Kata By Opponent

There are many ways to think about kata; in terms of precise movements or the reasoning behind the movement eg a block, strike etc. They are relaxing, exhausting and fun all at the same time. They were once a way of training warriors in fast, fatal hand to hand combat and a means of maintaining family honor and status. Initially, we all start out by just trying to remember the moves in sequence. After this we can move on and focus on what it's really about. After some thought I've decided that although kata is a form with many benefits, it is simply about one thing - effectively fighting opponents. A perfectly executed kata with not a limb out of place would be useless without effective power, no more than a dance. Far better to go out there with spirit and blunder through an imperfect reproduction with one or two effective moves than to dance across the Dojo. My Sensei often refers to a students less than perfect kata as 'having spirit'. By this he means it was really pretty bad, but at least you tried. However, his response to a move-only kata performance evokes a mixture of annoyance, disappointment and nausea in him all at the same time followed by a 5 minute lecture on the importance of 'technique' by which he means making moves that generate effective power. After I've learned the move sequence, I want to understand the opponent sequence and try to visualize finishing of each one.