Kata and "getting it"

[aes]

I have been studying Shorin Ryu Karate now for a little over a year. I would say I average about 3 hours of in class training a week. Most of this has been Kata but I manage to get into the sparring ring about once to twice a month.

 

Recently I have noticed my body seems to be "getting it". I have done pretty good in Kata from lots of practice as I have gone a long, but it always seemed to be a battle to tell my body to do these strange moves, but in the last week I find my body wanting to naturally do some of them, kind of instictively. Some of the Sensai's have called this Neuro Muscular something or an other and it makes sense to me but it seems to have been a sort of transformation for me.

 

I am not saying I couldn't improve my technique but it just seems to be more natural now.

 

This has carried over into my sparring. I know people here argue Kata being a waste of time but for me, a guy with little fighting instinct, parts of the moves naturally happen now like high block, low block etc, sure the folds are not as formal as in Kata but the move and the snap is the same. They happen faster and faster now and it is pretty automatic.

 

What I am wondering is, has anyone else had a point where they felt that their body suddenly starts to "get it" and it all starts to click in a kind of sudden change? I find this really pretty cool and I am loving it and the using of it.

[tommarker]

what is the old saying... "1000 repetitions to learn... 10,000 to master."

 

exact numbers aside, i think this is what you're encountering. And it means you're definetely doing something right! Now that you're starting to get to the point where you can do the technique without forcing yourself to do so, you can really start to refine and improve the technique.

[SaiFightsMS]

Congratulations.

[gheinisch]

When I first started karate I was very uncomfortable with the movements I was trying too make my body do. Many of the techniques are not natural movements of the body so it takes time and many hours of training for your body to become accustomed to the motion. Oyama explained it well in his book "This is Karate" as Muso-Uchi, to strike without premeditation or thought. I too had a time where it clicked.

[delta1]

American Kenpo's techniques are like 'mini-katas', a serries of moves in response to an attack. I've surprised myself a few times when something unexpected happened and the counter was just there- not necessarily the exact technique, but the moves were there to counter the attack. It's a pretty good feeling to discover you are actually 'getting it'.

 

Sorry if I got a little off on a tangent, but the feeling is the same; when the moves just become part of you and start to flow. Your post is one of the best arguments I've seen to counter those who think kata is worthless. However it is done, it's the heart of a system.

 

Other styles I've studied use forms as the primary training vehicle to put moves together. While I wouldn't say any of them impacted me as dramatically as you were, I think I've learned a lot from each of them. As soon as I start to learn a new form, I start dissecting it for applications and principles, as well as try to get the feel of the movements. So it's usually a more gradual learning process for me.

[ESA-Shotokan]

Well done aes. I can't remember where I read it but the body should remember the kata, not your brain. So you are naturally developing into your style. It's a great point to reach and you can look forward to many more, such "Wow" moments in your training.

 

Keep with it!

 

[Shorinryu Sensei]

*putting oin my "Old Oriental Master" face here*

 

Ahhhh Grasshopper...you finally begin to understand the true meaning of karate!

 

Everybody that studies any martial art eventually gets to this stage. It just clicks! Yesterday, you had to think about it...today, you don't!

 

Basically, your mind and your body have just merged into one mean, lean, fighting machine aes...now is when the fun starts! Enjoy it, because from this point forward, everything will get easier..yet harder, because you need to push that mind/body combination as much as you can.

 

The interesting thing I've found at this point is this. Even if you quit training today...your body will remember what your mind THINKS it forgot...and it will come back to you very quickly if you should resume training again.

[aes]

The interesting thing I've found at this point is this. Even if you quit training today...your body will remember what your mind THINKS it forgot...and it will come back to you very quickly if you should resume training again.

 

Kyoshi often says this to us when you think you have forgotten your kata, he says "just do what your body is telling you to do" and he is right, you start on a certain way because it seems right, but you might hesitate, your body knows what it needs to do, but your mind can get in the way at times.

 

I find this also applys to sparring. At first you react to everything and there is a pause as you think about what to do, but as I do it I don't think so much about what is going to go back or be done as a counter or an attack combo, they just flow and happen and it feels like you are not thinking about it really.

[Dave Loche Xi]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe it's called Neuro Muscular Memory, or just muscle memory.

 

Your mind gets used to moving your body in specific patterns... that's why sensais usually make the students practice repetition, and that's why a lot of studios encourage sparring. After so long, your body can adapt itself into counterattacks, and knowing what little things signal a high kick from your opponent, etc...

 

Forms are no different. Once you practice a form correctly a few times, your body will proceed even if you're not thinking about it too much.

 

Like tommarker said: "1000 repetitions to learn... 10,000 to master." (Numbers aside lol)

[cathal]

Does it actually take 1,000 to 10,000 times of repetition to practice and master a technique? I imagine some difficult techniques would, but what about a simple one? For example an upward block?