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Spaniard
Spaniard's picture
Adapting a kata into practice

If you were going to practice a kata for the bunkai benefit from another style, would you try to learn it as is from another style or adapt to your present style.  (By adapt, I mean use the basics as nuanced for your present style, like if you did Isshin Ryu, do vertical punches instead of full twist.)

I come from a TKD background that used simplified ITF/Chang Hon forms, I learned the Shotokan Pinan and Naihanchi at one point and now practice Kajukenbo.

I am learning toward adapting it to Kajukenbo, but I was just curious what opinions either way there were.

Regards-

Spaniard

Iain Abernethy
Iain Abernethy's picture

If you are looking to learn the kata, as opposed to the “style”, then I would keep the structure of the form “as is”, but I’d have no problem using my existing way of moving as opposed to trying to adopt an alternative. That’s pretty much what we see in all the existing styles i.e. Shotokan perform the kata in a Shotokan way, Wado perform the kata in a Wado way, Shito-Ryu perform the kata in a Shito-Ryu way, etc … but the general structure remains the same across they styles. Common structure should therefore remain, but there is no issue when it comes to choice of style based idiosyncrasies.

All the best,

Iain

Wastelander
Wastelander's picture

I think it depends on the material--if changing the mechanics doesn't change the material contained in the kata, then it would certainly be easier to use your existing way of moving and applying it to the new pattern of techniques. That said, if I practice KishimotoDi kata with the body mechanics of Shorin-Ryu, then I lose some of my applications. These days, most kata have had the technique-specific mechanics removed, anyway, so it isn't going to ruin the kata, either way. If it works for you, then do it!

Spaniard
Spaniard's picture

By the way, so far I am looking at Naihanchi, Kushanku and Bassai (Dai).

Spaniard