No Kata?

[KAT]

Hello everybody!

I just started my training last week at the local Kyokushin dojo! I was completely exhausted, but i loved it from the beginning until the very end!

Just thought Id start off my first topic by asking you guys about your oppinions on this question :At my club they are not strictly traditional Kyokushin, by that i mean they have no katas, they have replaced them with partner excercises instead. Its Kyokushin, but without kata!

The other more traditional Kyokushin dojo is over an hour by bus, and the connection is really bad (and i have to get back in time to get up for shcool).

So what do u think about that they have no kata? Is it a disadvantage in any way? Or its not a big deal?

[kakatootoshi]

Dear KAT,
Are you sure they've got abosultely no kata in all their classes? Many dojos have special focus on each night (fighting, padwork, stamina, weapons). They just don't necessarily do kata for every class. But if what you say is true, then I can say I don't like it. I think last year in japan there was a ladies class who prided themselves for not having to do kumite and I think it's just a joke!
KIHON, KATA, KUMITE, you certainly can have priorities for each dojo, each individual and each stage of training but if anything is totally and completely left out, it's not KYOKUSHIN (some other full-contact styles do less or no kata it's their own different system and they've got my full respect, nothing right or wrong).

OSU!

[Aunty Ichigeki]

I think it's fascinating. I wonder what kind of fighters that club will produce? IMHO it's a bit cheeky to call the school a Kyokushin school though!

[ksan]

Have heard of it before... they just teach their senior grades the kata`s when they go for national gradings... untill then its just kumite, and stamina... they produce awsome fighters.. but crappy technicians/kata performers.... i think its a choice.. wouldnt be mine but its up to the sensei...


Osu

[KAT]

Just to clear it up, they dont have the name Kyokushin in their club name. They just call themselves The Karate and Martial arts club, but in their web pages they say they train Kyokushin, but not only that! They also have some Jiu-Jitsu in their curriculum aswell.

[kakatootoshi]

Dear KAT,
I think that's okay. They're more of incorporating elements of kyokushin in their training (and maybe some of the instructors there do have authentic training and official grades in kyokushin). It's like some kyokushin dojos also add muay thai and brazilian jujitsu to the syllabus. It's very reasonable that no kata is put into the training of your club as cross-training is usually fighting-oriented (I don't know how to put it but my point is if you're not intended to be a complete kyokushin karateka, then maybe you don't want to do the kata).
To sum up kata is important part of kyokushin training for balance and other things, so your training will not make you a real kyokushin karateka. But it doesn't make you anything less than a good fighter/martial artist if your training is good and hard even if it's different from kyokushin training.

And welcome onboard!

OSU!

[KAT]

Well, i dont have much of a choice, but i think the club is great and the Sensei is really good (a 3.Dan in Kyokushin) and i always feel that the training give me a good workout and good spirits. Im lucky enough to have a friend that is a 1.kyu at the more traditional club, maybe i can get him to learn me some of the katas!

Thanks for the welcome!

OSU!

[BigAl]

Originally Posted by KAT

Well, i dont have much of a choice, but i think the club is great and the Sensei is really good (a 3.Dan in Kyokushin) and i always feel that the training give me a good workout and good spirits. Im lucky enough to have a friend that is a 1.kyu at the more traditional club, maybe i can get him to learn me some of the katas!

Thanks for the welcome!

OSU!

Exactly. If you want to learn something but are already getting good instruction, why not pick it up from other outside sources and add it into your repertoire? It'll only help you

[Musha]

At my old school, we only practiced Kata like 2 days right before the test. I think that is very common at many schools in Japan.

[Spirit]

Unless the full & complete theory of Kyokushin is taught (Kihon, Kata, Kumite etc) it is an offshoot of Kyokushin and not a Kyokushin dojo no matter if the instructors have rank in Kyokushin...