If you stumble across any martial arts message board, you will find a topic about how dumb and boring katas are, especially to a fighter. I was one of those people who wrote seeking an answer about why we did them and couldn't find answers. Not that I hated kata, I didn't mind doing them but I couldn't find the value in the slow dances that we did.
Last night Sensei K showed me the value, as she schooled me in the most basic kata, Taikyoko ichi.
Last night Sensei K showed me the value, as she schooled me in the most basic kata, Taikyoko ichi.
Usually it is a step to the left block down. Step and punch. Step behind you, turn and block down ect... I never really thought about it, I just did it.
We did the first block, lower block, to our left. Then Sensei has us go very slowly. My hips and legs, when stepping through was like I had just thrown a reverse punch. Only when my feet and hips were ready to twist into the proper zen kustu dachi, did I throw the punch. Without the hips, the punch has no power. Sensei said that if you can't get the hips and punches working together in kata, you can't learn it while fighting. That is when I saw the value in katas. The learning to put your entire body into a punch. Soon I hope that I will not have to think about it and can just do it. I think my fighting will be a lot better.
As we moved through the katas, I could feel where I should turn and strike, block and untwist. By the time we got to the first kicking kata, I went over in my head how I should be doing it. I tried to imagine it like it was a movie playing. I wasn't sure if I was doing it right or not but it felt right. Every kick felt strong to me. Sensei went around correcting us but said that I didn't need to be corrected that I was doing it right. That felt good.
