[seienchin]

I have been watching this thread with some interest, and after reading some of the very informative posts, I have just had a thought that I would be interested in hearing others views on.

I actually don't know a single excellent tournament fighter (and I have known many national and international champions) who was not also excellent at kata. The two just seem to go together.

Now that may reflect the discipline and attitudes of the dojos that they came from, but from the really really good fighters from within traditional kyokushin, I can't think of a single one who either scorned kata training, or who was bad at it.

Now, it is a different question altogether whether kata training helped their kumite. I can certainly see that as open for debate. But here is my question - maybe early aptitude at kata is a predictor that someone has the potential to be a good fighter. Maybe aptitude at kata is a measure of athleticism, co-ordination, weight distribution, focus, breath control and a host of other things that actually are also useful in kumite.

Thoughts?