pers

Kata is the soul of karate , it is the sylabus of martial art techniques that could be interpreted in diferrent situations ,possibilites on applications are many and masters constantly show us new or diferrent ways of applications that could make a diferrence in a real self defence situation . Most important thing is understanding and learning them properly in a good school . In a good school of karate with a good instructer it should not leave any doubt about the importance of kata . Don't forget that Karate is a martial art NOT a sport ! Competition is only a small part of karate and for the younger people , Karate is for life ! and you should improve it by age and ofcourse training ! karate caters for all ages and its vehicle is kata .

Bruce Lee had a lot to do with it ! my older cousins went along to some classes in that era and watching them who at times were using me as a partner ,I got interested from early teen age years and had a brief spell with karate in 1976 for three months but diden't start again until 1984. What made me carry on had a lot to do with the quality of instruction I recieved which I consider myself extremely lucky for . Some People travelled over 50 miles Two or three times a week to train in the dojo that I was 5 minutes away from !

That 's unsu .First guy doing it is ok ,but not the best and Kanazawa sensei is good but Yahara sensei performs it very well ,it is realy great to watch him do it if you get the chance. I like this kata a lot ,I feel I am still a long way away from mastering it ,but that probably means mastering shotokan ,so I think it is a good yardstick in that sense . Needless to say by mastering it I mean the whole concept and applications of the techniques involved by heart .And that doesen't come without years of hard work and quality instruction in the dojo . The jump has indeed a couple of kicks involved ,its application is very real and practical in self defence .

He is a true master . I trained under him in crystal palace course headed by Enoeda sensei a couple of times back in the 80s as a junior kyu grade and naturally I was very impressed . He has a dojo in London( I have never been to his dojo ) and is very respected in UK where he has been resident for well over 20 years .

Excellent reply !

Those who have trained with the master are very fortunate ,I haven't had the pleasure but would love the opportunity to train and meet master Kanazawa.

I don't see anything wrong with training in another dojo for a while ! I woulden't just walk in to any dojo and train ,rather I would sit and watch the class and the instructer for a couple of nights and then decide if it is suitable for me to train there . I have always trained in shotokan but if the opportunity present itself I would realy like to give it a try ! but obviously going to a new club no matter what we think of their standards we must not forget to show courtesy and respect to the dojo and it's members .

I agree with shotochem . My concept of karate is to hit and not get hit ! by not being there when the attack comes my way .that is the ultimate ! When a powerful front kick is comming towards me I rather get out of it's way rather than try and block it or go backwards and face more attack . By moving out the opponents angle of attack there is much better chance of scoring with a counter of your own. But this is easier said than done ! and one can never perfect it but can improve on it as experience grows. but can you ever perfect any art ?

asano sensei came to Britain as a 7th dan JKA ,later on he joined Kanazawa sensei in shotokan karate international .I think he has his own association now . I did not know he is a 9th dan now ,that may have come from his own group. There are many top japanese masters who were the elite group of JKA . Most of them are 7-8 th dans . apart from late masters kaze ,Enoeda, who were both 8th dans and the most influential along with kanazawa who parted company with them in the 70s and Shiraei ,there are also Tanaka and Yahara who were the most famous ones and I believe are both 8th dans now . I believe after Master Nakayama passed away,late Master Enoeda who was awarded 8th dan in 1977 never accepted another dan grade !

As you are shotokan ,I would highly recommend you getting Sensei Dave Hazard videos ,he has a kata one that has kankudai and Hangetsu which is a master piece ! you will find the applications one for street and one traditional breath taking ! he also has a few extremely good DVDs on Karate ,you can find them in shotokan karate magazine .

Thanks for the link , that is master Tanaka 8th dan JKA performing ! One of the best in the world . It is a beautiful kata and a great aid in developing karate.

P.A.L thanks for the links . very interesting , the Hangetsu that I learned was a bit diferrent with the ones there ,I could say mine is more simillar to the JKA one performed by Abe but not quite the same . The last one (deep stance ) is nothing like the stances we used to practice hangetsu . the other okinawan katas I saw for the first time ,they looked very good and powerful . In my opinion there is not enough time in one's life time to persue too many diferrent styles .there is enough in shotokan to last me a life time to try and perfect ,and so in any other styles with other karatekas . but it is good to be familiar to an extent with other styles and borrow ideas and techniques .

