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Ok, first thing - There are NO HIDDEN TECHNIQUES in karate regardless of the system or style! People use such sound-bite to make things seem and sound more that what they are and it is simply a gimmick to get folks fooled into thinking something is very special about this or that system or style to make it unique, different and exclusive to a group or dojo or system or style.
The minute you add a “HOOK” to something such as HIDDEN or MYSTERIOUS or ANCIENT , etc., you are putting in a HOOK, a hook being symbolically a word that is just like a fishing hook where you have that dangling bait there to entice fish to bite and then once they do you have them hooked into your belief system.
Hooks are use in all sorts of ways to get one to do something such as the verbal hooks a person will use to get someone else to bite to their needs and beliefs so they can give themselves the excuse to behave in certain ways and all that jazz.
Kata, in my opinion, are not about techniques in the literal sense we all seem to follow. Kata are not even the so-called complex fighting systems but rather tools to learn about principles, fundamental principles. They are about leaning how to utilize our minds and bodies for defense, etc.
There are not techniques “INHERENTLY HIDDEN” in anything. Techniques are techniques and just because someone is able to create something unique to the knowledge and experience levels of those who may be following, etc., does not make them hidden or secret (another buzz word to HOOK). Trust me on this, hand-to-hand fighting has been around a very long time and there are simply so many ways to apply said body and mind toward defense, fighting or combatives (all these are really just the same exact thing but with different human applied rules hooked on for specific conditions and situations of any given moment, etc.).
I try to have novices focus on atomistic specifics in the very beginning but always as they inter-connect with certain principles be they fundamental to actual martial systems or to conflict, violence and violent conflicts. I always try to get those newbies past the atomistic studies when it comes to applications in a reality based adrenal stress condition training mode because all this hidden and secret stuff is just a distraction from what will keep you from getting hurt really bad to maybe getting killed or much, much, much worse - getting sent to jail for a long time.
I understand your need to have something to hook on too but honestly if you take a look at just the principles of physiokinetics toward achieving power in the fight along with other more academic studies you will be able to go much further in your studies without the need for hooks or the perceived boredom release from studying “That SECRET and amazing hidden system of self-defense guaranteed the deadliest in the world” type drivel.
Remember, the human body is ruled by physics and there are limits on all of it so I would say you don’t want to get hooked into a belief system that may fool your mind while leaving your body open to grave bodily harm, psychological grave damage and possible death, etc. Stay steady with reality and feed heavily on what is and has already been done by thousands long before us who had more experience in conflict, violence and violent conflict.
Yet, if your true practice is all about the game, the way, the mind-set/state that means healthy, fit and peaceful moral and enlightened life style with club like social tribal gathering, drinking and just plain fun then have at it, go for all those Hidden and Secrets of the Mystical practice of the Mysterious Martial Arts because if your goal in the end is to apply self-defense then it may not be there for you.
Can you tell I get a bit on the soap box when I read about those HIDDEN and SECRET ancient martial arts techniques?
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