Remembering Katas

[XxpengwynxX]

When I first started I remember that Heian Nidan took me the longest time in the world to remember. And I hated it. They taught katas by halfs. So you learn one half, then the other half. But that wasn't working for me. So it took me forever. But once I learned a few katas, I could learn the rest that have the same basic pattern, (Like all the Heian Katas) pretty easily. But then I got to Tekke Shodan, and it was completly different. The teacher who taught me Tekke, taught it a bit different. She did one step at a time. She'd show us the step, tell us exactly what we were doing, and how we were being attacked. Usually a teacher won't tell you all of that until you know the kata, so you don't get horribly confused. But she'd do the step and the explination. And make us go back to the begging. Then she'd show us the first 2 steps, give us the explination, and we'd go back to the beginning. Then she'd show us the first 3 steps, and so on. And I think learning the step by step thing worked WAY better for me. So try running thru the kata like that. That way you'll know exactly what comes after what. And when I'm asked to teach a kata to someone. That's how I teach it. Step by step. And once you learn it. Run thru it a handful of times right away, so you don't forget it.

 

Remember::

Remember, practice doesn't make perfect....practice makes habit. Perfect practice makes perfect!

I myself still forget parts of some kata... even the very first one!! Also i get kata's confused... most embarassing is be doing Bassai dai and finishing it as heian godan... god i felt like such a dork!

I do that. But back words. I'll be doing Heian Godan, and finish it as Bassai dai. So I'm glad I'm not the only one. But it's bad because in 1 day, I'll be doing Godan at nationals. Okay. Off topic again. Ack. Edited August 13, 2004 by XxpengwynxX

[ramymensa]

Oh, my god. I bet you couldn't chose a "better" colour in order for us to be unable to read, not to mention the headache. I had to select your text to be able to read it.

 

Please chose more carefully. It's a pity your message can't be read "normally". Some ideas

[WapCaplet]

XxpengwynxX, I'm not even going to TRY and read your post. It makes my eyes hurt.

 

Our sensei has a "fun" way of helping us remember our katas; especially for new white belts. We will do Heian Shodan one move at a time, after each move we drop, do a pushup, then stand back up in the same stance we were just in. It makes you really think about which position you are in and which one you are about to move into.

 

I also find that visualizing opponents and understanding the application of each movement is very helpful.

 

But the best piece of advice, and you've already heard it a hundred times, is to just keep practicing. Eventually you don't want to "remember" your kata; you want to be able to perform it in your sleep. Just try not to kick your wife in the kidney if you DO start performing it in your sleep.

 

Wap

[XxpengwynxX]

Sorry. I was in a pink mood. I'll change it....

[Kaos666]

...you want to be able to perform it in your sleep. Just try not to kick your wife in the kidney if you DO start performing it in your sleep. ...

 

lol, which reminds me, we had karate camp just now and, as a test, our sensei and assistant instructors woke us up at 3am and made us do kata...

 

i'm quite pround to say i did first 5 correctly, Bassai Dai and Jihon... well they are a different story...

 

anywho, the point of this is that if you get woken up in the middle fo the night and are able t do your kata correctly... you know u've got covered...

[Shorin Ryuu]

I've had a few teachers over the years, and they usually taught kata in this manner:

 

Force you to go through the whole thing once or twice with them just so you know what it looks like and where it is going. Then, they break it into little pieces and just go through it a few times, adding a piece at the end after the last couple of times. Then they do a little explanation of the pieces, and add a little more, etc. One teacher of mine would then do something totally unrelated and visit the kata once more (he said it helped transition it to long-term memory by breaking up the introduction into several periods rather than one long session of it).

 

I forgot to mention this, but this is a word of warning. When I learned kata, I would break it up into movements based upon what I saw as a particular "set" of movements to be performed without stopping. This "phrasing" of the kata of course changes constantly as my interpretation changes, but don't get stuck into a metronome kata! By this, I mean don't get too worked up into the "one count, one move". That is really more for the beginner and the instructor, who has to watch a whole class and make sure they are doing the individual parts correctly. When doing the kata, make sure there is a coherent timing, as kata is not only placement, but timing as well. If you find yourself just doing the kata as movement, movement, movement, movement...than you are missing out on a whole lot.

[shotochem]

Ah, glad it's not just me that has done that... My instructor is used to me having "brain f arts" (as he calls them) in the middle of kata.

 

lol... i was doing it so often my sensei started grading me on how i well i join the katas togehter as a joke, and then gave me the name of my new super long and super stupid kata... can't remmebr it now, i might post it when i ask him about it

 

I have the same talent!!!!

 

My personal favorite is what I call "Bassaiempijiondai".

 

When my mind starts to wander I get a touch of whats his names disease.

 

I'l forget which kata I'm doing right in the middle of it and just keep blending into another. It only gets worse the more kata I learn or when we do mirror image. I guess I'm getting old and my brain is full.

[ninelivesarentenough]

i always find a kata intimidating until i find out the overall shape of it... for example taikyoku is a giant H, then just remember each leg at a time and it sort of falls together.

[Pacificshore]

Video tape yourself doing your katas too. That way you have it for reference. Plus you can see yourself, besides a mirror which isn't always possible, and look for the areas where you need improvements.

[G95champ]

You don't remember kata you learn them. They become second nautre like you techinqe. Give it time and lots of reps. Soon it will be like riding a bike you wont forget. just keep working it.