Nowadays, there is a smorgasbord of both your standard and fancy bunkai. It is usually served on a silver platter for anyone that knows how to click a mouse button. Many experts and masters travelling the globe to demonstrate their knowhow at the same time receiving a healthy sum for the days work. Bunkai this - bunkai that – funky kicks, funky hips.
Last night when I was demonstrating an application that I had been shown by my own sensei, I realised, god damn that’s a lame technique. To think about it even deeper, everything I have ever been shown when it comes to bunkai has always come under that lame basket. Am I concerned? Definitely not. Having a basic grasp of what you are trying to achieve during the kata while working things out for oneself is of more importance. But whenever I practice alone, I don’t often ponder too much in detail about application. Maybe my own bunkai are as lame as the ones I have been shown. This lack of thinking though - is it considered a karate sin? Is it ok for me to simply do without thinking so much? How about yourself – do you think much about bunkai? If so, how lame is it? 😊
