Katas are Unusable Due to Insufficient Practice.

In judo the “over the Seoinage” and the “nage no kata” are the same technique, but it takes a lot of practice to be able to use it. Accordingly, unless one practices a certain amount, they will not be able “own” that technique, so the notion that a “technique cannot be used without sufficient practice” is valid. Also, since there are some techniques, which are prohibited in kumite competition, it is possible that they will not be practiced.

It is often said that “unless one practices for 20 -30 years, one will not be able to actually use it.” Is that really true, though? It has been over 80 years since karate was introduced to the mainland. There are many karate practitioners who have been training for over 20 – 30 years primarily using katas, but there are perhaps only a small percentage who are able to apply them practically.

Furthermore, if it takes 20 to 30 years of practice to be able to use a technique, it can hardly be considered practical. In the case of other martial arts on the mainland, historically there are many instances where it is possible to attain a master ranking after training for five to six years. Of course polishing one’s techniques takes a lifetime, but if it takes too long to learn the techniques of a particular style, then the very existence of that style may be in danger. In the days when the average life expectancy was fifty years, if it took thirty years to master the techniques of one’s style, then the practitioner would die before they would be able to pass it on and the style would die out in one generation.

Thus we see that the idea that insufficient practice is responsible for kata being unusable is not applicable here.