Controlling your nerves when doing kata in front of...

[Ryokeen]

I had this issue at first too, infact I still do when it comes to sparring... anyways.

For the kata issue I just thought to my self just this: " If I screw up and fall down, or mess up my roundhouse that's a good thing. They will notice and show me how to correct it."

It worked for me. But I am still needing help on the sparring so.... I guess I need help similar to this too,

but I hope I helped some what!

Ryokeen

[KarateChick06]

I zone myself out. I don't focus my eyes on anything at all, and just... well, I don't know how else to explain it, but yeah, I zone myself out. LOL. Ignore absolutely everyhting around you... people, noises, everything. Concentrate completely on your kata. I get so into it that I forget about the people watching me.

[DKizzle]

When I first had to do Kata at belt tests, in front of about 50 people, including fellow students and instructors, I was very nervous. When I got up there, it was nothing. I remembered everything my instructors had ever told me about Kata. "Clear your mind" "Set your intent". Setting your intent is important. Do you want to be so impressive that everyone watching will say, "Wow. That looks like he's really fighting off attackers."? Do you want to do your moves quickly, and pause in each stance, making each stance as perfect as you can, like you're posing for a picture? There are dozens of intents you could pick. If you focus on that and tune out the people around you, you'll do fine.

[kitsune_no_tama]

when we train for tournament, sometimes we do our kata with application(two or three other guys oppose him we the attacks that he blocks against,and take hits from his strikes). this one little kid had his athletic cup on while he was doing it because we were about to spar right after showing sensei our kata. anyway, he was doing application, and he missed a block to a strike to his *bleep*s and he athletic cup fell down his pant leg! i almost died! . anyway, he was never able to perform again from trauma. the moral of the story, make sure you know what your doing before you do it.

[al karate]

Everyone in the dojo! I have such trouble with being nervous when our sensei asks everyone to line up against the wall and then one by one we have to get up in front of everyone and do our kata...Just last week we learned Matsamura Rohai, (I haven't tested for my first belt yet) I'm pretty proud of myself that I can even remember all the moves, let alone do them in front of everyone else all by myself...anyways, I get so nervous when we have to do this, how can I control my nervousness? It affects the way I perform. It sounds really dumb, but we always practice facing one wall in the dojo, and tonight when we had to do this we had to turn around and face the opposite wall, which totally screwed me up. Anyways, I'm rambling, I know, but any tips on conquering your nerves when performing in front of other people? I hate it that I get so physched out by this, I want to conquer my fears. I am not a person who likes to be the center of attention like that. Can anyone give me any tips?

i think you should look at the people around you and think they must be nervous but they did fine so i will

[shinobitribe]

Our Shihan always says... kata is for yourself. I used to be nervous but I always keep that in mind and also the fact that everyone was a beginner once. We wouldn't be going to learn from the instructors if we were perfect, right?. People watching don't matter. He had said this once that I find useful when I get nervous," I don't mind and you don't matter".

[Nidan Melbourne]

Well feeling nervous is totally normal. What I do is to think that no one is there.

And facing different directions is always good. that way you can focus no matter what. Also do it facing the corners as well.

[Harkon72]

My complaint when feeling stressed or nervous doing Kata is that I tense up and tend to rush. When I relax and take a calm deliberate pace the Kata is much better.

[tsuru24]

As somebody who's been in a similar position, I say, just keep doing it! The more often you do it, the more 'normal' it will seem. Try not to avoid it, and as and when you start to feel more confident, maybe even volunteer to demonstrate other moves (if they ever ask for volunteers in your dojo).

Speaking more generally, I can't recommend mindfulness and meditation enough. It can all sound a bit cheesy, but just being aware of your feelings, accepting them and recognising that your emotions aren't you really helps in all kinds of stressful situations!

[sensei8]

Even the most seasoned performer is nervous before they step onto the floor of their chosen profession, whether it be a MAist or a CEO or a Musician or a Dancer or a Public Speaker or whatever. Butterflies are a good thing and not the end, and in that, do whatever it is that calms you down, whether it's music or yoga or praying or whatever it might be...just do it and allow the performance take care of itself.

Nerves are a good thing because they let you know that you're still alive. Harness them, accept them, and then to the best of your ability...calm them.