本来空手は，師と弟子とで一対一で指導教授されていたと言われるが，現在，多くの道場では集団でかけ声に合わせて動作を練習している。動作の仕方や順序を多くの人間が同時に習うことを考えれば，こうした集団での一斉練習は効率が良い。しかしそれは初級者から中級者までならばそれなりに意味があるかもしれないが，すでに動作の仕方や順序が分かっている上級者には全く意味はない。
上級者となれば，学習した動作をどれだけ精緻に仕上げていけるかが当人にとっての課題である。それは集団での一斉稽古では，一向になしえない。つまり，上級者にとって集団稽古は，本質的な稽古にはなりえない。必要なのは，一人で身体を練るか，あるいは師と一対一で指導教授されるか，である。
特に形には，技のつながりと緩急，すなわち，流れがある。メリハリをつけることだけが重要ではない。ときにメリハリを付け，ときにメリハリを付けずに，という具合に，様々な流れで稽古を繰り返すことで見えてくる術の本質がある。一方，集団での稽古では，かけ声をかけたり，数を数えたりして区切りながら動作するが，そうして流れを区割りにするのは，形の本質を無視した稽古方法といえる。せいぜいが動作の仕方や順序の確認としての意味はあると考えたいが，上級者にとっては集団でのそうした稽古はむしろ弊害の方が大きいであろう。空手の形を，かけ声や数で区切るという発想自体が，根本的に間違っている。
したがって，形は，まず動作の仕方と順序を習い，覚えたら後は，自分一人か師と一対一で練る必要がある。それは，師に習った伝統の動作と自身の身体的な感性との調整と融合の上に成り立つ，創造的な表現である。つまり，あくまで創造的な「個」であり，画一的な「集団」で一律に鍛えられるものではない。ましてや，競技として一律の基準で客観的に評価できるものでもないことは，火を見るより明らかである。
Though it is said that karate is basically supervised between a teacher (master) and a student, people in most of dojos at present are practicing the movements in a group along the encouraging shouts. Considering that many people learn the way and order of the movements at the same time, this kind of simultaneous group practice is efficient. However, it may be somehow worth for beginners or intermediate level practitioners, though, it has no meaning for advanced people, who already understand the way and order of the movements.
For advanced ones, how well they can polish the movements they have learned is their business. They will never attain the aim by group practice. This means, group practice cannot be an essential practice of karate for advanced persons. What they have to do is to cultivate their body by themselves, or to be supervised by their teacher on a one-on-one basis.
Especially, katas has the relationships of each technique and the change in speed of the sequence, that is, the flow. The important thing is not only to make the movements sharp. There are essences of the arts emerging by repeating katas according to the various flows such as sometimes making the movements sharp and at other times not. On the other hand, in the group practice, they intermittently move on katas with shouting and counting, but such dividing the flow is said to be an approach ignoring the essences of katas. We hope that the group practice will be meaningful at least for checking the way and order of the movements, though, such practice in a group may have a bad effect on experts rather than a good one. The idea itself to divide katas of karate by shouts and counts is fundamentally wrong.
Therefore, kata must be cultivated by oneself or with a teacher on a one-on-one basis, after the way and sequence of the kata's movement is learned and memorized. That is a creative expression that is based on the adjustment and confusion between the traditional movements learned from teachers and the physical sensibility of one's own. In other word, essentially, kata is conducted by a creative "individual," not be able to be equally developed by an uniform "group." Not to mention, it is as clear as day that kata is not able to be evaluated objectively by a uniform standard as a competition.
