The benchmark in understanding kata! There has never been another book like it. A detailed explanation of the study of kata in karate that applies to any system. Make your kata study infinite! Chapters include: What You See is Not What you Get; Why Methods Die Out; Change of Structure, Change of Meaning; All Kata is Training; The Value of the Kata Training Method; Kata, Waza, Bunkai, and Oyo; The Map is Not the Territory; Other Analogies to Kata; The Kata of Code; Cracking the Code; Types and Modes of Bunkai. Over 150 photographs.
"One of the things that drew me to Annesi Hanshi's teachings was his ability to make “sense” of the Karate Kata that I practiced, and even more impressive to me was that he had a 'method' to do so. I have my own personal way to analyze the Karate Kata I practice, which is sometimes different than the way Annesi Hanshi may look at the same move. That to me is indicative of the strength and robustness of a method in that two people using it can come to two different yet equally workable expressions. It's been said that Kata are the soul of Karate. This book and the methods contained within are an important key to making that a reality in one's practice." -- Sensei Wesley Tasker
"With unusual clarity and good humor, Hanshi Tony Annesi teaches progressively according to principle: from fundamentals that manifest principles formally to subtle feats that embody them nearly formlessly. Cracking the Kata Code applies his skills of analysis and synthesis to traditional forms. Annesi invites us to understand kata as gestural poetry, as elaborated combinations, and above all as movement studies that can be liberated by “transmutation” into a range of functions. To learn from martial tradition without getting stuck in it, we need to crack the code and discover ‘how a kata means’!" -- Dr. C. Wes DeMarco, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, Clark University
"I have read this book twice, and each time walked away with a different and deeper understanding of Kata and application. This book draws on different types of artistry to better help the reader understand how, within Martial Arts, Kata has been used and could be interpreted. Cracking the Kata Code is a “must have” for the martial arts library of any serious student of Karate Kata."
-- Darrell Collins, Soke, Nippon Shinshin Ryu
CONTENTS
Introductory: How Does a Kata Mean?...............5
1. What You See Is Not What You Get...............9
2. Why Methods Die Out...............23
3. Change of Structure, Change of Meaning...............27
4. All Kata is Training................33
5. The Value of the Kata Training Method...............41
6. Kata, Waza, Bunkai and Oyo...............53
7. The Map is Not the Territory...............59
8. Other Analogies to Kata...............63
9. The Kata of Code...............71
10. Cracking the Code...............79
11. Types and Modes of Bunkai...............101
Kata Has Meaning: Take to Work a Cached Code or
Code Teaching Track a.k.a. Who Does Kata Mean? or
Who Does Kata Mean? Taking Cached Kata Core...............135
Martial Artist or Martial Artisans?
Martial Kata and the Performing Arts...............141 • BIBLIOGRAPHY ...............147
• INDEX and Glossary of Terms...............149
• INDEX to Charts...............156
• Endnotes...............157
• Thanks...............159
• About the Author...............161
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