You Might Consider Zeno's Paradox

In order to understand any kata technique application potential, perhaps it is best to set that technique aside, as a beginning point.

 

Later, the potential of your chosen technique entets the picture. But not so much at the beginning, IMO. There are much more important things to talk about.

 

First and foremost there is the attack. Once we understand what the attack offers us, then tactical issues come into play. Again, stepping through the basic attack template only then does the technique choice become reasonable to understand.

 

So we begin, and use a very simple attack for this discussion. After all everyone starts somewhere. Our attack of choice is simply anything that is moving in our direction. Keeping it simple for the starting point.

 

The attack (strike, bite or perhaps kick) moved through space towards you, who are the target. And it moves through the space towards you while traveling forward through time. Determining location and time of movement.

 

On the other hand, you might not move at all, retreat back out of range (but acceleration forward can be faster than acceleration made in retreat – there are still possibilities presented there. The movement forward of that attack leaves a space to respond, on it’s interior and on it’s exterior. On that interior you can move into that space, as well as move away from the space. On the exterior you can more into that space as  well as move away from that space,

 

This is simplified, but we must obtain some understanding what choices the attack offers.

 

1. Stand our ground.

2. Retreat to the rear.

3. Move toward the exterior line of defense to the rear.

4. Move toward the exterior line of defense to the front.

5. Move toward the interior line of defense to the rear.

6. Move toward the interior line of defense to the front.

 

While each of these layers of choice, in turn offers other layers, this is a reasonable understanding of what is possible.

 

Then tactical considerations can be studied and made for analysis.

 

I specifically said move toward when motion was made to the rear, as retreat is not a consideration against the attack. Of course that is also a tactical consideration but for this discussion about use of kata technique, that is not what we are discussing.

 

Each choice presents different possibilities, On each option, the choice is not right or wrong. Rather possibilities to explore and then choice which to exploit is acquired.

 

Now making this a simpler concept, let us choose to move forward against the attack, into the space beside the attack, the hole that attack presents on the interior and the exterior of the attack,

 

At this point of the analysis, we will not concern ourselves if that response is straight forward, or angled across the attack. Too many options make a basic analysis descend toward the babble complex. That comes later with additional analysis.

 

Every attack, offers a space, or a vacuum surrounding that attack that you can exploit. (of course we could just use that space to avoid the attack and then counter-attack alone, yet another possible variable).

 

Perhaps you stayed awake in school, perhaps you didn’t. There was a concept that was discussed I have not forgotten. “Zeno’s Paradox” a variation of which offers an interesting way of using that idea to understand the attack.

 

For our discussion Zeno’s Paradox talked about the theoretical inability to move to the end of a movement. Restated any movement first required you to move half way first, but even before that you would have to first move ½ of that distance… and so forth. The way that argument was presented, each section of the movement could not be completed as you first had to move half that distance… As stated it was a type of logical paradox…. In the actual world, you just move to the desired end, paying no attention to the logical paradox involved.

 

But this also suggests something we might exploit.

 

Any attack must first pass through a half way point on its way to you the target, and also a point half way to that point, and so forth.

 

Each of those points that attack must pass through is also someplace that you can attack that same attack. Arm, head, leg all when moving through space, at the same time they are possible places to counter attack at each point, too.

 

Thus on the inside that arm attacking offers locations from that space you chose to move into ½ way toward that attack, ¼ way toward that attack, at the point of actualization of that attack. Of course in addition to the targets that the head and torso present.

 

This is where tactical considerations can enter the discussion. When you have made the choice of the tool you are using, where does it best be applied.

 

The answers available are not right or wrong, simply require the right training to actualize them in turn.

 

This is but a starting point leading to more analysis, more questions, more practice….

 

Grow and learn, step by step, day by day.