Bunkai

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

Bunkai actually means "analysis" or "disassembly", and is referred to the process of analysing any karate kata.

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 help students get an understanding of how the level of difficulty increases per application but also allow every karateka at all levels to practice the techniques.

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.

Bunkai can be performed in one of four ways:

1. By demonstrating each section of the kata on your own first, followed by the applications.

2. By performing the kata as one whole application from start to finish.

3. As a group performing the kata in sections first, followed by the applications.

4. As a group performing the whole kata first, then the whole kata as an application demonstrating it as a fighting sequence.