Bunkai

Once a student knows the movements of a kata, a black belt will then demonstrate the applications of that Kata to the class to show the students what is happening, so that they can effectively bring the Kata to life in their own unique way.

A good Karate-ka will have a deep understanding of Kata and its background along with its applications.

At Stafford Shotokan Karate, we teach kata applications at three levels to get an understanding of who the level of difficulty increases and can appeal to all levels for students.

1. Basic applications - only showing each move as a defence or counter attack.

2. Intermediate applications - showing a combination of moves within each kata and looking at various ways of either attacking or defending for that specific movement.

3. Advanced applications - showing complex movements and hidden techniques within the kata.