Who competes in kata?

[joesteph]

The question "Who competes in tournaments?" definitely has the feel of sparring to me. I didn't want to mix the thread, so I'm asking "Who competes in kata?"

Many martial artists don't compete in the sparring division of tournaments for various reasons, but many of those tournaments have kata competition. In discussion with others, I said I did not want to compete in kata if I didn't know the applications of what I was doing. I feel there's a difference between declining sparring competition and declining kata competition, in my case, declining the latter not because I won't come home with a trophy, but because I don't feel it's "genuine" to me.

How do others feel?

[ninjanurse]

I do not concern myself with how others interpret and apply kata in a competition setting. I see it as a competition with myself to do it better than I have ever done-to find new meaning each time I perform it. That being said though....I only compete upon request of my Sifu as I too feel that the subjective nature of such events make it less "genuine/personal" in a broader sense.

[sensei8]

Man just loves to compete no matter the contest; whether it's an external or internal expression.

[joesteph]

I see it as a competition with myself to do it better than I have ever done-to find new meaning each time I perform it.

I noticed Tai Ji in your background, Heidi. I wonder if learning and performing its forms had an influence on how you feel about kata.

I only compete upon request of my Sifu as I too feel that the subjective nature of such events make it less "genuine/personal" in a broader sense.

Perhaps what's subjective to me is my feeling about its applications--whether or not I actually know the meaning of what I'm doing; to you, the competition itself is judged subjectively. Am I right on the latter?

[DWx]

If I'm at a tournament that does forms I'll enter them. As a warm up for the sparring j/k I kinda like doing them because I'll have to spend weeks refining each and the movements as the majority of marks get awarded based on technical accuracy. So I don't compete in them so much for the competition but for myself. I don't really expect to win anything in them anyway, sometimes I do but there are far better people than me.

[quinteros1963]

When I go to tournaments I compete in both Kata and sparring. I just like to compete so I do both. I will say that I loathe point fighting, but its usually included in the entry fee and I hate to waste money even more!

[KumitePanda]

i loathe kata! i'm naturally more ferocious in a sparring kihon kumite setting and all of my instructors have noticed that. but i've worked out that i try to like it if i imagine and do the timing like i was in a 4 on 1 situation. ohh and we have a Kata team called Team Kata!

[joesteph]

i've worked out that i try to like it if i imagine and do the timing like i was in a 4 on 1 situation.

I've given some thought to what you've posted, Rhi, and wondered if you're fortunate in that your teacher breaks kata down into bunkai, so that you understand the applications. If envisioning fighting 4 on 1 helps you perform, that's great, but wouldn't this mean that you know what the different movements mean (applications; bunkai) in order to "fight" 4 on 1 or even 1 on 1?

ohh and we have a Kata team called Team Kata!

This is great for demos and, I imagine, tournaments, but do the members of Team Kata know what the bunkai of the kata they perform are?

[ninjanurse]

I see it as a competition with myself to do it better than I have ever done-to find new meaning each time I perform it.

I noticed Tai Ji in your background, Heidi. I wonder if learning and performing its forms had an influence on how you feel about kata.

A good thought but no...I only recently started learning taiji. The forms are however an excellent "test" of oneself in that respect and I quite enjoy the challenges.

I only compete upon request of my Sifu as I too feel that the subjective nature of such events make it less "genuine/personal" in a broader sense.

Perhaps what's subjective to me is my feeling about its applications--whether or not I actually know the meaning of what I'm doing; to you, the competition itself is judged subjectively. Am I right on the latter?

You are correct...the judging is subjective.

[hawkfish]

I have been doing kata at tournaments since I started learning Karate six years ago. I think I have competed at 22 tournaments so far. Oddly enough, I only do kata and kihon and haven't sparred at a tournament yet.