I Am Sick Of So Many Things

[rabid hamster]

Yes I totally agree about the kid thing. I think kids, adults, and teens should all be in seperate classes. It's annoying waiting for little kids to get something right, plus I just don't like being in the same class as them, it makes me feel old lol. As for the adults, the women adults are okay with me because I am as good as them, but some of the guy adults(not all) kick so much harder then I can and that gets annoying too.. Even if their technique does suck.

[G95champ]

I think kate teaches you everything. One its really the only thing you can do alone. I mean you can do basic moves alone but you feel sort of dumb. It works, balance, breathing, timming, stance, power, speed, mind, etc.

 

There is not subistute for actually sparring but I think kata practice is as close as you can get. If you want to call it shadow boxing this is fine. No there is never a fight that flows as a kata does but almost every combination used in kata can be used and is used a lot by us without knowing it.

 

When I teach sparring I will say stop or pause and ask a kid if they know what they just did. I will say that is the same move that you do in Heian Shodan, or Bassai Dai.

 

Kata practice don't have to be working your traditonal kata either. You can as you say shadow box and move arround working moves in the air as though you were being attacked.

 

Kata for me clears the mind and trains the body. IMO the good Martial Artist are good at kata. There are a lot of good fighters that can't do kata at all. The true Martial Artis can do both well but is super in his or her preformance of the most basic kata.

 

If you want to really know how good someone is ask them to do then teach a kata and you will know if they are a quality black belt or not.

[G95champ]

Let me add Bon if you are just in the Martial Arts to fight you are here for the wrong reason. Martial Arts developed more along the lines on nonviolence. Like Pat Miritia said in karate kid. Fighting is never good but if you must fight win.

 

I know a lot of people who just pass kata off as a time killer in class. Howver when I was a student and now as a teacher we do anything but kill time with it. As one studented preforms his or her kata the rest of the class watches. I will say ok Bobby what did that last set of moves in the kata represent. You never get the same answer which is the right answer. Becasue as you said kata is differant for everyone.

 

EX a rising block

 

Bobby says to block a punch

 

Sue says to block a stick

 

Dave says strike to the throat

 

Wendy says to break an arm

 

Jason says to escape from a choke hold

 

Frank says to stop something from falling on you

 

Mary says to block the sun out of your eyes

 

Point is with kata you are free to think and expand. If you miss the importance of it you are missing the true goal of karate.

 

[ This Message was edited by: G95champ on 2002-05-24 23:07 ]

[Bon]

G95champ, I appreciate your attempt to explain it to me.. So far, I'm only hearing what it does, not HOW.. That's the part I can't get my head around..

 

My Uncle did kempokan, and he sure as hell could fight. I might go to the dojo where he trained for a few months to see if I can understand it, or if it helps me to be a better fighter. Maybe a kata without weapons would make more sense to me since I'm poor with weapons. For black belt, they're required to know a 1000 step kata.. Last time I spoke with him he didn't think it helped..

 

 

[ckdstudent]

To me my belt means nine years of hard work, I don't really care if it means anything to anyone else.

 

Have you ever entered a semi-contact contest, its harder than it looks. There are actually more injuries in semi-contact than in full contact contests.

 

As for size being important, yes it is. However more important is speed, I'm 5'10" and we have some people in our school who bodybuild regularly, martial arts is the only exercise I get and these people are half again my weight. And yet for some reason (perhaps simply more experience and practice at the techniques) they don't provide much of a challenge.

 

[ This Message was edited by: ckdstudent on 2002-05-25 06:20 ]

[Introspector]

Bon, one of the Tai Chi theories on kata-esque exercises... if they are done slowly, against a self-imposed resistance, then in a real fight situation, those movements will be exceptionally quick and smooth. Other than that, I suppose it offers an interesting way to practice combinations... a little more spicy than just repeating techniques, as well as boosting mental fortitude, balance, co-ordination. I personally would rather just drill techniques, spar or work out for an hour rather than do kata, but I don't get bored easily and that's just my preference, others may feel differently. Whether kata-style exercises are an actual effective training technique or whether they simply add tradition and depth to an art (supported perhaps by a lack of kata in many more modern arts?) is open to debate...

 

I agree that weight and strength do make a difference in a fight situation, and should not be overlooked by any martial artist. If nothing else they have to add to the ease of execution of our techniques.

 

 

 

[ This Message was edited by: Introspector on 2002-05-25 06:24 ]

[Jack]

Kata are an essential part of training for any serious martial artist... Kata are often considered useless and boring because the student does not put the effort, thought, concentration and focus into the kata. And considering how many are taught in the modern day, it comes as no suprise that this view is common.

 

However to those that do give kata proper seriousness and concentration, they will get physical and mental benefits from the kata. Funakoshi was awesome, and his karate study revolved around Kata. Kata is a moving form of meditation, and is a stepping stone between seated meditation and and complete clear-mindedness while sparring or fighting. Its valueable in itself as well since it allows you to practice combinations you wouldn't normally think up, and as G95 said, Kata clears the mind and trains the body.

 

If you look into some of Forrest E. Morgan's views on kata, you will find some interesting stuff there. Now I'm off to go practice my kata for an hour, do my basics then go for a run, laters.

 

 

[Eye of the Tiger]

I agree. You should get the black belt for the skill of the fighter not how long he has been doing it. I also agree that people with padding really piss me off. But apart from that I think everything else is alright.

 

 

[KickChick]

Well BlueDragon ... looks to me you took a bit of every highly debated thread and rolled it up into one post that seeks to vent all of your frustrations! Kudos to you for having shown to all of us what you are so sick of.

 

ah, but that is life ... some of those things you just cannot change ...

 

Immediate gratification, upward mobility, monetary mindfullness hence the dough-jo .... we all in some way have to deal with various degrees of this and yes it sucks.

 

As far as your grievances about kata, breaking, competitions and the general "softening" of the arts (not everyone practices their style according to the way you see it) .... clearly you have issues that are not warranted, you just seem to have personal dislikes (and we all have them).

 

 

[BlueDragon]

I never said that I was against Kata. I simply stated that I don't think it should be used as much as it is to determine at what level someone is at. It is a tool to teach what is needed for self defence (confidense, technique, etc..). You should judge something by the finished product not by how it was made.