Ways to Practice your Kata

I just rode my bike 19.55km and I’m feeling pumped!  I found a nice spot by the lake to read my book and the sun was just blazing (26*).  Thought I’d do a quick post on some of the notes we took down last night in class with a few additions at the end.

Some ways to practice your kata that were mentioned last night:

1. Just do the kata
2. Mirror image of the kata (I’ve never thought of this one, I’m excited to try it where you perform the kata as it would appear in the mirror)
3. Do it emphasizing your feet
4. Emphasizing your hands
5. Just do the stances and make sure they are correct and strong
6. Do movements that run together and keep repeating just those ‘runs’
7. Practice combos and repeat them
8. Do the kata in reverse (another one I have never thought to try)
9. Do it in a straight line
10. 1-2,2-3,3-4- Do the fist and second technique together, the second and third technique together etc. to sharpen the transitions between all movements and the techniques themselves
11. Do the most difficult parts in the kata
12. Point/point- Stop during the kata and analyze your position to make sure everything is on point
13. Visualize the bunkai of the kata as you do it

Some additional ways to practice your kata that Sensei has shown us over the years that I like to use when I practice on my own:

1. Doing the kata with weapons – I don’t do this one at home but I altered is slightly and do it with weights.  Doing this I think of two things, one, getting my punches and blocks faster by doing it fast with weights and then taking them away and see how the speed has increased.  Two, thinking of how your ki extends to the end of the weights just as you with would with the weapons.
2. Do the kata emphasizing how your arms rub against each other and your body.
3. Practice on different terrain- practice on grass, sand, ice, a lake, hardwood floor, my driveway, washroom at work.
4. Face a direction that throws me – I am directionally challenged (yes, I made up a word).  I like to start my katas facing a certain direction that feels ‘flat’ to me (be it a wall or the ocean but it has to be one long visual with no breaks).  To start it facing a corner throws me off and those challenges are the best ones.
5. Kiai on every technique – one of my favorites when I need to put more kime into my kata.  There is always that a move that I find I neglect and when I kiai on each one it forces me not to have preferences.
6. Do push-ups and lift weights to exhaust your arms beforehand.
7. Lastly, as a test when I think I know a kata I try to do it from a random part within the kata.  Do I know which foot is in front?  Am I positive?

A few more ways suggested through comments:

1. Blindfolded/eyes closed (an addition to the list by Sensei Peter)
2. Do seiza first until you can’t feel your legs- Another valuable lesson from Sensei Peter and I am always grateful to learn from others’ experiences.
3. Do the kata slowly emphasizing each technique (comment from Caroline Scutt)

I am sure there are many more ways to practice your kata.  Feel free to share some ways that you practice.

Sensei knows best

Each month at our dojo we have a challenge that we try to accomplish.  This month’s challenge is to ‘Train like a Brown Belt’ (basic idea: train for a couple of hours in karate each and every day) and it brings up two different topics I want to talk about: 1. what it feels like to me to train like a brown belt and 2. the guilt I felt for no longer training like a brown belt.

This challenge brought me back to when I was first told I was going to be graded for my brown belt; I didn’t feel ready.  I had seen female brown belts and they looked strong and deadly.  I questioned that I was as strong as these women but regardless I went to work.

This is the studio I have in my gym at my condo (picture to come), I call it ‘my dojo’.  I spent hours every day here and the more time I spent here the stronger I felt and the more precise my movements seemed to be.  No amount of nervousness could distract me from my katas because I had done them so many times.  I felt great at the grading, so much so that I continued to train this way afterwards.  I had questioned that I was ready to move on to brown but I was told that Sensei knows best and always has a larger plan.  After this grading I thought maybe this was part of it, to push me further and keep me focused and it worked.  Sensei does know best and I am a big fan of this challenge and highly recommend that you try to find time in your busy schedule to train this way if you haven’t already.