kata creation

[mikS]

In my old school, you are required to make up your own kata for 2nd degree and your own weapons kata for 3rd degree. They are both musical forms and must incorporate both traditional and modern techniques. Flow was the key in both.

 

 

 

 

Um, don't mean to be insulting, but MUSICAL FORMS??? WHY??? What kind of TMA or any MARTIAL art......i dunno that just sounds weird and stupid. no offense!

[karate_woman]

In my old school, you are required to make up your own kata for 2nd degree and your own weapons kata for 3rd degree. They are both musical forms and must incorporate both traditional and modern techniques. Flow was the key in both.

 

 

 

 

Um, don't mean to be insulting, but MUSICAL FORMS??? WHY??? What kind of TMA or any MARTIAL art......i dunno that just sounds weird and stupid. no offense!

Gee I don't know why anyone would find THAT offensive.

 

Traditional martial arts don't generally teach musical forms(from what I've seen), but from what ninjanurse wrote she was mentioned both traditional and contemporary.

 

While I haven't done so myself at this point, I don't know why anyone would discourage creating your own form. I think that the benefits to creating your own kata (to music or otherwise) would be similar to creating anything else: satisfaction, a chance to apply what you've learned, a chance to think about your moves and how they would fit together effectively, while thinking about the bunkai and how it flows/whether your form makes sense. The music - well, besides being entertaining, in many competitions that involve creative musical forms the form has to match the music, so you'd be working on very specific timing aspects as well as all of the other stuff.

[mArTiAl_GiRl]

Fireka, I have!

 

In Balticum, we have "the best created kata" competitions. I have won first place at one of those competitions.

 

We use to do this competition at our Karate Club camps and in Latvia.

 

I would love to hear more about your kata, do you have a link?

 

That's nice to hear!

 

But I'm sorry, I haven't got a link.

 

I did my kata in shito-ryu style, I added some open hand strikes and shiko-dachi stances, and other low stances and cat stances. Others who did their katas had most junzuki's and just junzuki dachis, maybe that's why I won. Don't know exactly...

[ninjanurse]

KarateWoman has answered for me!! Thanks!!!!!!

 

Different does not equal stupid or weird, it's just different and, people don't grow-mentally, physically, or spiritually- unless they stretch beyond what they are comfortable with.

 

[Rich]

You cant make your own katas up unless you are a master who understands the principles or you are a dancer and not a 'martial' artist at all.

 

The kata demonstrate 'predictable' response- one move brings on another, You can't string any old moves together- and musical forms- please!

 

The forms that are already there will keep you going for a lifetime so don't worry about making some up- unless you are a great master who has fought for real on many occasions.

 

Rich

[karate_woman]

You cant make your own katas up unless you are a master who understands the principles or you are a dancer and not a 'martial' artist at all.

 

The kata demonstrate 'predictable' response- one move brings on another, You can't string any old moves together- and musical forms- please!

 

The forms that are already there will keep you going for a lifetime so don't worry about making some up- unless you are a great master who has fought for real on many occasions.

 

Rich

That is exactly why making a proper form is a challenge; it should really make logical sense. I don't think it would be a "dance" if someone (black belts in ninjanurse's case) created their own form for a grading especially; just imagine the grading panel watching the form and questioning the creator on the bunkai - any "dancers" in that situation would be at a loss to explain why these particular moves went together, how many opponents there are, etc. When you add music into the equation, it is for entertainment, but matching the kata to the song and having an appropriate song choice would be tasks to add on top of all the other stuff.

 

In fact, to create a good form is such an undertaking that is the main reason I haven't created one yet; if I ever make one I want it to be really good, and no, I don't mean just showy. In the meantime, there are several kata from both Goju and Kobudo that I have left to learn - one of them being 108 movements long!

 

Now as for underbelts creating their own kata...well, the kata would reflect the practitioner's level of skill, and I'd venture a guess that the lower the belt level of the creater the more likely the person would either change the kata as they became a higher belt or abandon it altogether unless they had help in its creation. It would still be an exercise in expressing what they've learned, though.

 

I do think it takes away from the person's training to try to create something as complex as a kata from the get go - a self defense routine might be more in order to get the creative juices flowing.

[hobbitbob]

Why not just go the whole nine yards and create your own style, buy a certificate on Ebay, name yourself tenth dan,and open a McDojo?

[WhiteBelt]

What's wrong with making your own kata. It would show you how difficult it is to include so many layers in such a simple thing. Nobody said it has to taught to others.

[Rich]

If you want to make up a kata for a martial sport then fine. If you are doing a martial art then until you learn and understand the reason why you shouldnt be making up katas you have no business even contemplating it. I do know and I wouldn't be so egotistical to even attempt it myself plus the fact that anything I came up with would have come from kata anyway.

 

Stop wasting time and get training

 

Rich

[ninjanurse]

You cant make your own katas up unless you are a master who understands the principles or you are a dancer and not a 'martial' artist at all.

 

The kata demonstrate 'predictable' response- one move brings on another, You can't string any old moves together- and musical forms- please!

 

The forms that are already there will keep you going for a lifetime so don't worry about making some up- unless you are a great master who has fought for real on many occasions.

 

Rich

 

Creating a new kata for a style and then teaching it to others is indeed a "masters" privledge, but using what you have learned (after 6-10 years of study) to put together a form incorporating proper technique, bunkai, and flow (with and withut a weapon) serves to both challenge and evaluate. Creativity is a powerful thing...many a battle has been won simply by pitting the mind against physical prowess. Never underestimate the value of a training method, or question the master that developed it.