Ricerc@Sapienza

The starting point of this paper is the idea of karate as an exemplary form of life, in
order to study its relationship with the form of the body. To demonstrate this thesis, I will
analyze the role of kata, that is the formal exercises of karate, aimed at developing rhythm
and coordination through a series of techniques systematically organized, performed in a
pre-established sequence. The kata is an imaginary fighting without an opponent, but it
also functions as a text based on a system of beliefs, which serves to define the conditions
of interpretation of the form of life and the conditions of circulation of its axiology.