pace/speed in forms

[bushido_man96]

On 10/7/2025 at 2:15 PM, Zaine said:

I posted this and then had more thoughts. I want to come back to this point, in particular, because doing this really created a lot of growth in my martial arts. As we know, kata is not a choreographed fight. No one with any actual understanding of kata who was unfortunate enough to need to use their training in a real situation would start doing pinan shodan to get out of it. Instead, if they have worked the techniques in pinan shodan with a partner, they might be inclined to use a particular technique from that kata in their attempts to get away from the confrontation.

By adding restrictions to your kata, you open up lines and variations in your technique. You start to ask yourself "how would this work if I couldn't take a step? How would this work if I couldn't extend my arm all the way?" These questions and concepts can then be drilled with a partner. You end up exploring more than the surface level of a kata. It's an incredible way to gain understanding. When I started doing this, I was already a black belt. The growth you experience as you rank up becomes increasingly incremental and you learn to look for the change in different ways. Doing this, on the other hand, was anything but incremental for me. It really pushed me towards growth much faster than I had expected.

That's a great training exercise.  Thanks for sharing your additional thoughts on it.

[bushido_man96]

On 10/7/2025 at 10:42 AM, Spartacus Maximus said:

Is there a some difference between the way you do your forms in the dojo/school and how you practice them by yourself on your own personal time in private?

Personally when practising kata alone it makes sense to do everything step-by-step. Pace and rythm would depend on when the kata was first learned. 

This really depends.  At home, I don't have much room, so I will just walk through the techniques and stances just to get a review in.  If I have room to do them, then it just depends on how warmed up I am and what I'm in the mood to do that day.

[sensei8]

Pace is important; as in everything, it has its place. Moreover, all of the other elements must be considered, especially said the technique being executed. That’s why kata isn’t a dance; it’s elements can be quite effective.

That’s why we drill the tar out of the three K’s; they open other avenues of maturing one’s techniques.

[KarateKen]

24 minutes ago, sensei8 said:

Pace is important; as in everything, it has its place. Moreover, all of the other elements must be considered, especially said the technique being executed. That’s why kata isn’t a dance; it’s elements can be quite effective.

That’s why we drill the tar out of the three K’s; they open other avenues of maturing one’s techniques.

When I first started training kata was my least favorite thing to do.   We used to have M-Thursday class, and I hated it on Thursday night when the last ten minutes was kata, because I knew I wasn't going to get to train anything else until Monday.  As I got older kata became my favorite thing to train.  One of my instructors was talking about forms and said, "students say kata is boring, but that means you are doing it wrong."  That made me rethink it.