I walked out on my sons competition Saturday

[doug_kissaki]

I admit that I only read the first two pages of posts, so if what I say here has already been said, I apologize.

First of all, in a tournament where multiple styles are competing, there is no way of assigning specific katas to specific belts. This often changes from school to school.

That being said, there is a big difference between doing a "yellow belt kata" as a yellow belt and doing it as a black belt. Tekki is an excellent kata (I just listed it in another discussion as one of my favorites), but if it is going to be done in competition, it needs to be explosive!

[bushido_man96]

First of all, in a tournament where multiple styles are competing, there is no way of assigning specific katas to specific belts. This often changes from school to school.

I agree. Even at tournaments that were TKD tournaments, I have seen forms from three different systems in the same ring. I saw a 3rd degree from that ATA doing a 1st degree form. My brother judged in the ring, and new the form. The guy had changed a few things to make it a bit flashier, and my brother noticed the changes. The other judges weren't familiar with it, and they were impressed by just his technical ability. When my brother gave him the lowest score that he got (by a few digits), the student asked him about it after the competition. When it was done, he had learned that my brother was familiar with the form.

[doug_kissaki]

My brother judged in the ring, and new the form. The guy had changed a few things to make it a bit flashier, and my brother noticed the changes.

That's interesting... I don't know how he made that determination. Katas are often changed and/or taught differently by different instructors. He may have been doing the form exactly how he learned it.

[bushido_man96]

My brother judged in the ring, and new the form. The guy had changed a few things to make it a bit flashier, and my brother noticed the changes.

That's interesting... I don't know how he made that determination. Katas are often changed and/or taught differently by different instructors. He may have been doing the form exactly how he learned it.

In the ATA, the way the forms are done are fairly uniform. There aren't a lot of alterations made from school to school.

[doug_kissaki]

Which organization is ATA? (American Taekwondo Association?)

I guess if an ATA member is doing a kata common to that organization your point is valid, but similar katas are often practiced by schools outside of your organization and that has to be accounted for.

[bushido_man96]

Which organization is ATA? (American Taekwondo Association?)

I guess if an ATA member is doing a kata common to that organization your point is valid, but similar katas are often practiced by schools outside of your organization and that has to be accounted for.

Yes, American Taekwondo Association. My brother and I had both judged in tournaments for the ATA, so we knew how the form should look. The ATA keeps there poomsae a lot more uniform, with lots less interpretation than other form sets. The forms are also copyrighted, so they can't be taken and used by other organization. It allows the ATA to keep things fairly standarized.

[ShawnMiller]

As far as the kid doing Naihanchi so what that is on of the most destructive kata's thier is. Of course that would depend on how much it has been altered. I know of many high ranking black belts that practice Naihanchi(Tekki)kata every day.