What Forms Are Good For

[bushido_man96]

This post was originally published as an article in a dedicated KarateForums.com Articles section, which is no longer online. After the section was closed, this article was most to the most appropriate forum in our community.

There is an ongoing concern as to what the practice of forms does for the martial arts. Some will say “forms are the essence of the style.” Some will say they are not. Some will say forms are simulated combat. Some will say they are merely exercise.

I am not endeavoring to answer these questions. To do so would be to spark another string to a never ending discussion that, in the martial arts community, borders on the lines of discussing politics and religion.

What my goals are in the writing of this article are to point out what forms practice does provide to the martial arts student. The concepts I intend to discuss herein should be easily found in the performance of all types of forms ranging from Tai Chi to Karate to Tang Soo Do.

Forms can help improve two aspects of martial arts training: physical and mental. I will discuss the physical aspects first, as they are more easily discerned from forms practice and then I will move on to the mental aspects.

Physical Aspects

Physical aspects that can be developed through forms practice are sometimes easy to notice and sometimes more subtle. Included in the physical aspects developed through forms practice are strength, speed, coordination and timing.

Strength is built through forms practice in both the upper and lower body. In the lower body, strength is developed through proper execution of stances. By varying degrees of knee bends and various distribution of body weight to each leg, stances help to develop strength in the legs, which also helps develop kicking power. Strong legs form a good base for physical fitness.

Strength is built in the upper body through the dynamics of the striking and blocking techniques performed. It is true that many martial arts blocks and strikes use over-exaggerated movements, usually involving both arms in a pushing and pulling method, along with a twist of the hips and wrist or arm rotation, along with shoulder movement. What good is all of this movement? These exaggerated movements help to develop the muscles of the upper body, which will help to develop powerful punches, strikes and blocks for self defense, as well as strength for physical fitness.

Through the development of this strength, and through repetitions of practice, the martial artist develops power and speed from these exaggerated movements.

Coordination is another physical aspect developed through the practice of forms. Techniques help develop coordination in a couple of ways. Many times blocking and striking motions involve a strange angle, or the movement of both arms or the movement of an arm and a leg simultaneously. Movements like this bring up remarks like, “Why would one do a technique like this? It doesn’t make sense.” When a practitioner performs techniques like this, involving the use of more than one limb at a time, the practitioner develops the ability to coordinate different motions with different limbs at the same time. Whether pushing/pulling, or moving opposite directions to different targets, practicing these movements helps the martial artist improve body coordination. Improving body coordination by using complex movements as done in forms practice improves the body’s ability to perform simple, daily movements. These movements help to increase physical ability and overall athleticism.

Another way forms practice can improve coordination is through technique combinations. Most forms consist of more than ten moves. If this is the case, then it is possible to run a series of techniques together. This can be done by doing two or more techniques in quick succession, by stepping while throwing a technique in a sequence and timing a technique to hit its target as the foot steps down and then flowing into the next technique. In forms practice, there are countless different combinations available to the student. The practice of the combinations in forms can assist the martial arts student in developing strategies for sparring and/or fighting.

There are also stepping and transitional movements done in forms that help the student coordinate turning and stepping with the lower body while performing upper body techniques simultaneously.

Coordination is also developed through the kicks in forms, helping students to learn a sense of balance and cooperation between upper and lower body.

Through improved coordination, the practitioner gains a kinesthetic sense of what the body is doing and will help the body feel more comfortable when executing simple actions that are used every day. Improved coordination will also help in sparring and self defense. It is easy to see the improvement of upper and lower body coordination when one watches a beginner practice forms. The novice practitioner can often be seen stepping into a technique and then stopping and looking down at his feet upon completion of the technique, to make sure that his feet are set right and his weight is properly distributed in the correct stance. The experienced student does not have to look down at his stance, because he can “feel” if it is right or not, due to repetitive practice of his forms.

A sense of timing can also be developed through forms practice. One aspect of timing is hand/foot timing, which is when the technique is held back until right before the foot sets down, as in a step forward or after delivering a kick. By holding back the technique until the instant before the foot lands, it allows the practitioner to get the hips and shoulders to twist into the technique, maximizing power on impact.

Timing is also developed through the combination techniques, finishing the techniques quickly, while leaving enough of a pause between them to give the combination rhythm, and permitting the practitioner to give definition to the stance and facilitating transition into the next technique. Through the use of hand/foot timing and the execution of combinations, the form develops an overall timing and rhythm.

Mental Aspects

There are also a few mental aspects that are honed through forms practice. The first of these is memory. Through the repetitious execution of forms, the student develops the ability to memorize a set of moves, ranging anywhere from 18 moves upward to over 100 moves, depending on style. Apart from simply memorizing the techniques, the practitioner must also memorize what stance they are done in, which side of the body does the technique and where the target is. One can see that by learning and practicing a set of forms, the ability to memorize, retain, and recall information has been improved.

