how to make karate kata look better?

[david123]

hey...im just wandering if their is another way of improving kata without practicing karate like a long belt or long suits, people say they make it look better is it true?? any other ways??

[sensei8]

hey...im just wandering if their is another way of improving kata without practicing karate like a long belt or long suits, people say they make it look better is it true?? any other ways??

I don't completely understand what you're saying. The only way I know to improve kata is to PRACTICE until the wheels fall off and more!

[Montana]

Long suits and belts? Nope!

How to make your kata look better is simple...do it RIGHT!

[Jay]

What you wear doesn't matter as much as you.

For kata there are lots of things you can do.

Watch Videos-I see you do shotokan so look up kanazawa followed by th kata name. Most of them are on youtube.

Then learn one move at a time. Concentrate on precision of hands and feet. Weight transfer is very important. Its not so much the techniques but the transitions between them that make kata look good. You must be fluid and not too jerky.

Kata is one of the few things in martial arts that you can learn very well from video.

[Soheir]

Do you know all of the bunkais in the katas that you're practicing?

It's very important to understand what you're doing and keep that in mind while you're doing it.

[solitarymonkey]

without practice, a kata will never look good. the best kata performances come from people who spend loads of time practicing all different aspects of their training. they will be composed, timely, accurate, appear powerful and have lots of "snap" to their technique. which does remind me of one "trick". wearing a heavy weight gi can help enhance your "wow" factor. they look smart and don't fall open like lightweight gi's, look cleaner (both hygenically and technically), and make clapping noises with fast punches etc.

oh, and relax. kata's never look good when you're all tense and bricking it.

[Shotokan_Tigress]

I think that question is wrong in essentials. The right one would be 'How to make a kata be better?' or simply 'How to make a kata better?' If a kata IS good it will LOOK good. There are many factors; power, speed and balance are a few. There is also a certain explosive-ness in some kata. You need to be master of your body and in control of every part and like Soheir said, know the Bunkai (application) of every technique. You have to practice and practice and practice. And you have to practice with thought.

[Harlan]

'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.'

I've watched award-winning tournament karate kata, and frankly, most of it leaves me...uninspired. Snap, kime, pretty pouts, and gaaaaawd awfully long pauses and lots of poses are the standard for looking good. And don't get me going on what passes for good kobudo.

Personally, I think karate kata should say one thing: power.

hey...im just wandering if their is another way of improving kata without practicing karate like a long belt or long suits, people say they make it look better is it true?? any other ways??

[Jeffrey]

OK I'm confused a bit. Your topic is how to make it look better. I'll give IMO response to this. Kata was made to teach you how to defend yourself. Stances were short etc.... Now a day’s people have made the stances longer to make it look good in tournaments. It does not make it effective in self defense. So why do we practice this way is beyond me.

If you want to improve it all it takes practice. The more you do it the better it becomes. Break it done into sections and work on weak points.

As for the longer belt thing. Some people use longer belts to show hip movement. As your hips turns into the technique the belt swings from side to side. Some judges look for this. Why not just watch the hips.

[Soheir]

OK I'm confused a bit. Your topic is how to make it look better. I'll give IMO response to this. Kata was made to teach you how to defend yourself. Stances were short etc.... Now a day’s people have made the stances longer to make it look good in tournaments. It does not make it effective in self defense. So why do we practice this way is beyond me.

Stance being longer makes it stronger and so helps you to create more powerful hand techniques. Those also teach you how to move effectively on different surface or when the opponent is trying to unbalance your stance.

By low and long stances we learn our bodies limits which aren't very much in the higher stances.