Do you understand kata?

Question

any "kata is c**p a waste of time " answers I will take as you dont know what you are talking about

Answer 1

Kata is the DNA of your art.

Bluto - All the movements that you do are from kata whether you realize it or not, believe it or not

Heck yeah, I understand kata.

I love kata - it is my arsenal.

I live for kata to be expressed through my body.

I am kata and kata is me.

Kata kata kata kata!

That is all there is for me!

Kata kata bu-bata, banana-fana, fu-fata, fee, fi, mo-mata... KATA!

Pardon me, guys... I just remembered it's Friday and it's been a long week!

Answer 2

No dude, kata is important for discipline!  Don't slack with katas!!

Answer 3

I understand it.  And those who say it's c**p and a waste of time are doing a sport...not a martial art.  There's a huge difference.  And if you haven't figured it out or don't see the difference in a sport versus a martial art, you either haven't reached it or you never will.

Answer 4

I'm not a Karate guy, but I do a form based art, Wu style Taiji, it is a 108 posture form that takes me between 17 - 20 minutes to execute.  Some techniques are explicit, some are hidden, some are left up to the imagination and creativity of the martial artist, which is why we call it martial arts.

Kata like any form is there to help with balance, technique and fluidity of movement.  I find that I pay attention to different things at different times, but I always try to clear my mind and get into that state, which allows me to pay attention to proper alignment and balance.  As long as my balance is good, my technique is good, the only way to achieve that is clear my mind of all but the intent of the technique.

This practice may work for you, it may not, but I love this form based art I am involved with.  While my mind is clear, my body can respond to it's feelings and react.  The balance, the technique and all follow from this clarity.

Kata can be the same, don't do it mechanically, let kata flow, just like a taiji or Kung Fu form would, make the positions distinct and yes harmonious, let it flow from within you.

I also teach a formless art, Krav Maga, which is all intent and physicality.  I study Combat SAMBO, another formless art with the intention of survival.

Answer 5

in Bassai there are many take downs and throws. Most of the Katas that I practice have many hidden techniques. Kata is awesome, those who hate just can't remember the moves.

Most Kata haters do not have the memory capacity to do it. Kata has helped me in self defense

Bassai, Seisan, Kempo (Kata 2, 5)

Bung Bu and Ba Zhou Quan these forms are vicious as well as Statue of the Crane

Answer 6

Yes I feel I PERSONALLY understand real Kata versus fake Kata and I mean fake by having no real Bunkai and application to them, they just look flashy and are meaning less.

I much prefer Kata with deep meaning to it with a Bunkai that is logical in its purpose for the technique used.

Answer 7

At this stage I understand the principles behind kata, the many reasons for doing them, basic Bunkai for every movement in all of our kata's, both empty hand and weapons. Many of the motions I am gaining a deeper understanding as I am exposed to more advanced principles by my instructor. That is the way he teaches at my level and above, by giving you principles and theories and letting you find what there signifigance in kata is, and incorperate them. I like this as I am constantly having to look at even our most basic kata's in a new light all the time, so in essence I am continually having to go back to the begining.

Sometimes my instructor will pull something out that I just stand there slack jawed because it never occured to me. Other times he will be the slack jawed one when I find something on my own and just sort of say something along the lines of "you're not supposed to know that yet". I have always had a talent for bunkai for some reason.

So at this point I unserstand how to do the moves correctly, why we do each move at it's most basic level, some of the more advanced motion. I definetly do not understand everything yet, and don't imagine I will for a long time. He has been doing these kata's for 38 years, and will be the first to tell you that he doesn't understand them fully yet. I don't know if anyone ever truly will. i actually doubt if the Masters who made the kata's up ever tapped all of there potential, with all teh possible variations.

Edit- i forgot to mention that at thsi stage I am not really doing the whole form much anymore. I like to pick out a small section, study it intently, and then plug it back into the kata.

bluto- I enjoy most of your answers, i just definetly dis agree with you about the kata thing, but that's ok, to each his own my friend. What is a waste of time to you is a fountian of knowledge for those of us who have an instrctor that can make the kata more then a dance.

Answer 8

I do understand it.

and I do think it is a waste of time in 99.9% of the time.

and most teachers implement it so that it is a waste of time.

IF implemented properly, then it can have some minimal value. but if you think you will learn to fight from only doing kata, then you are not training- you are dancing.

in the areas it has value IMO- are:

to VERY beginning students used for a very short time.

and to beginning students who are learning to train with and move with an awkward and unnatural weapon like a spear, staff or sword.

there is nothing that can be done with kata application wise that cannot be done without and done in a more focused and effective manner.  at least in unarmed combat.

if you think I don't know what I'm talking about, fine. I deal with people on the R&S section all the time that refuse to look facts in the face and instead bury thier heads outright denying scientific theory.

thats your perogative. if you want to waste your time doing kata when you have practiced for 10 years, then fine do so, but don't think it is a substitute for real application.

more often than not it is "filler" for a teacher that is afraid they will run out of things to teach and they will lose a student if they don't "invent" something.

Answer 9

Dude I think I just answers your other kata question.  Part of the way I was taught was to learn how to get usable technique out of form.  Now I can watch any style and know what that practitioner is doing, based on picking the moves apart.  I feel that is a valuable skill for all martial artists to learn.