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Kata, a Japanese word, meaning literally: “form”, is a detailed choreographed pattern of movements when training. It is practiced as a way to memorize and perfect the movement being executed.
There are many professions which use the term Kata, but Kata as a term is known generally by the Martial Arts world, and typically reserved for Japanese empty hand combat systems (Karate -meaning empty hand). Traditional Korean Karate, called (Tang Soo Do) uses the term Kata and some Tang Soo Do schools do not, which is brought on by the memory of the Japanese and Korean war, where in at that time traditional Korean Karate was introduced.
Kata are used in many traditional Japanese arts such as theatre forms like kabuki and schools of tea ceremony (chadō), but are most commonly known for the presence in the martial arts. Kata are used by most Japanese and Okinawan martial arts, such as aikido, judo, kendo, kenpo, and karate.