Another type of memory developed is muscle memory. Through repetitive execution of technique via forms practice, the muscles begin to retain the mechanics involved with each technique. This sort of memory increases the efficiency with which the body acts.

The second mental aspect developed through forms practice is focus. When practicing forms, it is important to concentrate on the task at hand. A student must be able to focus his internal energy into the execution of his techniques, applying the timing, speed, power and coordination required to execute good technique. Mind and body must work as one, and focus is the glue that holds the two together. This focus is facilitated by developing proper breathing, which accompanies the execution of each technique.

Another aspect of focus was mentioned earlier, pertaining to the focus of targets for techniques. Without an actual, physical target in front of him, the student must focus and visualize where each technique is going to land.

Conclusion

The practice of forms in the martial arts can help develop and refine several physical and mental aspects that are important to the martial arts student. Physical abilities including strength and speed are developed along with timing and coordination. Important mental aspects, such as memorization and focus, are honed as well.

There are many feelings and theories as to where forms came from, why they were designed and what they accomplish. I hope that this article has provided some insight as to what forms practice does offer the martial artist.

[Patrick]

Thank you for the submission.

[ninjanurse]

Excellent article! Kata is the perfect way to teach and improve on all these areas. When I teach I don't necessarily explain the "why" to students but rather lead them through guided discovery and let them come to their own conclusions. Another aspect of kata training-discovery of one's own strengths and weaknesses.

[bushido_man96]

Thanks, Heidi.

I like your concept of the "self-discovery." That had not occurred to me, but it is a very good concept.

[shinnekodo]

Nice article.

I am a proponent of kata practice and I think you make many valid points.

To me, the old adage is true, "Kata is karate, karate is kata."

[bushido_man96]

Nice article.

I am a proponent of kata practice and I think you make many valid points.

To me, the old adage is true, "Kata is karate, karate is kata."

Thank you.

I know that there are a lot of people out there that feel the same way you do about kata. Although I don't feel that way, I appreciate the ferver of those that do take kata to heart like that.

Although I don't share the same feelings as you, it doesn't stop me from working as hard as I can and getting as much as I can out of my forms practice.

[Chuilli, Kyo Sah Nim]

well i agree with pretty much everyone. katas/forms/patterns/hyungs are essential to learning most martial arts, particularly traditional ones. one main thing they do is build muscle memory of these odd movements you would usually not do everyday in passing. secondly, forms aren't just movements you just do because your instructor said so, there is a term some japanese and chinese arts use called bunkai, and it is how the form you're doing applies to an actual fight. breaking down the bunkai,(how many people you're fighting, why you hit someone in a specific way, etc.) is the most mentally taxing thing, but when you're done, you know it and you know who you were fighting, why, and what movements you'd use. so when you actually get into a fight, if the time unfortunately comes, you know exactly what to do. and don't worry guys all art froms and disciplines have this, korean, japanese, chinese etc. atleast all the traditional ones will.

 

in tang soo,

 

K.Chuilli

[gheinisch]

Nice article and always a subject that brings up some good discussion on the subject. I had e-mailed one of my Senei's an article that I had seen on Kata and he e-mailed me back with this response which brings up some good points. I thought I would share it with you.

"Thanks for the article Greg. This is one of my favorite topics.

I frequently attend an American Freestyle school on Saturdays, because they do some heavy contact sparring which I enjoy to keep me sharp. One day I got into a discussion with the instructors about stances. Their front stance is more like our jungle stance (mitsurin dachi? been awhile for me with the Japanese). The stance does propel you forward powerfully, but the balance of the Zen-kutsu I have always maintained is superior. I demonstrated a kata for them, which produced some amusement, but after they were finished laughing they told me that precision moves like that were just not practical or realistic.

Here began my line of questioning to them: "Do you all agree that the movements in that kata would help me to develop and maintain balance?" They responded "Yes." I said "What about speed, power, range of movement, lung capacity, general health and vitality?" Again they responded "Yes." Here was my punch line..."What percentage of my life do you think will require me to defend myself? It is most likely that I will never have to do it. But what percentage of my life do you think I will benefit from having power, balance, range of movement, lung capacity, general health and vitality?"

They knew I nailed them. Street combat is practical to prepare for street combat, but I challenged them to not be so hasty to rush to judgment and label all kata or traditional martial arts as impractical. I think we can agree that when it comes to street combat (.00001% of your life, maybe), combat training is more practical. But when it comes to everyday living, health, and well-being (about 100% of your life), traditional martial arts is the better choice."

[bushido_man96]

Those are some very interesting comments, Greg, with some good points. I do think that Combat Training is essential, and the two could share time in a structured class setting.

Thanks for sharing.

[The BB of C]

At the beginning of the thread, those are all very good benefits listed.

However, I believe that forms can be the essence of a style, but also water down individuality of a practicioner. I believe individuality is key to being a martial artist because it's how someone expresses themselves as a martial artist.