Thoughts about bunkai

Hokama Sensei was kind enough to share some of his ideas on bunkai, and showed me some interesting variations that were new to me.  Mostly though he would look at what I already had, and then make a few suggestions to make it more effective.  In this way I have come away with a lot to work on over the next few years.
Something I’m finding more and more as I mature into my art is how much everything overlaps, and by correcting one area, you correct a whole other bunch of areas you may have thought were unrelated.
In this way, Hokama sensei helped me more than he probably realised!
Bunkai is something very personal and is an expression of the understanding you yourself have developed.  Sometimes the best applications are ones that you discover for yourself, that are useful for your body type, and have been drilled over and over to make them natural.  This kind of technique is difficult to transmit to someone else.
Hokama Sensei said that he will teach an application to his students which he thinks best transmits the message of the kata.  Of course, no two situations are ever the same, and you must adapt to ever changing circumstances.  In this area though, he urges his students to investigate for themselves and not rely on being spoonfed.  By doing this he is being very kind to his student as it teaches self relience.