During his visit this past weekend Kwan Jang Nim Sgro once again discussed how the movements we practice regularly in class have a variety of applications. Bunkai (分解), literally meaning "analysis" or "dis-assembly", is a term used in Japanese martial arts referring to the application of fighting techniques extracted from the moves of a "form" (kata or hyung).

Bunkai is usually performed with a partner or a group of partners which execute predefined attacks, and the student performing the hyung responds with defenses, counterattacks, or other actions, based on a part of the hyung. This allows the student in the middle to understand what the movements in hyung are meant to accomplish. It may also illustrate how to improve technique by adjusting distances, time moves properly, and adapt a technique depending on the size of an opponent.

Some hyung have another layer of application that is taught using
an application of the hyung in ways other than the standard or most obvious bunkai. Different practitioners will learn or discover alternative applications, but the bunkai, like the hyung, varies based on the style and the teacher.

A single hyung may be broken into anywhere from a few to a few dozen applications, and the same sequence of hyung moves may sometimes be interpreted in different ways resulting in several bunkai. Some martial arts require students to perform bunkai for promotion.

Bunkai can be obvious or elusive depending on the technique in question, the moves preceding and following it, and the individual practitioner. There are usually many stages of depth of comprehension of bunkai only reached through the passage of time.