Fast or Slow

[Shotokan-kez]

Ok here's my little problem (well if you can call it that). When the whole class is asked to peform the same kata i tend to be slower than everyone else. I could do it faster but i like to use power and i like to show the technique. I have never recieved complaint by sensei over this but for some reason i am constantly looking at how fast the other students are performing their kata. The faster one's (normally kids at lower grades, and sometimes the higher grade kids) don't tend to show any technique or power.

Obviously in some kata like hangetsu or kanku-dai it requires slow then fast throughout and i don't mind that because thats the way it's meant to be performed. Kata's such as sandan, neidan, yondon ect i like to do slowly but not too slow.

What do you guys think? How do you perform your kata's, fast or slow?

Kez

[parkerlineage]

Slow until you're confident you're moving to the best form you could, and then go on from there in speed.

1. Technique

2. Power

3. Speed

In that order.

[Shotokan-kez]

Yes i agree with that but at 2nd kyu surely i should be confident enough by now to get the speed, i get the technique and power part right. I suppose i worry that if i go to fast i will mess the whole kata up.

[Angel05GT]

i deffinatly agree with going slow at first. you want to make sure you fell completely comfortable with doing the whole form, so in the end you dont even have to really have to think about what your doing, your body just does it. dont worry about everyone elses speed.

i tend to be one of the slower people in my class when it comes to forms, but my sensei sais ive gotten the moves down, my next step is my intensity. take forms at your own pace.

one thing that always helped me when i practice, is i listen to a pretty fast paced song that I really like, and it kind of motivates me to move with the music. i may be crazy, who knows!

[cathal]

Our sensei says that when you do a kata not only are you following through with techniques which have been taught for generations, you are also telling your own story of a fight. Your own interpretation makes it a unique presentation. Don't worry about keeping up with everyone else because you're mostly all at different levels anyway.

I think you should only become concerned when you aren't meeting the goal. For example some kata should only be done within 60 seconds or so.

[Killer Miller]

If you visualize the kata to your vision of realistic application in a fight, then you will know the answer to your question and the true speed...

- Killer -

[alsey]

you have to forget everyone else and focus on your kata. in fact you have to forget everything else but the kata to do it to your full potential. this is difficult in a dojo full of other students; i could never do a kata in the dojo as well as i could at home on my own.

everyone is different and has their own strengths and weaknesses. don't try to compare yourself to others; compare yourself to how you were yesterday (or last training session or whatever). you can only judge progress relative to yourself.

other than that i'd say you're doing everything right. get your techniques precise and strong, and speed will come.

when i do my own kata practice, i usually perform the kata slowly (like, really slowly), then do it with speed and power a few times, then do it slowly again. you can learn a lot from doing it either way.

[alsey]

Yes i agree with that but at 2nd kyu surely i should be confident enough by now to get the speed, i get the technique and power part right. I suppose i worry that if i go to fast i will mess the whole kata up.

remember the old masters would spend a lifetime practicing one or two kata. what you are experiencing shows that you are really trying to learn the kata, rather than be rushed through them as is often the case in modern karate.

[Daimyo]

Like you, Kez, I am always finishing my kata's at the slower range of my classes. The important difference from my colleagues, however, relates to kata pace - NOT the speed of my technique. I find the lower belts in my class tend to hurry their pace to make up for a lack of technique / balance / poor stance. It is desireable, to slow one's pace / rhythm to show kime and understanding of each move. However, one should try to execute the individual moves (or combinations ie. block/strike) with full speed as one would in any "bunkai" life-or-death situation.

[lordtariel]

Speed has it's place in learning kata. Speed is used for learning sequence of moves, not the moves themselves.