We all know that a Kata, (Set Form), is a training aid that helps to learn all those various fighting techniques, if you are involved in the martial arts of course, but even when done to a good level many still fail to realise what the final stage is all about.
Many think it is some divine mystical thing or that the universe is flowing through them or some form of moving meditation, however that is not the case. The final stage is not any of that. The final stage is your imagination. A good example of what I mean is when you see a boxer performing what we all tend to call ‘shadow boxing’ against an imaginary opponent. Imaginary is the key vital word in all of this. They don’t look at their arm performing a block, for example, they are looking outward at their imaginary opponent throwing a punch at them. They only see the imaginary punch coming at them and blocking that imaginary punch with their arm. They look at the height and direction of that punch coming at them in their mind and never their own blocking arm. That is the final stage of mastering the set form. Sadly many make the mistake of not fully realising this. And it shows big time. A perfect example of this common situation is when they do a basic arm block, which is supposed to be defending a punch to their chest area, but the block is thrown way up in the air. How tall is their opponent? 70 feet tall? It is not just blocking but also punching and kicking. For example, a kick that is nothing more than a flick of the foot, and often treated by many in the martial arts as an afterthought to get out of the way, or a basic karate punch that is supposed to be a head shot but aimed higher than their own head or even thrown almost skyward are very common to see. How tall are these opponents? They must be very tall? All of these fighting technique mistakes should have been perfected to a reasonable degree long before being taught a set form by their martial art instructors. And that is why practising single fighting techniques should also include learning how to block, kick and punch while visualising an imaginary opponent in your mind's eye at the same time, to see where that punch should go, or how high that block should be and so on. Sadly many students, and instructors, rush through a set form like it is some kind of race to the end and want to get it all over as soon as they can. Some are also clearly trying to remember the moves as they go along without focusing and what each move means and the correct application and where each block or punch technique position should end up. From students flapping their arms all over the place to robotic stiff and slow moves, all of these things should be sorted out each and every day if you truly wish to master a set form. And remember, all of those things are clear to see by an instructor with an experienced eye by the way. Therefore in conclusion it is vital to visualise your imaginary opponent in your mind's eye at all times so as to avoid throwing a punch or a block that is way too high up in the air or going in the wrong direction. And remember - a kick is not something to get out of the way. In the end it is all about the correct position of techniques and the correct placement of them, unless your imaginary opponent really is 70 feet tall of course. I have written a few little articles on the subject of set forms, (Kata), so please click on the link to take a look at one of them. Click HERE. Comments are closed.
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