The Strategic and Savage Mind.

One thing that comes up when studying the works of people like Myamoto Musashi or Yagyu Munenori is that their focus was not on proper technique, but on what would give them the upper hand in achieving their goals...Victory.
It always started with strategy, the circumstances would determine the proper tactics, the goal being to control the circumstances in order to remain several steps ahead of their opponents.

They understood, via experience, what it took and, quite often it was a messy ordeal that required more of a savage, yet strategic, sort of mindset rather than perfect technique.
One would be hard pressed to find this sort of person in a modern Dojo prancing around in clean white go working requirements for their next colored piece of cloth... These sort of things carry little meaning for someone that has been in situations where they actually have to fight, tooth and nail, for their next breath.
There are exceptions, of course, but generally arts like Karate have become nothing more than a peculiar pastime where students march up and down a floor in neatly pressed Gi punching and kicking air or playing games of tag with one another calling it Kumite.

Most times, if one were to ask about the strategy of a given Karate School, no practitioner would be able to give a straight answer, let alone how tactics within each Kata outline specific strategy of said Kata not how these outline the school’s overall strategy.
There are some out there who can, but overall there is very little written on it as far as Karate is concerned and most get their strategic education from Japanese Swordsmen, which is not necessarily the same thing (although these can yield some insight into how one should think strategically).

Some study Judo in order to better understand, some study Kendo, some study Jujitsu, all of which are great additions to a core art, but one has to remember that Karate is Karate and all of these have different approaches to achieve different strategic ends, albeit with SOME overlap.
Yes one can say that the end is victory, but in a strategic mindset the way to victory is dependent on the moment, this is true, but understanding tactics provides a clear picture of what one needs to do should a situation change in a certain way.
Ultimately none of these matter when all is said and done, one has to abandon the idea of schools and styles in the heat of the moment otherwise become bogged down and overloaded.

The point of understanding tactics and strategy is not to be mired in the mess of Tradition, but to know something so deep that it no longer requires conscious thinking, it is part of you and you know how and when to deviate from one method to another without having to think or assess.
Shu is where we start, Ha is where we learn, Ri is where we get savage and break away from all of it and apply.

In Karate we are not following this and most methods are actually counter productive when it comes to fostering this mindset - we have lost our way in the name of preserving Tradition, becoming even more lost when our minds are more set in an ‘us’ versus ‘them’ attitude.
Do we really even know why something is done a specific way when we say ‘this is how WE do that?’ Doubtful.
It is nothing more than a story we tell ourselves in order to defend our own position because it makes us feel great to be part of a Tradition.
Ego stroking aside, when we have to defend ourselves or our families our assailants are not going to care.

What does each Kata bring to the table? What are they each trying to tell us? Which Kata show us how to enter? Which show us how to respond if a person does a specific thing to counter? Where does Kata lack in vital information and where do we find that information in order to make up for what is lacking?
Karateka of old were not static in their approach and they did not name techniques the way they are named now.
They had descriptions like ‘man carries water’ to describe specific principles and there was no one proper way to employ these principles because everyone is different and plans never survive their implementation when the rubber hits the road.

One has to continuously analyze (Bunkai) in order to apply (Oyo) while being prepared to vary (Henka) when an opponent does something not necessarily expected.
The overall strategy remains the same, the tactics employed are not altogether changed, in essence, but in application and there will be NOTHING pretty or stylized about any of it.

What are the strategies of Goju Ryu? Does it matter? Strategic thinking does, strategic awareness does, but the school does not.
If you are primarily a thrower then you are going to employ tactics to that end and any striking you utilize will support that, this is where it ends.

Karate is, primarily, about striking, any other aspect is in support of that or secondary to it.
However, such a statement is too much of a blanket statement and does not account for the individual, whom will ultimately come to their own understanding through training and experience.

This should be encouraged. To show the strategy and use this as a point of departure down the path of true self discovery and actualization, where strategic thinking permeates all aspects of life.

Context, Concept, and Mechanics.

When we finally get beyond ways of thinking and training that are set in concrete standards of classification and can get beyond any sort of stylistic notions we may truly begin to find what is useful within what we are doing.
Approaching from a conceptual standpoint, with an open mind, yet grounded in context with respect to basic laws of motion nd the focus/intent behind each within said context will do FAR more for understanding than approaching from a technique oriented mindset for the sake of technique and style preservation alone.

Because 'Sensei says' is far too often a mantra in Dojo that purport to teach self -defense and this really does a disservice to students who leave thinking they have any understanding at all when no real explanation has been given... No real instruction has been rendered.

Going through mindless repetitions of choreographed drills only does so much and really only shows that one can memorize choreographed drills.
When these drills become more important than actual skill you can rest assured that you are no longer studying a self-defense oriented system.

Are we thinking about the mechanics behind what we are told is a punch or are we just accepting this at face value?
Look at a punch in context, what does an effective punch look like? We would be drawn more towards boxing style punches as effective and start to realize what we are doing is not necessarily inclusive of effective punching mechanics.
This is true of we are only taking certain aspects into account, forgetting the chamber hand, body alignment, and footwork, nevermind the formation of the fist, which can also seem like a grip.

Context, concept, and mechanics are more important than rote memorization of technique names and choreographed drills.
As Karateka we need to get out of this trap and start growing in order to make Karate what it once was.