Kata Question 2

[pasmith]

Totally agree.

"Pure performance of a kata leads us nowhere if we do not understand them, and then test them on a partner, gradually working up the resistance. "

Never has a truer word been said IMHO.

It's the drilling with a partner that I feel most clubs neglect. They learn the kata, discuss what the moves can or could (theoretically) be used for (or the instructor shows a few things) and then never go further than that. The individual never "owns" the kata.

I firmly believe that you do not truly know a technique until you can routinely perform it on a resisting partner (and even that does not equate to real mastery or usefulness for reality, merely an indicator).
In fact it's during such drilling and sparring that you truly "learn" the technique.
A leg kick for example is learnt by kicking people in the legs. Kicking pads or the air only build up to true learning, they are not actually the final barometer.

[dickclark]

It is not clear to me from any thing I have read that the martial arts was only practiced by the upper class. I would not think that the average farmer in the field would have have a formal training program. However Okinawa was a sea trading power at one time, and there were lots of pirates out there, so it would be no small surprise that a lot filtered down. Much of the Okinawan history tells of so an so of such and such village was known for his prowess. So some filtered down. If you go around the world almost every village group has some kind of martial art that comes out as a dance, you see it in the Africa, Mongolia and so on. So I would not say it was a slam dunk that only the upper class were masters.
As for kata for self defense I would have to say it is there, but for the most part we do not really practice kata for that purpose. How often do we practice the wrist grab release from H1, or the grasp in H5 and so on. I mean in a realistic manner. For the most part kata has become a performance, which really has made it irrelevant to self defense. Sad