Materials (DVD/Book) to learn a Kata alone ?

[nemcuon]

Dear members,

I'm an hyperactive man: everyday if I don't do round 20 minutes of sport, then I cannot focus on doing my job as a programmer.

Recently, I've found out that practicing a Kata every morning greatly helps to release my too-much energy, which helps me to focus very well at work. The Kata also helps to stream blood to my head, which is also helpful to my job (which require a great deal of brain health).

So, the question is: do you know any

- Method

- Books or DVD

so that I could learn some more Kata, to practice each morning?

Many thanks to you

NC

[nemcuon]

Some more information about my question here:

- I know the kata I am doing, from a book I read when I was a young boy, so I don't know its name.

- I don't have a preference to the style of the Kata I am asking. Although one which strong and fast movement would be nice.

- I don't want to make my cloths dirty on rainy days when I practice, so the Kata which requires a lying/rolling on the ground is not ideal for me.

Many thanks

[nemcuon]

Something like this ???

Is this too difficult / not recommended for a novice like me? I've got no official martial art in my life, though I have been loving it since 20 years. Thus, my level is like some one with the training of 6 months.

[isshinryu5toforever]

If you haven't actually trained somewhere, you don't know your level. You aren't likely to get a lot of help on here, because most people, myself included, don't think you should, or even can, train yourself in any martial art.

[sensei8]

You can learn the order of the movements in a Kata from a book/DVD, but, you'll not be able to explore and/or understand the who, what, when, where, how, and why of the Kata. You'll not understand the Bunkai of said Kata. You'll not know if you're doing any part of said Kata correctly. You'll not understand how and why the hips are so important.

In general, imho, you'll only be able to imitate the movements, and Kata is so much more than that. To most beginners, a block is just that...a block, but, that's not always the case.

A credible and knowledgeable instructor is needed across the board, not just for Kata.

Why do you move the way that you do? You won't have the TRUE answer to that by yourself.

[sensei8]

Something like this ???

Is this too difficult / not recommended for a novice like me? I've got no official martial art in my life, though I have been loving it since 20 years. Thus, my level is like some one with the training of 6 months.

Yes, the Kata's shown in your link are very extremely difficult for someone with only 6 months under their belt. Each and every Kata shown on your link are black belt level, as a matter of fact, the Kata Unsu, shown several times in your link, is usually reserved for 4th degree black belts, and this rank CAN, but not exactly always, span a time of 10 years minimum of CONSTANT training under a credible and certified instructor of a minimum dan ranking of 6th degree black belt.

6 months of training Kata should be doing Heian/Pinan Shodan at best...

[bushido_man96]

You can find lots of katas/forms demonstrated on YouTube, if all you are wanting to do is copy the movements. There are katas of all levels floating around on there.

But, I agree with the others. You might be able to better focus that energy you need to burn off by joining a class and taking lessons. Otherwise, you'd be better off just doing some calesthenics in the morning.

[nemcuon]

Thank you all for the good comments.

I'll be back and update if I find an instructor (for a real lesson), or something interesting in my copying of a Kata .

By the way, since you mentioned that the hip is so important, I remember there's a Vietnamese instructor who does focus on the hip here:

But, this is so smooth that doesn't burn enough my energy.

Edited November 3, 2010 by nemcuon

[nemcuon]

Yes, the Kata's shown in your link are very extremely difficult for someone with only 6 months under their belt. Each and every Kata shown on your link are black belt level, as a matter of fact, the Kata Unsu, shown several times in your link, is usually reserved for 4th degree black belts, and this rank CAN, but not exactly always, span a time of 10 years minimum of CONSTANT training under a credible and certified instructor of a minimum dan ranking of 6th degree black belt.

6 months of training Kata should be doing Heian/Pinan Shodan at best...

No, Heian Kata is too simple, and would make me bored if I would do that every morning. What I am doing now every morning is like at grade 4, if Usun is at grade 10, and Heian is grade 1.

[isshinryu5toforever]

Do you really understand what you're doing? Or are you just doing it because it looks martial arts-y?

There's a big difference between being able to run through a form and knowing what you're doing. If you really want to learn, not just mimic, what you're seeing, then I suggest joining a martial arts school. It will help you focus your energy on learning things correctly, and you won't have all sorts of bad habits that will have to be corrected. You also won't fall into the dangerous trap of ever uttering the phrase, "That's not what it looked like on the tape."