Do you believe the kata were originally practiced in the formal manner we see so often today in koryu arts? Or as presented in this video? Or is it possible the formal appearance of the kata today is the result of preservation efforts by those who weren't actually training soldiers for combat? What are your thoughts on that?
Yes. This is how everything was taught in Japan, especially for the upper classes, when these arts came into being. Arts, including martial arts, reflect the culture they come from. How much time formal kata practice takes up depends on the school, some have only formal kata while others have lots of other stuff like sparring. I would say in the modern times the amount of time spent doing formal kata compared to other things has increased though.
Great demonstrations, thank you so much. From Taiwan Kendo Federation
This is awesome nice moves
Good to have a channel dedicated to the study of Samurai martial arts... i hope to see more in future. Thanks for all the work you put into that.
Do you believe the kata were originally practiced in the formal manner we see so often today in koryu arts? Or as presented in this video? Or is it possible the formal appearance of the kata today is the result of preservation efforts by those who weren't actually training soldiers for combat? What are your thoughts on that?
Yes. This is how everything was taught in Japan, especially for the upper classes, when these arts came into being. Arts, including martial arts, reflect the culture they come from.
How much time formal kata practice takes up depends on the school, some have only formal kata while others have lots of other stuff like sparring. I would say in the modern times the amount of time spent doing formal kata compared to other things has increased though.