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Kchef
22nd January 2007, 17:33
I try as a rule to practice 3 to 4 times per week for about an hour an half or so. I’ve been pretty happy with progress but it wasn’t until recently that I felt as if I had taken broad steps instead of small ones. Our sensei started talking a bit more about the “Killing Blow.” I’d certainly heard the concept said a number of time before but until I really grasped the overall concept I really just thought of them as words and not much else.

My katas were good but I seemed to have reached a wall I couldn’t scale and my Karate as a whole had done the same. The concept our sensei was looking for was one where we put as much as we could into each move as we could and not hurt ourselves. Each block was one that would decide the success of the fight and each punch should be able to stand on its own and win the fight outright. We were to look at each blow as a killing blow. I had certainly practiced my katas with power or Kemei (not certain of the spelling) but it had not reached the same level it did when practicing in this manner.

It may sound weird, but it’s like a light went off. After I’ve practice all of my katas and I feel comfortable with my progress, I then decide if I’ve warmed up enough to take it to the next level. If so, I’ll run through 3 or 4 katas with a max power mentality. I can’t go at that level for much longer than that but it’s been enough to count. I feel like I have been able to bridge that wall that seemed so difficult just a few months back. I feel confident enough to say that my Karate has improved and I just wanted to pass it along for those who might have reached a similar barrier.



K. Allen

trevorg
22nd January 2007, 20:22
My advice- don't try too hard and certainly dont think about it too much. Have a good sweat. The only way to achieve mastery is to practice hard and then harder still. It will all manifest itself in due course.

Osu
Trevor

David Russell
22nd January 2007, 21:19
Back in my Karate days. I always tried to do my kata's hard and at full power.
One of my instructors took me aside and had me practice them in slow motion. I did what I thought was slow and he said to slow it down to a snails pace. He meant it.

All the fluff dropped from my kata's. Places in the kata where I had sped up to hide flaws (even from myself) became easy to see and correct. My muscles became stonger and more flexable and my balace got better as I executed techniques in slow motion and had to support my body weight on one leg while holding my kicking leg up through a slow kick.

While doing this, Do your techniques as if you're doing them fast and hard. Let the muscles tense & relax, imigine you are hitting your opponent with a killing blow, just do it slowly.

You will see a lot of improvement in a short time and it will improve your kata's when you do them fast.

As an aside, when I visited other dojo's, I noticed much better acceptance after the insturctors saw me doing slow kata practice. My techniques were easy to see and they could judge my skill level easily.


David Russell

Juan Perez
23rd January 2007, 02:25
My teacher's teacher used to tell him, do it for "one thousand times, for one thousand days" in order to achieve mastery. I think my teacher took this literally because I remember working on the same basic waza for weeks for three hours a day, six days a week (I was a live-in student at the time).

TonyU
23rd January 2007, 12:14
There are different ways to practice and perform your katas. Each one will teach you something or expose a weakness or strength.

IMO, Mr. Allen, I think your sensei was smart in the fact that he saw he needed to take you to the next level in your training.

Brian Owens
23rd January 2007, 12:49
...Kemei (not certain of the spelling)...
Kime.

Also, the plural of kata is "kata," not "katas" (and certainly not "kata's" -- which is a singular possessive).

HTH.

Kchef
23rd January 2007, 21:45
Thanks for everyone's take on it.

My sensei had already had me work on my kata at an exaggerated slow pace and of course a normal one. He must have seen my progress and wanted to throw in a change up pitch to see if that helped by going in the other direction.

Which ever it was I believe that the change was a good one. He does often talk about the need to avoid getting sedentary with my training.

Thanks again

Kchef
23rd January 2007, 21:47
Kime.

Also, the plural of kata is "kata," not "katas" (and certainly not "kata's" -- which is a singular possessive).

HTH.

I do however like to know if i make a mistake.

Thanks

David Russell
24th January 2007, 00:25
After reading the original post and my response.

I want to make clear that I didn't mean to imply that you should go against what your instructor wanted you to do. I hope it wasn't taken that way as that was not my intent.

I was trying to point out that along with doing it fast and powerful, you might try kata at slow speed as well. Slow speed practice was of great benefit to me because I only wanted to do kata at the other extreme. :)

David Russell

Joseph Svinth
24th January 2007, 04:40
Want to try something else?

Do your kata facing the *corners* of the room rather than the walls. Proprioception is thrown off, and either you come out right or, more likely, you don't. This is one reason why people who do kata fine in training blow it at tournaments or taikai -- without the visual clues from the room, they don't know how much to shorten that step or speed up that maneuver.

Also worth trying is a metronome. Most kata have a beat, and it's not John Philip Sousa, either. Find the beat, and then move to it. Some places, you'll need to speed up, others you'll need to slow down.

As for stepping and transitioning -- heel and toe, heel and toe. This is more difficult than it sounds, especially if you're used to wearing shoes. Practice is required.