I don't know the okinawan's kata mentioned ,but I know hangetsu stance is not a deep stance .If you see a deep Hangetsu stance then you must question the practitioner as in my opinion he is not doing it correctly . I know that in tai chi breathing is very important ,therefore there is ki or chi as they call it or focusing the energy ,just diferrent terminology.

Hangetsu is a close quarter stance and therefore not a deep stance ,it sure is a very strong stance that works great in close combat helping to provide powerful techniques . I agree that it is not a breakfast kata ,but I find the first 6 moves of the kata invigorating in the morning to say the least ! The breathing combined with slow moves harmonise mind and body and bring in a sense of calm and assurance to practitioner . I have never done Tai chi and don't know much about it ,but when ever I watch Tai chi I get the same feeling !

Hangetsu is one of my favourite katas .I love this kata ,not least for it's great aid in developing correct breathing and tension ,synchronising all mind and body in the slow part .for it's aplications of self defence and then switching to full speed in the second part in quick multiple techniques ! Practitioner gets the best of all in this kata ,but is not simply learning the moves and think the kata is mastered ! Far from it ! it takes a lot of time to realy begin to understand it properly but during that time the meaning of karate do begins to make sense more and more . Needless to say having a good master to teach you is a must !! this kata is the milestone of understanding shotokan's essense .

Pretty amazing stuff ! just as I would have expected from Yahara sensei ! I remember once one of yahara sendei's dan grades came for training in our dojo ,but that was before he formed his own group. thanks for the link !

Find another dojo ! it seems like a waste of time !

Very good post .shotokan basics prepares and developes the body very well .A good shotokan club has a well balanced training rota ,catering for basics ,kata ,self defence and competition style kumite .

All the holds and locks in katas are similar to aikido moves ,the last parts of heian sandan and the third and sixth move in heian godan immediately comes to mind. they are all over our katas. I was watching a master swordsman of iado (I think ) on TV and his stances and movements and tactics were exactly the same as I could find in Karate !

My friend Paul Bonnett runs a club in Brighton . I trained in shotokan with sensei Dave Hazard "7th dan" since 1985 .His club in Brighton is now run by one of his senior students sensei Lavender" 5th dan" which I occasionaly visit . I will go to aikido ,I am already familiar with some techniques which exist in our katas ,but it would be nice to take it a stage further and deeper . my only problem is finding the time !

you are welcome ,here is Kawazoe's karate association number I picked up in shotokan karate magazine :01505-359768. Good luck ,he is a top quality teacher .a product of JKA ,you will not be dissapointed ! A good fiend of mine who was a 4th dan in shotokan went off to akido and he is now a master and runs the club and has been asking me to go train with them .do you have any advice on that ?

Dear sohan I was not referring to kata ,I was not aware of this. I meant their concepts in martial arts is the same .they start at the same point ,hard basics to develop the coordination between mind and body, may emphesise on diferrent aspects of the art but eventualy reach the same point . you are right, in shotokan kata starts and finishes at the same point but i diden't know it was the same in Gojuryu.

If you are looking for JKA style karate ,why not look up Master kawasoe 7th dan who I believe is teaching in shepherds bush area in London. traditional Shotokan and Gojuryu start at the same point and eventualy reach the same point .

Excellent post killer,I coulden't have said it any better !

I am a 46 years old Nidan in shotokan and started training in 1984 . One thing to remember is reaching black belt is onlythe beginning of a process of learning karate ! do not get disappointed by losing to people younger than you of higher or same grades .Rather look at it as valuble training and lesson and I promise you by perseverance you will improve and unleash your own to your opponents . in the dojo you can afford to lose ,and learn from it . My advice to you is if you want to get good at karate THEN do karate ! practice your combination and footwork in front of mirror hundreds of times until they become like second nature .same with defence work Make up your favourite techniques and work on them .If you run out of ideas ,then ask your sensei or remember what you practiced in the dojo recently,but body conditioning in moderation is a good supplement also. the process of learning karate gets really sweet once reaching black belt providing there is good instruction by a good master(very important!). Learning strategies and how to apply and improve those techniques is a life long learning.