Kata - the root of shotokan

How many kata should we practice? Some say one, some say 15 some say 26, shito-ryu do about 60, Asai sensei felt the need to create even more than that, so which is it? In my opinion the answer lies within you. (Heck, some people do no kata whatsoever and still seem happy)

For me personally, i think kata is a great way of practicing movement and get control over our body. Then if a kata like Sochin or Jutte comes naturally to you, then by all means have fun with it and make it your favorite. That said; also practice the ones that seem to elude you cause *that* is probably the week point of you karate.

How many? Hmm... seeing as i like kata and i find them to have lots of interesting points that will help your mechanics, understanding of principles and general fitness, i would say quite a few. Here is a broad outline to keep karate-training varied and fun:

For all levels: the katas preceding your current grade must be kept sharp (otherwise, what was the point of learning them, they are training tools after all)

At 1st kyu one should have a strong command of the 5 Heian + Tekki Shodan. Furthermore one should be able to get through the sequence of "the big four" and pick a fav from them to perform for the shodan-test. (Big four: Bassai Dai, Kanku Dai, Jion and Empi)

Shodan: Add Bassai Sho, Kanku Sho, Jutte, Nijushiho and Tekki Nidan.
Nidan: Make it a longterm-goal to know the sequence of the rest of the classical Shotokan kata. Gojushiho Dai, Gojushiho Sho, Unsu, Sochin, Hangetsu, Jiin, Tekki Sandan, Chinte, Wankan, Meikyo.

And if you really love kata, nothing stops your from learning kata from other karate styles or even make up your own katas. Other kata that i practice for keeping my karate fun: Sanchin, Suishu, Seiryu, Junro Shodan, Junro Nidan, Seipai, Seienchin. And if anyone have a strong command of Anan or Kururunfa; then you are totally welcome to teach a class at my dojo.... :-)

The way of the empty hand

Some random thoughts about how to excel at traditional karate-do....

Train diligently. Make training a habit and make sure you have fun in the process.

Edify your teachers and your senior students. Its in everyone`s interest to make sure that the new people think that the teacher has a clue and the teacher should return the favor to the more senior students, so as to instill the attitude that they are to be listened to.

Show up to the dojo ready to do your best. If not in good spirits or with no desire to practice then maybe better to not come. (Although, i have numerous times come to the dojo feeling weak or sad and the proper application of karate has then energized me and made my day brighter)

Dont look for reasons to give up in class, look for the strength of spirit to keep going no matter what.

Always be ready to test yourself and show your stuff with no fear of embarrassment. Your karate is what it is and your accomplishment so far is to be proud of, not to be hidden cause of fear.

Show up for as many training-camps as you can. The immersion of many hours in short period of time is hard work, but will definatly move your karate fast in the right direction.

Karate is supposed to build your confidence and personal power. Take any opportunity to challenge yourself. (Teach, help juniors, judge, ask your sempai if they can help you with your kata or if they wanna do some kumite after class and so on)

Fitness + timing and/or the polishing of the external form of kata is not enough for the lifelong enjoyment of the art of karate-do. Regular dojo-classes with sufficient number of hours on a consistent basis is the only way to understand the way of the empty hand.

Billig på Island?

Til dere der hjemme som lurer på å ta dere en ferietur til saga-øya; her er en liten smakebit på priser og slikt:

Dagligvarer shoppa i dag:

8 liter brus
8 myke tortillaer
Hot tacopulver-mix
Grovt brød
1/2 kg fersk kjøttdeig
3 poser potetsticks
1 liter melk
1 glass hot tacosaus
1 boks bønner i tomatsaus
3 pakker med couscous
1 pose stekt løk
1/2 kg smør
1/2 kg sjokoladerosiner
1 pose

Pris: 172,- NOK

Eller til fest:

60 bokser med øl
24 rusbrus
1 flaske tyrkisk pepper

Pris: 1181,- NOK

Bil? Jeg kjøpte en et år gammel Mazda MX5 (med alt) som hadde gått 6000km for ca 115.000,- NOK

:-)

Muchiken

While on youtube there seem to be no shortage of seeing karate of questionable quality. This is *NOT* one of those clips.....

Andre Bertels senseis karate impress me. As of now he very high on my list of teachers i wanna train with. (And if you read this, Andre, then we really, really wanna see your Seiryu again....)

Inspirational stuff.

Free e-book on kata

Rob Redmond has decided to give away the book i bought a couple of years ago and it comes highly recommended to anyone that likes to *study* karate. I may or may not agree with everything written in it, but that is totally beside the point. He is thought-provoking and reading his stuff can only benefit the karateka that strives to improve.

Link to pdf

A hardback-version of this book is also available from his web along with another book detailing his years of training in Japan.

Edification

A subject dear to me: Edification. I consciously edify my top students for two reasons. One: to give them a sense of accomplishment and two: to establish them as an authority on whatever subject i might be teaching. My hope is that this will in turn make them be aware that junior students are looking at them to figure out how to do whatever we are working on.

Furthermore, i will try my hardest to edify my teachers so that my students will really strive to understand what they are being taught.

Third party endorsements like this really work and hopefully we can all grow even stronger as a group in the future.

The Heart of Karate-Do

This book by the late shotokai master Egami Shigeru is hereby officially a book that any serious karateka must read. It does contain some dated ideas regarding technique, but his thoughts on how to feel and how to approach karatedo are very deep and interesting. I am sure your karate will benefit from studying this book.

Link to the book on Amazon

(Wow; pricey.... i would look for used copy)