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[KyleM]

Hi, i attended my first Karate class two days ago (not sure yet what specific "form" of Karate it is).

What I am wondering is are the Kata or patterns for each type similar, in that will i learn basically the same things in order to pass a grading as a another form would.

And is the kata similar in any way to Tae Kwon Do ( i did this for a year when i was younger and still remember some of what i was taught, only progressed to green belt)

Thanks,

Kyle

[ps1]

Some of the kata are similar to one another. They are there to develop specific habits and some of those concepts are repeated as you progress through the ranks. Others are not the same at all. It just depends which kata your system teaches.

The kata you will learn may or may not be similar to TKD forms. That depends on which system of TKD you were learning. I've seen TKD that has all of the Heian kata. Then I've seen TKD whose forms are not at all like those in Karate.

Anyway, good luck in your training. Welcome to the forums!

[Ippiki_Ookami]

Some of the kata are similar to one another. They are there to develop specific habits and some of those concepts are repeated as you progress through the ranks. Others are not the same at all. It just depends which kata your system teaches.

The kata you will learn may or may not be similar to TKD forms. That depends on which system of TKD you were learning. I've seen TKD that has all of the Heian kata. Then I've seen TKD whose forms are not at all like those in Karate.

Anyway, good luck in your training. Welcome to the forums!

I agree, some kata are similar while others are completely different.

I'm not sure about TKD as I haven't seen much of it, so sorry I can't make a point there.

Enjoy your training!

[bushido_man96]

If you were in a TKD school that did ITF style forms, then you may recognize some of the movements in the forms in your Karate. Try to find out what style it is. This should be easy to find out.

Welcome to the Forums!

[KyleM]

Thanks guys.

Also noticing that i'm not as flexible as i was back when i did TKD and struggle to raise side kicks any higher then chest height. Can anyone recommend some stretches for fixing that?

[bushido_man96]

Standing toe touches, seated reverse hurdler stretches, front and side splits can all help to improve your flexibility.

However, also keep in mind that flexibility won't do you much good unless your legs are strong enough to lift themselves that high. Don't neglect leg strenght, either.

[Sensei Tom OBrien]

KyleM,

Welcome aboard. Yeah some of the forms in TKD and karate are similiar. The TKD, Palgwe forms can be similiar to the karate Heian kata. Stretching is something you need to do every day and every chance you get. Use a stair case and go up a step and another and so forth. Throw your leg up on anything and stretch. You can stretch when you are sitting in front of the TV set. Train hard & good luck.

Thanks,

Sensei Tom

[KyleM]

Worked on some of the grading stuff i needed to know tonight, and after the class i did kata for an hour, got the movements and kiai memorised for my white belt test, all thats left now is to keep training and work at perfecting my form, grading is in one month, hopefully i can work up enough to pass.

[Sensei Tom OBrien]

Good luck on your test. Keep training hard.

Thanks,

Sensei Tom

[Ottman]

However, also keep in mind that flexibility won't do you much good unless your legs are strong enough to lift themselves that high. Don't neglect leg strenght, either.

Great point bushido-man. Stretching will help you to develop this strength, as long as you hold each stretch for at least 8 seconds. (And don't bounce back and forth between overextending and relaxed. A full stretch should be a little painful, in the way that lifting weights should be a little painful. If it is so painful that you can only hold it for a second before relaxing the stretch, then you're overdoing it.) But if you really want excellent results quickly, then you must get some resistance training in there as well, even if it's just wearing 2 1/2 pound ankle weights.

All this being said, from what I've witnessed and been told about karate, chest height should be plenty high in the vast majority of cases.

(That being said, you should still be able to kick head height.)

Ok I'm done contradicting myself.

Good luck in your test and with your Karate training and welcome to the forum.