Working on Forms/Katas

Hey guys/girls,
I was wondering, do you believe working on your forms and katas are important to become a better martial artist? If so, do you think it is more important to work on forms or stances (i know a lot of you dont like stance work)?
I believe katas/forms are important and I work on them. But I see a lot better result working with techniques on a bag or in the air to get down the steps.

Anyone who doesn't like stance work is headed for a fall. Working on the bag helps hone techniques. Working on kata harvests those techniques for you to work on.

for practical karate the kata is simply a tool to deliver the 'karate' technique,

Its an essential ingrediant as part of a balanced recipie......which includes many other things

Do you even know what kata means? The "public perception" is "forms", but the literal meaning is "how one behaves". As Shoshinkan put it, it is merely the vehicle to deliver information to you and it's purpose is to change your behavior.

Kata can be merely the "stepping through" of one technique, or the "forms" which are so popularly changed on a daily basis by those that don't have a clue how they should conduct business. You don't just "learn kata", you progress through kata, and find the techniques becoming increasingly more complex and difficult to perform (in most cases). They are designed to help you develop proper body mechanics, focus, kime', and a host of other "small things" that simply can't be taught individually due to only having one lifetime in which to learn them. They teach you to change stances, do proper stances, do techniques from stances, and to remain balanced while moving... so there is a host of information involved in kata.

As for bag work, there is more to hitting than just finding the target. I've watched others at our dojo "hit the bag" and the bag swings on it's chains... when I hit it, the bag pivots... the top moves... the bottom comes up, and then it swings on it's chains... one hell of a difference in force delivery.

Clearly you have a "beginner's mind" from how you discuss kata, so before you start "deciding" what to focus your training on, try listening to what your teachers say, and follow their instructions. You'll do much better than trying to do it on your own.

Begineers Mind is a good thing! LOL

Sho Shin.

Quote:

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... I've watched others at our dojo "hit the bag" and the bag swings on it's chains... when I hit it, the bag pivots... the top moves... the bottom comes up, and then it swings on it's chains... one hell of a difference in force delivery....

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That's when you know you've hit it right; you've delivered force with focus, not pushing. The bag must jump.