Iain Abernethy - The Practical Application Of Karate

This month’s podcast is called “Occam's Hurdled Katana”; which is my favourite title of all the podcasts we have ever done! In the podcast we look at the three most prevalent approaches to kata (and kata application) and analyse them using a logical principle called “Occam's Razor”. All historical and practical pros and cons are temporarily put to one side as we look at things from a purely logical perspective. To be clear, I feel it is perfectly acceptable for anyone to choose to approach kata in whichever way they wish. That does not, however, mean that all approaches are equal. Some approaches are more functional and logical than others as neither property is “in the eye of the beholder”. If claims of validity are to be made, then they need to be backed up. With this in mind, the podcast looks at where the “burden of proof” lies when discussing which approach is to be the favoured one. The final part of the podcast looks at how the discussion about which approach to kata is the right one needs to pro