Compulsary Kata for Dan grading

[garyznra251]

I was dissapointed to find out that my association KUGB have recently decided make Bassai Dai the mandatory kata for 1st Dan, removing the choice of Kanku-Dai, Bassai-Dai, Empi, Jion and Hangetsu.

I will not be affected by this as i'm taking my dan grading the month before it comes into affect. However, i think it will be to the detriment of Dan grades not to specialise in one of these various kata for the first Dan grading as well as performing any of their previous katas requested (Heians, Tekki Shodan and Bassai Dai)

How do other associations feel about this?

Do most styles have a choice of kata for the first Dan?

gary

https://www.karateonline.org

[Jussi Häkkinen]

Well, in the style I train, we do every kata we have learned in our syllabus in every grading (well, our gradings get longer every time - all what was before and some more is asked).

So, our shodan-requirements for kata are:

Fukyugata Ichi

Fukyugata Ni

Seisan

Ananku

Wansu

Passai

Gojushiho

Pinan shodan

Pinan nidan

Naifanchi shodan

Naifanchi nidan

No free choices, every kata is performed.

[24fightingchickens]

How do other associations feel about this?

Do most styles have a choice of kata for the first Dan?

I doubt it will affect anything at all other than the 60 seconds you perform Bassai-Dai during the test. By the time you are ready for that grade, you shouldn't need to focus really hard on one kata exclusively for months to be able to do it well enough. So, my question would be "Why did they bother?"

[Shorinryu Sensei]

In the system/association I belong to, we have set kata that are required for each belt level. We don't get to chose which ones we want to do. I suspect this is the way the majoirty of systems work.

[kivikala]

When I trained with Ohshima (SKA) all rank gradings asked for 2 kata to be performed. The first was the students "favorite kata" (students choice of any kata in the system). The second was Mr Ohshimas choice which could be the "required" kata (kata kwanku for 1st dan for example) or any kata he felt like asking for. (below the rank being tested for.)

Such as it was, if your "favorite kata" was the same as the "required kata" for that rank then you had no idea what the second kata would be. But if you chose a kata other than the "required" kata the odds were Mr O would ask for the "required kata" as your second kata. (But not always.)

I've always liked this methodology, it's simple, focused, and injects enough uncertanty into the test to keep the students on their toes.

[Skeptic 2004]

My attitude about this is very similar to my attitude about giving demonstrations (and apparently similar to what others have expressed). You should be proficient enough at all the kata you have learned that whoever administering whatever test could ask you to do any of them or ALL of them; the same goes for a demonstration. You shouldn't have to "rehearse", and you should be able to choose a kata at random that you know and perform it decently.

[Jay]

we have to know

all heian kata

tekki shodan

Tokei Kata(big 4, basai kanku enpi jion)

Jitte

i know a lot of schools offer choices which is good because you can show you best kata as theirs always gonna be one you are week at.

[Why_Worry]

Where i go, you dont have a set date for your test you jsut get tested when the instructors feel yoru ready so with that said we have ot know every kata we have learned so far. For each belt the person also has to do 100 of each kata they learned specifically for that belt on their own at home but i think for black belt you have to do all of the katas one hundred times. Also for a actually black belt and not junior black belt, you have to do other things as well like 100 heian 4 katas for speed and power every day for a week and other things liek that. But the black belt test is 3 hours and you just keep going really hard(or working hard, not actually tense if you have made it to the black belt test, you knwo you shouldnt be tense) everything basically with never really resting so they do every kata a coupel of times and every technique learned so far.

[SenseiMike]

In my system we have no free choices. every grading you must perform every kata that you know up to that point with the bunkai included.

we also practice all 25 of the shotokan kata by the time you reach 5th dan.

PS dan grades are awarded by merit, not simply by time.

[vales]

in seishinkai you just pick a shuri te, and a naha te apart from : pinans, bassai dai, seienchin, matsukaze, ananku, chinto, jion , sanchin and naifanchi (required for black belt, you choose a pinan, perform bassai sai, seienchin, sanchin and choose another 2) good luck