A flinch is what it is. A martial move that incorporates a flinch is the best way to configure custom brain wiring on top of hard-wired, primal responses. You probably agree with me on that.
Absolutely
This thread has been interesting , and not for the usual reasons , it's hard to articulate a physical art when often folks are saying the same things just different ways.
my little pet joke of dodging is just a thought id put out there , while timing footwork and evasion are very important skills, I see most people using this to make sense of kata , I don't believe this is valid as I think to put it bluntly if you can evade time and dodge everything the technique is fairly redundant.
Id put blocking in there also but one grenade at a time I guess.
but then id be building absolutes , that I'd trip over , words fail the point being made.
Bill your statement of kata being kata and application being application is a prime example
Not so long ago I would of very much disagreed , believing kata must be functional and done with the purpose and for effect clearly its applicative , and yet if taken another way one can be in agreement in the sense that the principles of kata need to fit and adapt to the situation outside of a rigidity of the template.
Also Glens statement that kata is not symbolic and literal , I agree moves should be literal , until as Bill suggests things get to literal and robot ryu sets in , intent as in all things is key.
as for symbolic , the moves undoubtedly are ritualised and symbolic until the partner is reintroduced , more too consider......
the jump is just a variation of a step and a slide , I also pivot , these are the three blocks of movement/footwork so really could be taken in any variation and combination for the experienced.
I think everyone on here probably has an interesting and functional approach to this stuff , would be fun to cross hands and compare.