“What good is Kata in a fight?” Is not a question anyone who knows what kata is ever asks. It seems obvious though, doesn’t it? What good is learning a prearranged series of movements when fights are chaotic? Rarely then does anyone ask the most obvious question: “Is kata meant to be used in a fight?” The answer being a rather obvious “No, it‘s a training tool.” So why has kata been the staple training method for the best part of one thousand years then? Given that in that period of time Japan has only seen about two hundred years of peace I would suggest that the bushi found that it was a valuable training tool.

At this point I’d like to inform the reader that in Aikido kata is often misleadingly called technique. O-Sensei, however, was quite emphatic about Aikido having no techniques:
“In reality, Aikido has no forms, no set patterns. It is like an invisible wave of energy. However, such a phenomenon is too difficult for human beings to grasp, so we use provisional forms to explain it and put it into practice.” (Stevens 2002 p36)
The kata of Aikido are those provisional forms and by studying them the student of Aikido learns a variety of things such as timing, distancing, body mechanics, ukemi and kata also conditions the body to be strong enough to move with correct posture which is central to generating power. Also kata is role-play; tori has to be bold and decisive; so even if the student is a timid person kata practice will force them to become strong.
As the student progresses they will come across many variations, or henka, of the different kata and they will notice that the same kata is performed more or less identically regardless of the attack, they will also notice elements of one kata in other kata; for example Gaedan Irimi Nage starts off just like Shiho Nage.

Eventually the student comes to understand the unity of all the kata that they are all simply expressions of Aikido with its limitless applications. O-Sensei stated that there were about one thousand basic techniques in Aikido, in other words the fifteen or so kata that we study have about one thousand possible applications.
Here we see the utility of kata and why the bushi valued it: Which would you rather learn? One thousand techniques for one thousand specific situations or fifteen kata that can be adapted as you need them? Of course this is not an easy approach to budo training. As O-Sensei said:
“Instructors can impart a fraction of the teaching. It is through your own devoted practice that the mysteries of the Art of Peace are brought to life.” (Stevens 2002 p65)

Alex Lawrence, Nikyu no Zanshin Kai.