Quote:
Originally Posted by GJEChamberlain
Osu! Hasbeen,
It's only right to point out I was never a kata champion, although I trained quite a few.
Osu! Some further comments to the discussion,
My comments really relate to the 'traditional' kata (which some would have you believe are as old as time but in reality were invented by men rather than gods and most fairly recently)
It cannot be denied that there are some useful movements in them - some for self defence - that can be devastating if done correctly. However, I honestly believe in many dojo the message is lost. The movements are simply rehersed as a ticket to the next belt, rather than studied, adapted and trained until instinctive.
I need hardly remind everyone that learning hundreds of seperate moves and applications takes valuable and scarce training time, and makes no more sense than taking 100 shirts on holiday when you only need half a dozen.
That's the kind of traditional kata (training) I feel is useless for fighters, but if a student takes the time to select key movements that work for them and drill them until they are formidable weapons - it can only help. As a karate student and instructor for a long time, I know of perhaps a handful that have taken traditional kata that far, myself NOT included ...
Hence my preference for moves that are often present in a fight being rehersed and made smoother and more powerful in a flowing kata. This just makes more sense to me and is instantly applicable in kumite.
There are always people who spend the time on traditional kata and make it effective. Iain Abernethy has already been mentioned here and having trained with him on one of Peter Consterdines training days I can vouch for his ability. Such individuals are rare indeed and I salute his effort and dedication while acknowledging that realistically most students will never be that dedicated.
Gary
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osu gary!! thank you for putting me right, i should have re-checked your "c.v" in the enshin thread.
and for explaining your views further, the point i was trying to make was...
a friend of mine was an above average boxer and we trained together in some converted garages..he helped with my punching, i taught him to kick/knee etc;etc..............after about six months i asked an old mate of mine who ran a dojo if he would look my friend over and see what he thought about his potential ability....
he did a full session with them and fought their "star fighter" a 2nd dan. my friend knocked the guy over very quickly. he had never seen or heard of "kata" but had natural knockdown ability.
i understand kata makes a more "rounded" karateka and without it, it would be just a form of kickboxing and i admit i do not have your knowledge or indeed seienchins knowledge...just an opinion. i could not agree more about kata being rehersed just to obtain the next grade..this was always the way it was portrayed when i trained, maybe i lost out?
i would be very interested to see what pheezy thinks about all this running a successful muay thai/knockdown dojo.
and also osu to seienchin, i do now understand where you are "coming from"
