What is so important about a kata?

Question

i need to know because my sensei constantly trying to make me do kata when i realize how useless it would be because of back when i used to street fight

and when i ask my friend whos a blackbelt at the shotokan school why do they stress the use of kata and such he says because kata will help you with you for and i tell him when u fight u have no form

and i originally took shotokan karate to practice self defence

and noone there realises the harsh realities of a street fight

Answer 1

form = proper execution of technique = focus = repetition = muscle memory = 2nd nature

Answer 2

A kata is like a map of techniques that you can learn to respond with quickly. It is no good learning it off like a dance routine however. You need to understand each of the individual motions and put them into practice. This way you will learn to adapt your form in different situations. And if you are taking karate for self defence, then surely you should be able to avoid a street fight?

Answer 3

First of all, it's called a PERIOD...learn to use it, but don't overdo it.

Secondly, Katana is exactly correct in saying that kata (forms, poomsae, tul, etc.) is the essential teaching tool to true martial arts study. Shadow boxing, technique drills, et al, are all types of kata: a defined movement or set of movements designed to drill technique into the practitioner through repetition. It is, in fact, the DNA of the particular style, whatever it may be. And you are also wrong when you say that when you fight, you have no form. You stand a certain way when you are in a fight. You have a strong side and a weak side, and your stance will reflect that every time. You throw punches in a certain manner, be that wild looping swings or controlled jabs. You hold your hands a certain way depending on whether you are on the attack or on the defensive. And you do these things INSTINCTIVELY. This is the nature of kata: teaching you techniques, and transitions BETWEEN techniques, to make them most effective, and to train your body to go from one technique naturally and "instinctively" in a situation that warrants using them. And, as Katana also pointed out, as you continue to perform kata as part of your training regimen, you will discover "hidden" moves that add to your repertoire of "tricks". Here's the catch: not everyone will discover the same thing!! Two practitoners performing the same kata over the same amount of time will discover different elements that they will then be able to apply, and teach TO EACH OTHER, because each of them will look at the kata from a different viewpoint. And here's another funny thing: they will both be correct in their interpretation.

One last point; at 15 years old, you haven't lived long enough to have done anything "back when..." you have a LOT of living and learning to do, so slow your roll, kick back, look, LISTEN, and learn, and realize that it is a lot less about ego and pride than you think it is.

Answer 4

Oh look another school yard or backyard brawl kid.....woo hoo that's two in a row by pure happenstance......woo hoo!!!!!  He says, "I'm no stranger to fighting, but hey by the way what is the importance of the Kata?"

Go figure.....................................

"Additional details:"

Answer 5

Kata is absolutely pointless

Answer 6

kata is used to memorise the series of moves associated with the level you are on.. The repetition of the moves allow you to remember them easily and when called to do it should be able to do it without thinking.. =)

Answer 7

No offense, but if you are at a halfway decent school then what you know of fighting is small compared to the sensei.

Not that the teacher will necessarily have been in a lot of street fights but he will have been exposed to a lot more fighting and he will have a lot more general knowledge as well as style specific knowledge.

What most people do not understand is that kata is also a tool. I always give the example of tires for football players. Many places use them or something similar for training purposes... but you never see tires on a field in a football game, do you? NO, of course not.

Why do you accept tools in other sports or activities but not for karate or other martial arts?

Professional athletes use weights in a gym even if their sport has nothing to do with weights... again, they are a training tool. Do you think they are silly for wasting their time using wieghts? Or is it possible to improve performance by using tools and actions not 100% "realistic"?

I could go on forever... your coments about "no form" for example... boxers will end up with a form due to their training. MMA will end up with a form - again due to their training. A TMA will create a form as well if they train hard. And the TMA "forms" have reasons behind them. A boxer (and even most MMA practitioners!!) wouldn't need to worry about kicks to the groin. A TMA would (unless they only do sport..yuck).

Like I said, this could go on forevert... I recommend you read some older answered posts that are similar to yours and then repost with a more direct question...

Good luck with your training.

Answer 8

From your gramer and the way you address yourself I would hazard a gues that you are 10-13 years old, so i really don't think you have had many street fights. Maybe school yard spats, but not street fights. First understand that Martial arts are not supposed to be use for street fights, they are for self defense. A street fight is about protecing your ego, and 99% of them could be avoided if one of the people ha dthe courage to back down, and self defense is where there is no other option but to get physical.

That being said:

Kata are an outline and the DNA of your style. Everything you need to know about the style you train is in them, but just like a scientist you have to study them to unlock what they contain. Kata build muscle memory, balance, correct breathing, motion while doing technique. What many people fail to realize is that in proper forms training the kata itself is not importent, it is the individual motions within. No one is going to perform a self defense motion from kata exactly the way it is in the kata. there will be variences based on heighth of opponent, weight, what they are wearing, etc.

Kata, and the techniques within, are not meant to be a hard and fast rule. Many times what looks like a move into a seperate stance with a block or strike is actually a throw or take down in application. Unfortunatly the number of instructors who can teach this way are diminishing thanks to Mcdojo's and training being watered down.

Now just doing the kata in the air will also not accomplish much. You need to take the motions out of kata, and practice them with live resisting opponents in order to make them effective.

What I find funny is no one questions shadow boxing, or drills designed to help with take downs in grappling styles. Yet everyone questions kata. Where is the difference? Yes kata are much longer and seemingly rigid, yet once you know them and start training them for what they contain, not the kata itself, it actually gets very free flowing and spontanius, but that is really hard to understand for someone who has not learned to live them, which i suspect you havn't, and are really just learning the basic paterns right now. if you practice the individual motions with partners to get the feel of how they work, then visualize that attack and what you are doing every time you do that motion in kata, what difference is there between that and shadow boxing?

I know masters who have studied for decades that still train kata, and still learn from it. it is after all the DNA of your style.

Edit- I could not even begin to comprehend what your response to me was supposed to convey. I would suggest that you spend less time worrying about fighting and more time on grammer and proper sentence structure. I realize that your freinds 6 years of experience dwarfs my 18, but I still think I know what I am taking about. You have a lot of resonable well thought out answers here, answering your question, so my only guess is that you are just looking for somebody to validate your opinion.