Kata?

[IronWarrior]

I also agree you have a very good Sensei! and he knows what hes taking about, I can tell just from you as a student.. Kata is the essence of Karate in my opinion, Katas contain all your basics and alot more once you get into the Bunkai 'Self Defense applications'' Personal I try to visualize a real fight when I do kata and the bunkai applied in each tecnique, thats why its said it takes years to master, you have to visualize the actually attack and defense in each tecnique, then it becomes much more then just punches,kicks and blocks.. theres some katas where I would just think the tecnique was a block but actually it was a trap and break and then a throw e.t.c..

[Kumori]

that was the most nerve wracking thing ever..

The hardest part for me was going through each kata , in japanese telling the stance , what im doing , where , and why.

I totaly fubar the front kicks... i forgot what the Okinawan Front kick was..

[Drgnslyer]

how did the rest of the test go? what were the best things from it?

[patusai]

Regardin visualization...we use to hear something like this...

Perform a kata correctly 100 time and you will remember the movements

Perform a kata correctly 10,000 times and you will be able to perform the kata near perfection.

Perform a kata correctly 100,000 times and you will actually 'see' your opponent.

[Cobosan]

patusai: this is a bit exagurating dont u think. If people would do more bunkai and actualy perform what katas teach - APPLICATIONS - and not just flick and kick around the imaginary opponent would be there sooner.

[patusai]

It was a story told me that was passed down (although after this long of a time I have not told it as well as I was first told it

I believe that the point that they were trying to teach was it takes a long time to really know a kata. It does not take weeks or months or even years. sometimes it takes decades...if it is really achieved at that point.

Whereas actually seeing your opponent in kata was suppose to be some ultimate goal (much like floating when reaching the ultimate level of meditation) I am not too sure it is realistic for someone or anyone to achieve such a thing...ever. I know, myself, years ago thinking that I knew a kata after performing it maybe 25 times.

The ultimate goal is perfection of form., balance and power. The path to that goal was time...a great deal of time

As you suggest after time you can imagine your opponent in any and every application both inside and outside of kata. Is this realistic? Don't know. I have performed kata and bunkai for specific kata which were called Ura kata (Ura Jion, Ura Patusai) as I was taught them. I have yet, even after over 30 years, to reach that level of seeing my opponent. I'm still working on it. Maybe someday....