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Post by Gaz Lee on Feb 6, 2012 22:29:01 GMT
imagine if you woke up tomorrow and could not remember a single kata! thats kind of what i feel like! im having to re-learn all my kata again after a very long absence, so im having to do most of it at home via the internet in my own dojo (Banana ) Ive noticed slight variations in different videos, however, i found a video of all 26 kata's, performed at full speed, then slow speed, all by Sensei Kanazawa, (judging by his hairstyle its quite an old video ) ive only been doing this a week but so far have learned the 5 heian's (they were recognisable from my younger days) and tekki shodan, i gaurantee you they're no where near perfect, but i would like some advice from anyone as to:- a, would this old kanazawa video be a good source to learn the basic speed and patterns from? (they look immpressive to me) b, should i spend my immediate future trying to perform these kata to a much better standard before i progress onto bassai dai etc? c, Would i be wrong in thinking i should at least know another 5 or 6 before i put myself infront of experience, or is it best to learn a handfull really well, than loads of them really badly, obviously im keen to learn them all as quickly as poss as i would like to attend some black belt courses soon and train with more senior instructors, but i dont want to look like a plumb! all advice would be gratefully recieved! cheers! Gaz.
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Post by malk103 on Feb 6, 2012 23:25:59 GMT
Master Kanazawa is probably the best Karate legend to learn from as his videos show you at normal speed and then slowed down so you can get the technique really perfect. Others I have used are by Sensei Frank Brennan, a very technical and very good set of DVD's. You will find slight variations with the odd move and you may find other videos online that are not that good, but feel free to post up a link and you will get an expert opinion from people on this forum. In my honest and humble opinion then I would concentrate on one Kata until you can perform it perfectly and without having to think of the next move - just performing it. But once owned then it should be regularly repeated alongside the next etc. Maybe try to get someone to video them so you can analyse each one? I remember reading in one of my Karate books about someone learning to read poetry, they were given one poem to learn, after weeks of learning and reading this one poem the student could read poetry perfectly. They didn't need to know several poems.... A true Karateka would not criticise you for not knowing all Kata inside and out, especially knowing that you have had a break from it. I remeber doing Heian Shodan in my Banana, first move towards the cooker, then sink, 3 Age Uke towards the boiler, turn towards back door.....
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Post by Gaz Lee on Feb 7, 2012 12:00:32 GMT
im just trying to get the sequence and patterns familiar at the mo, then ill ask my sensei to tweak and sharpen them in the dojo, but its just quite frustrating having to look around and see what everyone else is doing before i can make a move! i guess ill just have to be patient! think im gonna squeeze bassai dai into my repetoire then just concentrate on these 7 for now, Frank Brennan! ill check him out too and cross reference him with kanazawa. if anyone has good links to any haien kata vid's please post!
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Post by malk103 on Feb 7, 2012 13:39:11 GMT
Just beware of some of them, i'm sure you will notice them.... Last time I saw Bassai Dai (storming a Fortress!) it was more like tapping on the Fortress door..... Not saying i'm brilliant at it either but a lot of people that leave rude comments under the Kata's have themselves been shown wrong or badly, or their own clubs may have developed bad habits. I might try filming our Kata to use for fine tuning, if it looks half decent i may post it on my website.
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Post by kensei on Feb 7, 2012 21:21:20 GMT
Totally agree with everyone here.. Also time in the Kata will develop different parts of your body correctly so dont shorten the stay just to "move ahead".
Also, if you have been gone as long as it took to lose your memory of the Kata...why are you rushing to a "black belt course" when you are no longer at that level. If you leave for more than a year or so...and much longer from what I can see...take your time getting back to it.
Enjoy the process, strap on a white belt and relearn it all...Karate is a marathon...not a sprint!
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Post by malk103 on Feb 7, 2012 22:07:10 GMT
A policy my Sensei uses for anyone who returns after a long break is to lend them belts to wear, after he is convinced that they are above the standard for the belt he allows them to move up a belt. This could be one a week or one a month but it also allows the other students to see you go through the system rather than just slot back in at the top, especially if some K/K/K were a bit rusty. Kensei makes sense with learning it slow again so that it sticks back in your mind. Most of all - good luck with it and enjoy!
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Post by Gaz Lee on Feb 8, 2012 22:45:04 GMT
sound advice kensie/malk! and your right, i shouldnt be rushing, we had a 7th dan at the club tonight for a training and grading session, i realised then i wont be going on a black belt course for a while! it was only an hour session and i was breathing out of every hole in my body, and soaking wet by the end of it, we didnt even do any kata! have to say though i thoroughly enjoyed it but realised ive a long way to go before i get back up to my old standard! thanks for the advice guys!
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Post by Gaz Lee on Feb 8, 2012 22:54:44 GMT
i like the idea of starting again with the belts malk, i did train with beginners class for the first week or so but then i guess i got a bit excited to be back, got carried away then threw myself in with the seniors! one of the brown belts id not met before said to me after tonight, "ive not trained for a few weeks and i could feel the difference" i told him id not trained for 20 years and i could feel the difference!
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