And, regardless of what we call it, is that technique *really* a block or a punch? Or is it instead (for example) a grip release? Tseiken tsuki, for instance, is without doubt a candidate for the world's slowest punch. But, as a grip release, it is really nifty. (Assuming, of course, you have a good zenkutsu dachi. If you don't, well, what can I say, but ya fall over. More things to work on.) Ditto for middle block. As everyone knows, even tseiken tsuki is fast enough to go through chudan uke. But, use chudan uke against nikkyo (the aikido/judo wrist lock), and lo! Enlightenment regarding the proper stance, timing, and whatnot. As for jodan uke, what if the block is not with the rising arm, but instead the block is done with the open hand in front of the face? E.g, the back hand deflects the incoming punch, the rising hand transitions into a controlling deflection of the opponent's striking arm, and at the same time, the hand in front of the face combines with a step forward to create a Jack Dempsey-style drop-step punch? Ooh. Ooh. More things to play with.

Or not: Your mileage may vary.

shotobouv
24th January 2007, 16:45
I would like to say that you might want to not just practice kata slow and at full speed, but in 3 ways.

Slow, good for breathing and harmony. Also this is a way for continous movement, pauses happen with breathing. No muscle, very relaxed.

Half speed and snappy with no power. It is light and lose. You catch the technique at the end and you emphasise the pull back (snappy). Breathing is again important.

Full speed best feeling. The other, slow and half speed, should warm you up so that when you are doing your best feeling, it is relaxed and driven from your breathing (centered).

I have found this to be a good self training tool. You can learn a lot about how you are doing something. You can learn a lot about the kata as well.

Just some thoughts.

Tim

trevorg
25th January 2007, 15:06
If it is of any help I always teach it this way:

1) Very slow, without speed or power, so that you may understand the efficacy of the technique.

2) Very slow but with extreme tension so as to understand the power with which the technique will be delivered.

3) Put it all together.

Then start sweating..........
Osu
Trevor

Katsu!
6th February 2007, 03:29
Hi All,

Reading all the postings one question arose, what do people want to achieve?

Doing a kata slow, fast, hard or soft doesn't really matter. Basically do the kata in which ever way depending on what youre concentrating on at the time. That said there is a way to do kata that is the proper way, basically a mixture of the above depending on the requirements of each set of moves within the kata. Every kata has its own tempo that variates through out.

That all aside isn't kata true purpose to embed the style of our style in us on a subconcious level? To the point where we react and move with true 'mushin' or no mind.

By having that in mind one can never hit a snag or wall in their training.


Osu!

Marko Miletic

Jeremy McCann
9th February 2007, 06:19
Kevin, just when you discovered that more effort would push you over that wall we all come along with more ideas and directions for the path of the kata! Joe and Marco have some great points that I'd like to expand on. Marco says that each kata has its own tempo. It does. It has fast parts, slow parts and pauses. Consider a piece of music. Without the silent spaces between the notes and notes held at different lengths, would it still be music? No it would not. The tempo of your kata will be influenced by your ryu, your immediate instructor and your take of the meaning of each sequence (or what movements, in fact, make up a sequence).
Marco also suggests that we will subconciously absorb our styles through kata, making our reaction in real combat situations automatic. This I disagree with unless you are practising your Bunkai in pairs or groups with aggressive and realistic attacks. I will suggest that our kata are like the volumes of a set of encyclopedia. Each kata has its movements. As we read into it further we discover deeper meanings.
Which brings me to Joe's idea regarding the high block. Yes, yes, yes! All of our Kihon are simply body movements designed to condition muscles to behave in certain patterns. It does not become a technique until it has an application. Each body movement mimicks countless combative techniques. You can virtually create a complete self-defense system just using gedan barrai (exageration!). Gedan Barrai the body movement encompasses low blocks, high blocks, redirects (softer, more subtle than blocks), strikes, kazushi (off balance), throws, strangulations, arm bars, grappling techniques, pressure point attacks and all manner of weaponry.
It is all there in your kata..... even the killing blow!

Katsu!
19th February 2007, 05:02
Kevin, just when you discovered that more effort would push you over that wall we all come along with more ideas and directions for the path of the kata! Joe and Marco have some great points that I'd like to expand on. Marco says that each kata has its own tempo. It does. It has fast parts, slow parts and pauses. Consider a piece of music. Without the silent spaces between the notes and notes held at different lengths, would it still be music? No it would not. The tempo of your kata will be influenced by your ryu, your immediate instructor and your take of the meaning of each sequence (or what movements, in fact, make up a sequence).
Marco also suggests that we will subconciously absorb our styles through kata, making our reaction in real combat situations automatic. This I disagree with unless you are practising your Bunkai in pairs or groups with aggressive and realistic attacks. I will suggest that our kata are like the volumes of a set of encyclopedia. Each kata has its movements. As we read into it further we discover deeper meanings.
Which brings me to Joe's idea regarding the high block. Yes, yes, yes! All of our Kihon are simply body movements designed to condition muscles to behave in certain patterns. It does not become a technique until it has an application. Each body movement mimicks countless combative techniques. You can virtually create a complete self-defense system just using gedan barrai (exageration!). Gedan Barrai the body movement encompasses low blocks, high blocks, redirects (softer, more subtle than blocks), strikes, kazushi (off balance), throws, strangulations, arm bars, grappling techniques, pressure point attacks and all manner of weaponry.
It is all there in your kata..... even the killing blow!

well put..

Marko Miletic