Kata Competition - A Waste of TIme???

Kata competition is one of the most valuable training tools you can use to help your development.

First you have to understand all judges are idiots, and taking first place awarded by idiots, what does that make you in turn?

It's not about winning, fairness or the American Way of Life (joke). It's about the competition.

Absolutely nothing pushes you as hard as standing in front of hundreds or thousands of spectators and pushing your kata out before them.

You burn energy at the highest level you can do, outside of actual combat, and you have a chance to focus in ways no other form of training can offer. And only for a few bucks, relatively speaking.

You don't do it for applause, other's good feelings or the judges scores.

The reason is you want to push yourself to the maximum performance you can offer.

And there are layers offered to you. If just the competition isn't enough, go up to the judges and hand them a card with a list of kata, and request them to pick one for you on the spot, and then have to deliver it 100%.

The only lack of use of competition is the lack of foresight how valuable it can be.

It's not mandatory for training, but it can be a personal tool of the highest magnitude.

Or perhaps you just don't have what it takes to go before thousands and show what you can actually do?

Personally I think Kata Competition is harder then sparring. If you train daily, have good basic techniques and athletic you can spar. But in front of a crowd of 100-1k of people. In front of informative non bias jugdes, its very difficult to perform Kata well. This sort of pressure transfers well in giving book reports in front of class, business presentation, sells, managing/selling you self or acting on stage. In this way Karate can mimick life pressure.

Kata is about Self Discipline and Mental sharpness, you only have 1 chance to sink it and almost every detail must be as sharp as possible. In sparring if u miss or made an error U can cover it with another counter or techinque, R U can improvise. In Trad Kata you can't we'll you can but its noticed and you have to keep going. When I'm judging Kata if a teacher/contestant doesn't specified modified I count changes in the form as errors. Long Kung-fu forms done without proper basic, stance and flow counts against him, done propely it scores high. Low rank doing higher ranked forms poorly really count against you, done well and I question him/her being at that low rank, but scores well.

Kata Competition prepares and gives you the mental toughness of a car, vaccuum saleman, a mid manager giving a presentation, it cures shyiness, lifts low self esteem, raise technical concisousness and shows school pride. Not everybodys suited to be a tag/tourney fighter, some people are good at showing techniques. In this way MA has something for everybody. I've alway took pride in doing both. But In saying that being honest I'd usually fight rather then do kata unless I really trained hard, I seem to always take the easy way out.

Guys, I was going to post my opinion on Competition Kata (and it wasn't going to be pretty!)...but I read Victors post and decided to hold off and ponder for a bit. I'd glad to say that I've got a new found respect for competition kata.....cheers!

I still think musical Kata is dancing though!!!! Changing my mind on that is a going to be one hell of a challange!

http://www.fightingarts.com/ubbthreads/s...ue#Post15758622

Have fun.

Is having the mental toughness of a car salesman something I want? Vacuums? A mid-manager!? now you're talking!

Seriously, these are good points, and performing in front of others does test your nerve and ability to perform under pressure. That's what tests are for, too, though. Maybe competing is taking it to another level.

Still, I think the best way for me to stay calm under pressure is the practice of zen meditation. Fostering clarity and fearlessness in every day practice, there's no need to go out of your way to prove anything to anyone, even yourself. All is complete, right here and Now.

My final comment was rhetorical, not personal in it direction. It's difficult to separate intent of course, I was trying to engage everyone with that remark.

The use of competition in kata is for the highest push in energy development and execution. The totally random use of kata technique against random attack is an entirely separate and needed tool too. This is where you work to link the energy of the kata to the application, an entirely separte skill set except in the most exceptional individuals from my short experiences.

There is no one right way, but many times there are many that can be very useful.

And for the record I have a personal kata scoring system that makes the most sense. If any technique in a kata is execucuted at less than 100%, the final score must be zero. otherwise the score is 100. There are no second places in using kata if your life is on the line, and accepting anything else as a goal is inadequate.

Ok Victor, I'll give a little way to you on the kata adrenalin thing. When training on the class performing kata, my main focus was always perfection of the technique - I knew I could put 100% power into it anytime I liked, but doing so would have not achieved my purpose. Polishing it up was always more important to me so I took my spirit and power down a notch to allow for extra concentration on the techniques, especially the "inbetween" movements - as being discussed in another post at moment. At the kata competitions I did feel that extra andrenalin you mentioned and I just all out went into hyper pyscho killer mode. It was only a marginal increase in my level of performance as I'm a big guy and I like to perform my katas with plenty of spirit and power when being watched or demonstrating normally. I don't NEED a crowd watching me to pump me up, but it does give that small margin. I think having a senior instructor watching would do more for my performance than a crowd at a competition.

Since competitive diving doesn't make you into a better swimmer, why have or enter diving competitions?

Victor said it all. Can't add anymore.

Da, da da da-da da-da da, Da, da da da-da da-da da, Da, da da da-da da-da da, Da da.... Da....Da.......

It's been literally decades since I've thought about the 'time' a piece is written in.

It's the "Rocky" theme music, watch the movie and figure that out yourself <GRIN>.

Interesting 'Stalone' is back making the next Rocky too, (and also Rambo returns after that).

Anyone willing to bet that Rocky defeats a terrorist in the ring?

Kata shiai is oly benificial if it is 1 style only, in multistyle event there is a tendency to judge all as if they were either Shotokan or Goju, as a result you will see others adapting their kata
Wado people standing in wider stances and loud exhaling on excecution of the technique and using less kime then they should as a wado karateka ( less kime is less focus, so using power for a longer period of the excecution)


And I'm talking WKF ITKF Kata shiai, not those competitions in the US (yuk) those are messing up the karate for shure with their backflips salto's and othe XMA [censored]

I personally would rather take a hammer to my crotch then go to an open tournament. Open VS Traditional, AAU tournaments in America with Karate are VERY Traditional... I have been to a few and they are judged well with a broad understanding of the multiforms that will be there. The Kumite is realistic, only the white padded hand mat's and a helmet if you're under 18 (or above if you want it)

You can attack the back, the kidney's, take downs, the entire gambit.


Open tournament = Yeah... lame. Gimme a break.

If you're using Glow Sticks and Techno music, you're not doing Kata, you're at a Rave in a gi.