Agreed!!! Another LAYER- not a replacement for everything else that kata are good for. I come out of the closet and ADMIT that YES I practice kata for pressure points, AND I never stopped practicing kata for
(1) technical perfection of my basics including breathing and stances
(2) getting a good cardio work-out
(3) looking for appliations generally
(4) looking for energy applications.
(5)I practice kata at all speeds depending on what I want to get out of a kata on a particular day.
(6) I practice kata sometimes with weights.
(7) I'll take sections of a kata and do the same run or single move over and over.
(8) I sometimes take my empty hand katas and do them with a weapon. I take my weapons kata and train them with empty hands.
There is no limit to what you can do with kata and every time you learn something new to do with them, it is just ONE MORE LAYER. I practice my kata every day and I never run out of things to do with them.
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The older I get, the better I was!