Goju class?

[Goju_boi]

I think the transition from one art to another is one of the most challenging things a person can do. In order to give the new art a chance, you have to allow yourself to un-learn a lot of what you did before. If you had been involved in any repeatative training previously, you have some motor-memory to undo. That takes a lot of time and effort, and can be very frustrating. I started my MA expeience with a full rotation punch, and found the initial transition to the Isshin ryu punch very challenging.

Stick with it and keep your open mind. Some of the things you see and do may seem overly basic, but thay will all help you work towards that un-learning/learning process.

Good luck!

it is very hard to transition because I have lots of habits from repeatitive training as u mentioned.It is very frustrating but I'm tryng hard, but I don't want to completely forget my old training.Even though it was a McDojo I still learned some good things to keep in mind.

[cathal]

We just got a Goju dojo here, I may check it out.

[Master Jules]

ShorinRyu and SWDW.....both excellent posts.....very well put.....Gojuboi.....youre entering one of the most complete systems there is....it will literally keep you busy for a lifetime.....hang in there buddy....just enjoy the ride....its more exciting than the destination.

[Goju_boi]

ShorinRyu and SWDW.....both excellent posts.....very well put.....Gojuboi.....youre entering one of the most complete systems there is....it will literally keep you busy for a lifetime.....hang in there buddy....just enjoy the ride....its more exciting than the destination.

yeah I'm starting to get the your "ride" quote , I'm having a hard time enough mastering my first kata.Also keeping my stances wide enough and shoulders straight and relaxed.

[Master Jules]

"Mastering" your first kata ???.....Oh....well....that shouldnt take you more than a few decades....lol.

Learning a kata doesnt mean that you just know the sequence of the moves....there are tons of applications to be dealt with as well, and a whole lot more. You may have seen in my lil bio there on the left that Im a Goju practicioner as well....lemme know how I can help. PM me with any questions that you have, any time at all. We're all just here to help each other, and learn as much as we can, about as much as we can.

[Goju_boi]

"Mastering" your first kata ???.....Oh....well....that shouldnt take you more than a few decades....lol.

Learning a kata doesnt mean that you just know the sequence of the moves....there are tons of applications to be dealt with as well, and a whole lot more. You may have seen in my lil bio there on the left that Im a Goju practicioner as well....lemme know how I can help. PM me with any questions that you have, any time at all. We're all just here to help each other, and learn as much as we can, about as much as we can.

How come people say that it takes a really long time to master kata?And what du ya mean by dealing with applications?

[Jussi Häkkinen]

How come people say that it takes a really long time to master kata?And what du ya mean by dealing with applications?

It isn't enough that you know the movements and can go through the kata. You'll have to know the purpose behind movements - the principles that are trained via those movements - and the strategy of fighting that is presented in a kata. You'll have to be able to apply these principles freely in fighting and adjust them to a situation.

It takes time. There's an old proverb: "Hito kata, san nen", which means "one kata, three years". It's appliable especially to those "serious kata" or core kata of the style. I, personally, think that three years is a relatively short time to really learn to know the kata thoroughtly and to learn how to apply all that knowledge freely - especially if you'll have to learn other kata, as well, while you're specifically working with one.

[cathal]

Not to mention when you've deicded on one stream of applications, you tell the story in your bunkai. Then you tell another story when you do it again, with different applications.

[Master Jules]

Kata is more than just a predescribed sequence of movements. A dancer can learn the moves and make it look good, but will have no idea what he is doing in terms of the fighting applications in the form. What you see in the kata is not necessarily what the hidden meaning, or Kaisai is all about. Bunkai is the movements as they apply to "reall life" combative scenarios. Mastering the kata doesnt mean you know just the movements, but that you know and understand, and can perform the fighting applications.

[swdw]

"Mastering" your first kata ???.....Oh....well....that shouldnt take you more than a few decades....lol.

can.

How come people say that it takes a really long time to master kata?And what du ya mean by dealing with applications?

So you know the moves in a kata. Is every body part at the correct angle? Is your weight tranferring properly fom one position to another. Do you have correct focus. Are you stiff when you shold be relaxed? Is your foot position correct on EVERY move.. Is your breating correct? Do you undersand the timing in each set of moves? It's not 1-2-3 with perfectly spaced timing.

Why do you sink your werght on some moves and raise it on others?

That block- what's the application? Do you know how to use it as an attack? How do you make it a takedown? How do you use it as an escape. Can you use it moving IN to the attacker, and what's the correct angle. Why do you do that tiny twist at the end of a specific technique.

And so on, and so on and . . .

So you think you can master all this, plus much more, in just a couple of months?