Cardio after an injured ankle?

[Glenn]

I've often wondered why kata are the way they are, relatively short sequences of a finite number of techniques. Why not a single long continuous kata that contains all the techniques, like Taiji forms? Why not just train in the techniques individually as some current martial artists advocate? Could one explanation for having several short kata with breaks in between be that the martial artists of old stumbled onto the benefits of interval training?

Tabata Interval Training

20 seconds of training with 10 seconds rest

6-8 sets of the exercise.

While the timing would not be exact, this prescription for interval training would be reasonably approximated by running through the kata of most Chinese or Okinawan/Japanese styles.