Martial Arts: Why Are Kata Shown Differently?
It was an excellent question for the martial arts.
Kata, one of the primary methods for transmitting the arts, why are they sometimes shown differently?
If they are shown different every time, how can the *correct* version be passed to the next generation?
The first question depends on the art and tradition itself.
Some martial arts have an exact kata- it is done this way and only this way.
Other arts have a more open interpretation, and depending on the master, there could be two or three *correct* ways to do the kata.
Some kata also have an ura-waza.
A second way of doing it, a bit different, but also technically *correct*.
How a kata is shown also depends on the audience.
What if it is a seminar or workshop of different rank/level students and a part of the kata might involve a difficult part or a dangerous part?
Perhaps that part is changed or left out so the group can still get some of the meaning and strategy of the kata?
Perhaps one way to think of it is this: many ways to do it correctly and many way to do it incorrectly.