How well do u know your old kata/forms?

[Azmyth]

Those of you higher rank.. if you had to go back and do your white belt patterns now.. would you be able to do them flawless?

just trying to decide if i should go back and work on my lower belt forms, or worry about them when i hit black and have to actually do them at the tests again. I know all the patterns, but my execution could use some sharpening.

[danbong]

If you can't perform your white belt kata/form with black belt skill and quality then you shouldn't be a black belt. Now having said that, let me note that typically white belt forms are the hardest to do "perfectly" becuase the moves are so simple that it is very easy to see the smallest flaws in your technique.

[lordtariel]

I have to. If I can't perform a belt-required kata, I get temporarily demoted to that belt level until I can prove I have improved.(It has happened to people in the dojo) I try to take 20-30 minutes once a week and just go through every kata I know, back to back. It doesn't take that much to keep them fresh though, a technique is a technique. Learn those techniques well and kata simply becomes a sequence of moves. A violent square dance if you would.

[bushido_man96]

Don't wait!!!! I have seen many students have to work to cram in the knowledge of their old forms once they got close to black belt, and it takes a lot of time away from other training. Review them now. You will be better for it in the long run. You will be more confident with them, and you won't end up second guessing yourself.

I take lots of pride in being able to recall a form on the spot. It makes me feel good to know that lower ranks can come to me with forms questions, and I can answer them without any problems.

In some schools, it is a requirement to be able to demonstrate the material for the rank prior in order to be eligible to test for the next rank. If I run a school again, that is the way I will do it, as well.

Nice explanation, Kevin!

[DWx]

I always go through the 1st 3 or 4 forms as part of my personal warm up before a training session. Helps to get me in the right frame of mind before starting. They just get ingrained into you if you do them often enough...

[ps1]

NO WAY!! If you wait to do them later, you'll find you will stink at performing them. I perform my basic kata more often than the advanced kata (If ther is such a thing).

Imagine you were given a gift of $5000. Then you decided you'd put it in the bank once you have a million. You'd lose money in interest and probably spend it before it ever got anywhere near a million. That's what you're doing when you decide not to practice your first few kata. The interest represents the move toward "perfection" that you were talking about.

Practice them.

[Montana]

If you can't perform your white belt kata/form with black belt skill and quality then you shouldn't be a black belt.

Agreed!

Now having said that, let me note that typically white belt forms are the hardest to do "perfectly" becuase the moves are so simple that it is very easy to see the smallest flaws in your technique.

Simple? Well, simpler than higher katas perhaps, but simple...not even! Our "simpliest", first kata is Pinan Shodan (Shotokan people call it Nidan). Attention to minute details is important the higher you are ranked. Nobody does it perfectly, especially myself, but that is our goal.

Just on a side note here, ALL kata can be asked for for each and every test we take. ALL known kata are practiced by ALL karateka (including myself) during each practice. Each and every kata in our system is as important as any other and has its place in our system.

Well, now you did it. You went and made me use upper case!

[danbong]

Well, now you did it. You went and made me use upper case!

I sure hope it was Azmyth that made you use upper case - I'd sure hate to have a 6' 6" guy from Montana upset with me

Simple? Well, simpler than higher katas perhaps, but simple...not even!

I used a poor choice of words. What I meant to convey is "less body motion during each step," so the details are more apparent.

Edited August 22, 2007 by danbong

[karatekid1975]

I remember my kata/forms from TSD (my first style). It took a bit to get the technique down again, but I still have them. That's because we did them EVERY CLASS, EVERY FORM. When I went back to TSD (my old dojang), after being in TKD for a while (about 3 years or so), I still remembered them. And this time, it's the same (after 5 years of TKD).

So, having said that, my advice would be, practice ALL your forms as often as possible. Not just the advanced ones. The lower ones can really sharpen your basics as well. So it's a win-win situation.

[YoungMan]

I know all my old forms because I taught for about 12 years and had to. I've seen instructors and black belts who taught forms while looking at the forms in a book. To me, this is absolutely unacceptable. If you don't know the forms, don't teach.