Three Pillars of Karate

Kihon, Kata, and Kumite are the three pillars of Karate.  Even though instructors are sure to teach these with varying approaches, a quality school will include all of the key concepts that I will talk about in this article to ensure that students of that school are well-rooted in the basics and have a solid foundation to build on throughout their martial arts journey.

I’ll start off by offering these definitions:

Kihon is the Japanese word for “fundamentals” and is used to represent all of the individual techniques, positions, body mechanics, and mental states that establish the martial foundation that the art will be built upon.

Proper breathing, blocking, punching, kicking, and proper body mechanics for efficiently executing each are the components that make up kihon.

All students of all martial arts must begin with the study and practice of the fundamentals.  All experienced martial arts practitioners are very wise to continue the regular practice and perfection of the fundamentals to progressively improve all other things in their art.

Kata is the Japanese word for “form” and is used to refer to any number of pre-arranged movements and techniques combined in set series.  The length of kata varies widely with many falling somewhere in the 20 to 30 movements ballpark and outliers reaching to 100+ total movements.  Typically a particular style of Karate would have a specific list of kata used as one point of skill measurement and rank advancement.

Kata of the same name, practiced by different styles or dojos (even within the same style) of Karate will often have slight variations on the included movements and techniques based on lineage of the instructor or group affiliation while still maintaining the same martial concepts.

Kumite is the Japanese word for “grappling hands” and is used to refer to the act of putting the techniques and movements of kihon and kata into practice against one or multiple opponents.

Kumite can range from a few scripted exchanges to freeform sparring to a set number of points (in cases of sport-focused training) or time limit.

Over the years I’ve heard many different analogies, some good and some not so good, used to put these classifications into perspective for students.  The analogy that I like to use is that of language.  We all have a language that we are very familiar with and put into practice every day without really giving it a lot of conscious thought.


With that in mind, I tend to think of kihon in the perspective of the letters of an alphabet.  Before you can adequately express your thoughts and feelings in a way that others would comprehend, you must learn an alphabet.  You learn the shapes of the letters, the sound each letter signifies, and the intricacies involved with using multiple letters together to make complex sounds and eventually complete words.

Once you have mastered the alphabet it’s time to put it to use.  I compare kata to the sentences that can be crafted from the individual letters and words of kihon.  Now you are able to express complete thoughts and ideas that others with a working knowledge of that same alphabet can then understand.  Those others may even choose to remember your thoughts and ideas and then share them with even more people that know the same alphabet.  This is very similar to the original purpose of kata.  When written records could potentially put a master at risk of persecution and a language barrier might hinder communication, kata would be used to share and preserve techniques, strategies, and martial concepts from master to master and master to student.

After learning how to write full sentences, it’s time to start telling your own story.  You can compile numerous words and sentences together in various combinations to compose paragraphs and conversations.  This is the point at which your kihon and kata practice is put to the test as you produce your own personal expression of self and how you choose to apply the fundamentals you’ve mastered with near-limitless boundries.  This is kumite.  Face off with one or more partners/opponents/adversaries and have a conversation.  


All The Heavenly Glory
To wrap this up, I hope that this has been a valuable use of my alphabet to share information with those of you with a mastery of the same alphabet.

Here’s the part where I expose the real magic of it all.  For those practitioners that are dedicated enough to study, practice, and advance through the phases from kihon to kata to kumite repeatedly over the course of many years the ultimate enlightenment is the point of turning all of those letters, words, and sentences not only into conversations but into poetry.  This is the point of mastery where very little conscious effort is required to enact and improvise the practical and efficient use of the techniques, positions, and body mechanics in any situation without forewarning.  This is the goal of our physical training... the years of blood, sweat, and tears that we all long to spend in the dojo.


Add to the conversation and let me know your thoughts and experiences as you have developed your own foundation with these three pillars of Karate.