I really hate forms

[kamahlthedruid]

I remember breaking the forms into parts and doing partner drills based on these forms.

[sensei8]

Although I'm a huge proponent for Kata, Bunkai, and Oyo Bunkai, I'm dead-set against excessive kata training. That's why in Karate it's called...the Three K's, not one K. To much of a good thing, and kata is a good thing, imho, is a bad thing.

Imagine you love Chocolate Ice Cream. You can't seem to get enough of it. You don't just eat Chocolate Ice Cream, you devour it. And at times, because you love Chocolate Ice Cream so much, you take your time with it, favoring each and every little spoonful. You even rip open the container so that you don't waste any of it, licking up even the tinest morsel. You've eaten more Chocolate Ice Cream than Baskin Robbins can supply.

NOW....

Imagine that there's no more Chocolate Ice Cream to be found anywhere in the world.

[Lupin1]

I'm missing something with that analogy.

[Toptomcat]

...make more chocolate ice cream?

[username13768]

I agree with you sensei8 for the most part. However, I believe that kata should permeate most of the training in traditional karate. By this I mean that all kihon drills and all self defense as well as all kumite should come from the kata. To me these other drills and exercises are where you really start learning your forms. I detest free sparring the way that it's presented today. It wasn't originally like that. If you look at old JKA pics and videos if you can find them you'll see that their free sparring techniques came directly from their kihon and kata.

I was taught that katas are basically like encyclopedias of a particular master's style (the guy who made up the form). The kata represents a synthesis of the styles techniques. It's a bit like a physical mnemonic aid. The timings taught in kata are not set in stone. They are there to give you sort of a basic guideline. The situation and the speific technique will dictate the timing always. Anyway .... I hope you get the idea of where I'm coming from.

[sensei8]

I'm missing something with that analogy.

LOL! It's all good!

Replace the words....CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM with the word KATA. Then read it back to you a few times. Perhaps then, you'll get my analogy.

[sensei8]

...make more chocolate ice cream?

ROFLMHO.....I'm still laughing...

[Lupin1]

Mmmmm licking up those tasty morsels of kata. Yum.

[Toptomcat]

I agree with you sensei8 for the most part. However, I believe that kata should permeate most of the training in traditional karate. By this I mean that all kihon drills and all self defense as well as all kumite should come from the kata. To me these other drills and exercises are where you really start learning your forms. I detest free sparring the way that it's presented today. It wasn't originally like that. If you look at old JKA pics and videos if you can find them you'll see that their free sparring techniques came directly from their kihon and kata.

Why not judge training methods by the caliber of martial artists they produce, not their degree of adherence to old methods of the Japanese Karate Association? In my opinion sparring-heavy styles of karate have produced some impressive karateka...

[username13768]

I guess that it depends on your definition of impressive. I think here again I'll just have to agree to disagree. I am who I am and always will be. I'm my Teachers' student.

For the record I wasn't specifically talking about the JKA. I dislike very much what they did to karate after it migrated to Japan from Okinawa. I just used a few well recognized names as a reference. Maybe I should have used Soken Hohan Sensei.