Principles and Methods  Part 2

                                                         KATA

• Eyes, Feet, Hands.
• Finish the move before going to the next one.
• Slow movements slow Fast movements fast.
• Look before moving.
• Think about your Target.
• Think about the part of your hand/foot your using to make the strike.
• As you turn try and use the whipping motion when going to the next movement.
• Keep the same height through out the kata.
• Find and keep the rhythm of the kata.     Use the same principles of basics when you do kata.
• Focus your hands.
• Make the kata your own.
• Do kata like you fight.
• Don’t let your hands drop or die out.
• Do two moves to one count.
• See your opponent.
• End the kata with Zanshin (alert and ready)

Three years to learn, lifetime to polish.

            When doing Kata, the moves should be fast, strong, and focused.  That is where good basics comes in.  The same principle applies,  a step-punch or a block are always done the same way.

            Try to keep the same feeling when you are doing moving training or kata.  Focus your breath, your eyes, strikes, and hips on one point of your target.

            To be able to relax when you are moving fast takes years of training but this is what makes your kata flow.

             You should try and correct one thing at a time.  Start with the stance; make sure you are doing a front or back stance correctly.  Step fast, but don’t be in a hurry; be aware of your legs, use the momentum that comes from sinking the hips.  Then move on to your hands and arms,  make sure they are not dropping or doing other things. Try just keeping them in the same place and using the correct action when doing the punch, strike or block.  This is were you use the whipping action that comes from moving from one technique to another.  Your hands should move in a smooth, quick motion when going from one move to another. make sure to finish the move before going to the next one.

            Always look in the direction that you are moving, think about what you are doing and strive do the movements correctly.

            The principles should always stay the same. Use the methods of your training and push yourself to do the kata correctly.  You need to find your rhythm and the pace that works best for you.  Karate and kata have got to be your own to make it effective;  you have to be able to find and feel it for yourself.  The best way to learn this is by doing the basics.

             When you are in class, going though your basics, think about how the kata  should be done and try and do the correct movement.  Try and do them with only the body parts that are needed.  Relax your shoulders, don’t hold your breath, step quickly.  Feel the way your moving. Are you moving head first or from the hips?   When you are stepping make it feel like a controlled fall.  Use gravity when you can, the momentum is there- take advantage of it. When you can run through the kata and you feel like you understand what you are doing, this is when you start thinking about Bunkai (applications).  Think about how each move could be a self-defense technique.  Each move can have three or more meanings: striking, grappling, or an escape.  Each move could be offense or defense.  You need to find your own answers, this way the kata will be yours.

            The old Masters put their favorite self-defense techniques together to form Kata. The principles which kata rest upon always stay the same; it is those principles that we should try to master.

            This is a major part of learning and practicing kata, to find and use the principles and methods that has been handed down  to us from the past.