Entering my first Kata competition on the 12th

[Wa-No-Michi]

As you no katas are practice as if you are in a real fight so you should turn your head as so. Would you not turn an look at your opponent as you are striking? Head movement is something I am working on.

i showed part of heian shodan to my father and he said after i explained what a gedan barai was and after i did the first one and he said What if your opponent goes to hit you in the head instead of aiming low when i said you always do this first move with heian shodan. I didnt know how to answer him even though i said its only pretend opponent but you act like he's real.

I will let you know how I do. I figure its my first competition im going to and im little white belt so i figure if i finish in the top ten or so of little kata white belt competition i did pretty good medal or no medal hehe

and oh yeah, nice loud kiai's......You won't wanna hear my Kiai...I'm gonna rock the roof haha....and I do 2 of them in heian shodan.

btw i find if i turn my head it helps with balance too when turning.

as for 'pocketfuls of fly' I made that one up =]

Kata are set forms practiced for a number of different reasons. All of which will become apparent as you continue with your training, but at your stage all you have to worry about is reproducing as faithfully as possible the Kata that your instructor does.

If he moves his head then you should. By all means listen to people on this board but only take advise from your instructor. Its what you pay him for.

Re the head turning first thing.

In most Japanese senior grade Kata, the only time where the head turns prior to the body moving is when it is detailed as a specific move in the Kata ie Nahanchi.

Outside of this the head is not turned independently for very specific reasons:

1. It adds a move in a kata that is not there

2. By turning your head to face one opponent, you are pottentially looking away from another - and from a budo perspective thats not too clever.

Remember kata is practiced as if against 4 or more opponents.

Instead of looking as a separate technique, we should use our peripheral vision, our hearing and sense of movement to judge your opponent's kamae.

By moving the head at the same time as the move, we can see in more than one direction - training your Budo radar - as it were.

Ultimately in Karate we should use all of our senses and here is another example of where this manifests itself.

Also your dad raises a valid point. what if your opponent goes to hit you in the head when you are doing a Gedan barai? Of course in the Kata you are performing the technique as if against a lower attack – in the kata this will never change.

Kata should never become “Igata” and one should never be stuck in Kata, but kata is kata, and should be practiced as such.

Application of kata however brings about a whole new ball game where techniques can be practiced at varying heights.

Kumite is where the random element comes into play.

But, as I say if your instructor wants you to look first then do as he suggests - it may be the way he wants his beginners to learn.

Good luck either way.

WNM

[JohnASE]

Good luck with your first tournament!

My only advice for you would be that whether you do well or not, or enjoy yourself or not, you can always learn something from the experience.

[Blade96]

Thanks btw did Kata last night in front of my sensei while he pretended to be a judge....he said i could possibly win a medal with my heian shodan...also loved my nice loud kiai's. =]

That's nice news =]

btw not nervous anymore...just excited. I also trained almost 2 hours today.

i cant wait for saturday to get here

[white owl]

So sorry, I forgot to say loud KIA'S.

[Blade96]

So sorry, I forgot to say loud KIA'S.

ya. nice loud kiai's.

I suspect everyone will be screaming their heads off tomorrow.

competition day.

[Ichi_Geki]

Good luck tomorrow...

[DWx]

Good luck Blade96!

All good suggestions so far. Probably a bit late but only thing I'll add is make sure you know the what I'd call diagram of the kata. That is, where and how far you're going to be moving. The judges may tell you to stand on a spot but if you think there isn't enough room ask to move. Nothing worse than ending up standing on one of the judges halfway through. Oh and also good etiquette is always a must. It shouldn't but it does help bias the judges towards you sometimes.

[sensei8]

Are the duration(s) of the pauses set by the creator of said Kata or by the practitioner or a combination of both?