Different Katas

[Black_Crane]

Hi all.

Just a question for those who live in rural Victoria (close to the NSW border). The karate style im currently practising focuses alot on Kata, but up to about Brown Bar (the marker we use between Blue Belt and Brown Belt) all the katas we practice are the pinan katas. Dont get me wrong, i enjoy kata more then any other aspect of my training, and i know repitition is good in the martial arts, but id like to expand my knowledge of different katas.

So if anyone knows of any good schools in rural Victoria with a high emphasis on kata, could u please post details of the school.

Thanks

[24fightingchickens]

I don't live in your geographical restriction area but you will find that most authentic styles of Karate which have real depth to them, such as Goju, Shito, and Shotokan, limit your intake of kata during the first years substantially. The emphasis is usually on quality instead of quantity.

Kata, however, are learned using a repeating process. After you are longer in the tooth like myself, you'll find yourself learning them and burning through them so quickly that you might even run out of kata to learn and find yourself bored with what you've got.

Don't be in too big of a hurry to dump the Pinan. They are fantastic - and were originally two kata called Channan which has been chopped up into five different kata.

[Jiffy]

Hi Black-Crane,

I live in South Australia, so I'm not familiar with individual schools. In rural areas, you will find difficulty in gaining the level of experience you are after. There are a couple of groups you can contact though.

First I would contact the Australian Karate Federation. They are a governing body for Karate organisations in Australia and the link to WUKO (World Union of Karate Organisations). They will be able to assist you. Alternatively, check out their website... http://www.akf.com.au/

The other group I would contact is the Melbourne University Karate Club. They are a little closer to you than we are, and although they are not affiliated with the AKF, most of their training is based around Kata. They do a lot of work with the Pinan kata and more specifically applications. If you speak to the chief Sensei (Alexander Ablert), he is a really nice guy and I'm sure he'd be happy to help you or point you to a good resource. Once again, check out their website, I believe it has some good stuff on there from memory.

http://www.microbiol.unimelb.edu.au/people/dyallsmith/MUKC_archives/MUKC_2005/

If none of that is good for you, drop me a PM or an email combatdefence@gmail.com and we can chat some more.

[Jiffy]

Oh, failing that, maybe we can organise some sort of joint-school seminar.... drop me an email...

[Black_Crane]

Thanks for all your help.

Ill definately check out those links

Thanks again.