Learning kata out of order?

[vertigo]

Just a curious idea that I figured I'd run past everyone, hear some thoughts:

 

Assuming one would know the kata for their next test (and maybe the next), would it be completely off to go over another kata out of order? (i.e. a 5th kyu who knows heian godan [for their 4th kyu test] practices some bassai dai just because)

 

I can see a few pros and cons to doing this... pro being you perhaps learn more kata, more techniques... however, I see the con as being a little larger, as you may not focus enough on the kata you already have!

 

any other thoughts?

[cross]

I will say yes and no.

 

Using your example, i would say that YES its ok to practice bassai if your instructor specifically started teaching you the kata.

 

But i would say NO its not ok if you are practicing what you have "picked up" just by watching others do the kata.

 

Its important to maintain a basic order when it comes to learning kata, but once you get into more "senior" kata you find the order can vary quiet a bit from school to school and even from one student to the next depending on what the teacher thinks is best for the particular person.

[AnonymousOne]

I learnt all our systems Katas (over 60 of them) while I was a kyu grade.

 

I wasnt supposed to learn them, but got books and watched the dan grades.

 

I was just curious. I wasnt capable of performing them properly but wanted to try anyway.

 

It was a waste of time really and I dont recommend it to students.

 

I feel its best to improve on what you are supposed to be improving on

[cathal]

We usually train the kata we need to grade, plus the next one, in case we are asked to double-grade (a rarity). But we can dabble in learning other katas if sensei doesn't mind, in that it doesn't hinder our training.

[MASIsshinryu]

If your Sensei approves, of course it is fine.

 

Learning through other means might be more of a hinderance than a benefit. If not given the verbal description of what a given technique / combination is intended to do, you will miss a lot of the subtle aspects which make the kata valuable.

 

I would also suggest that if they are truely out of order, as in skipping "the next" and going after one beyond that, you might not have exposure to some of the underlying concepts, which also make that kata effective. Each kata in the progression should have some concept that it helps to build, which makes the next, and following, kata more effective. One might expand the concepts of grappling techniques, the next balance in near-simultaneous hand/foot strikes, the next in spinning techniques then the last makes use of all three previous concepts. If you miss one to move ahead, you will not have that extra focus on a topic which might be of critical importance.

 

To some extent, each one builds off of the previous ones, as they become more complex.

[karatekid1975]

Yes, I know more than I really need. But in my situation, I learned them at a different school. My instructor knew that, so he doesn't have a problem with me practicing them.

[Freddy]

I think its ok as long as you dont learn to many of them and do them very poorly. Heck i know all katas up to 2kyu + empi, jion and ive beem doing a little of kankudai recently. BUT heian sandan which im supossed to be grading to has sufferd from this, which is not so good.

[Shorin Ryuu]

Obviously if you don't have a decent familiarity with the kata you're supposed to know, don't skip ahead and learn others. One of my gripes with the whole testing and ranking system is that all too often (more common in kyu ranks) in many places, too much emphasis is placed by both the teacher and the student on simply checking off the blocks on the testing checklist. Many students are especially guilty of just trying to memorize rather than learn the kata. I would be lying if I said I never fell in that category before.

[smr]

I wouldn't recommend it. Like Shorin Ryuu said, take your time. The idea isn't to memorize a kata them move on. The idea is to understand Kata. Personally, I think Kata is introduced too quickly in most schools, including mine. I feel that there should be fewer Katas required to be known in the kyu grades, but the student should actually be able to apply the kata to real situations. Anybody can memorize a kata if they are told to do it enough times.

[June1]

I pretty much agree with what everyone here said. I actually began learning Heian Nidan off the internet and when the time came to actually perform it, I was the most advanced in the class. However, a classmate later came up to me and casually asked, "So where'd you learn Nidan?" BUSTED. But it was alright because he had been doing the same thing and we ended up exchanging URLs.

 

I had the urge to begin learning Heian Sandan the same way, but I've actually found that I should be trying to master Heian Shodan, my first kata, instead. Just focus on one thing at a time, it's much better in the long run.