you really have to think about more difficult techniques and think outside the box, it seems almost impossible.
SECOND PHASE OF THE PHILOSOPHY BEHIND BUNKAI
This is the moment where you learn to break down your kata and learn to rebuild it. What I mean is by slowly analysing what your techniques are doing and visualising what an opponents could be doing. Instead of using a single solution to a single problem. We need to look at concepts like distance, timing, and environments are factored into the equation. Think about where you could be kicking, striking, joint locks or executing throws. As you can imagine, there are a lot of possibilities.
THIRD PHASE OF BUNKAI
When you learning bunkai it can sometimes feel very frustrating, but the long term benefits are worth it. As you start examining different techniques individually and challenging yourself with constantly changing situations. This process forces you to analyze all aspects of the technique. I was always told that sometimes a block can be just a block, but other times it can be also be a strike. It is all about learning through trial and error.
The more you practice this, you will notice that various techniques and pieces of kata will start to remind you that other connections between the techniques can be made.
Taking the time to fail and try new things is the best way to really learn a kata.
Remember a technique is more than just how it looks at the end. There is space, time, and events occuring between stances and punches. Analyse this more closely, this is what the philosophy behind bunkai is all about.
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN KATA AND BUNKAI
Karate, like other martial arts, have slowly shifted away from their traditional roots as practical fighting systems. And have become more and more about competition. Martial Arts is much more than becoming fitter, more disciplined, more aware of your body, and being part of a community of like-minded people than getting into fights. In reality, very few martial artists will end up in a fight. As martial artists we should always strive to avoid physical altercations or use de-escalation skills in a dangerous situation. Remember there is no guarantee that you will succeed in physical combat .
I believe that kata serves the function of making learning the art much easier to learn. Techniques such as blocks, kicks, punches and stances in a kata are better learned and executed as sequences than just isolated moves. If you take a looked at the basic ‘fighting stance’ known as zenkutsu dachi (front stance) . This particular stance gives a karate practitioner’s a solid base to execute blocks, strikes and kicks. Also this makes it easier to move from one stance into another.
COMPARISON FROM DOJO TO THE REALITY
In a real life self defence scenario getting into a perfect stance may be impossible to achieve because of how quickly an attack can take place. This is why it’s important to learn that if you find yourself in close quarters to an opponent. Then your stance may need to be modified to be shorter so you can strike more quickly.
When you first begin your martial arts journey it’s important for beginners to develop solid basics, simple technique first. Instead of diving right into the deep end, it’s wise to slowly build up reaction time and confidence in technique.
Training in martial arts is a progressive journey . As you become more efficient in your chosen art, you can started to fully understand bunkai and breaking it down until you achieves its core intended effectiveness.
Now you might be thinking to yourself, “How come the bunkai I learned from my Sensei is different than what you described.” That is quite all right! Bunkai has a mountains of possibilities and there is right or wrong when it comes to your own interpretation. What really matters is how we go about analyzing our kata and how we can make ourselves more effective.
KATA INSIGHT (THE PHILOSOPHY BEHIND BUNKAI)
In all katas, your non-striking hand is quickly pulled back tight into the chambering position. I always wondered why you would do that, when it’s not something you would naturally do. This both prepares it for the next technique so that when the hand is used for a strike. You can rotate your hips for optimal power. But in a fight, you have to be able to strike a lot more quickly. And the best way to achieve speeding up a punch is you need to hold your hands out in front of you. Showing a would be attacker that you don’t want trouble. But easy to close your fists and immediately strike if a threat is imminent. Now the punch may not be as powerful or look as elegant, but this may be the difference between your attacker being hit or you being hit.
Practising the ideal stances in a kata, and then analysing them through bunkai, teaches you how to intelligently translate the ideal form into its practical applications. I remember once being told “ that while kata is about mastering your own form, bunkai is about mastering an opponent”.
FINAL THOUGHTS
To sum up, when understanding bunkai. Analyse the way you preform your bunkai and adapt it each time in different circumstances. There is no “single” answer for each technique in the kata, and thus no single bunkai that can be used in every situation. If you train with this mind, and disregard the idea that we must all do the same unified bunkai in the same way, we will move towards a more self-fulfilling, productive training regime, and towards a more varied, practical tools of bunkai.
Without a solid foundation and instinctual integration of your style’s stances, punches, and basic techniques nothing else can be changed . However, if you do achieve a level of proficiency, you are able to explore your art even deeper and improving the way you go about your training. I hope you enjoyed reading the philosophy behind bunkai.