Those who can, spar. Those who can’t, do kata – Part IX

I received a few questions from readers about competition kata so let me discuss briefly a few additional points I look for. The first is what we call “pre-positioning”. I see it a lot, especially among lower ranked or skilled students or competitors. It’s moving the front foot into its next ending position prior to stepping into the next stance. If in forward stance, you’ll see their front foot angle outward just before executing their next move. In fighting and sparring, we call this “telegraphing”.

Another common error is what we call a Transition Error. This is a loss of concentration between moves. It occurs when a competitor’s mind kind of goes into neutral between techniques, rather than staying focused and moving from the end of one technique directly to the starting point for the next. For example, a competitor who committed a transition error between the 2^nd and 3^rd moves of Heian Shodan might drop his lead hand (which just punched) to his waist, turn, lift his hand back up to his neck, and execute the downward block. Obviously, this is something a person would never do in a real fight. He would go directly from one technique to the ready position for the next, from the punch to his neck (starting position for the coming downward block in Heian Shodan), generally in a manner that enabled his body’s rotation to add additional speed and power into the next technique.

Also, when my students move, I want them to isolate each body part, only moving what is necessary to execute a technique, while keeping everything else perfectly still and ready. This also gives a cleaner edge to their techniques. If they execute a kick or step-punch, for exampke, they shouldn’t let their hands wobble or move from their defensive positions. (Many people’s hands fly into the air when they kick.) I don’t want their feet telling their hands what to do, and vice versa.

Hope this answers those who sent questions.

Thanks for reading. Next time, I’ll discuss an interesting and very unique kata performance I judged several years ago in the Bronx. And, I’ll soon get into what I’ve learned about bunkai, kyusho, and tuite.

Those who can, spar. Those who can’t, do kata – Part VIII

It’s obviously critical for a sparring coach to have a thorough knowledge of the rules. They must, in fact, know them at least as good as those who will judge their athletes. So all national coaches were required to become certified as officials within the WUKO/WKF system, at least at the regional level. Certification in sparring required coaches to essentially memorize the extensive WUKO/WKF rule book in order to pass the written test. (The better they scored on the test, the more ready they were perceived to be to lead one of our national teams into international competition.) Then, they had to judge kumite matches to the satisfaction of a panel of high level referees.

Becoming certified as a kata judge was much more difficult.

Since the first task of a kata judge is to evaluate a competitor’s knowledge of his/her kata, candidates had to possess a strong knowledge of not only the 22 approved kata but also any a finalist might choose to perform as their open, third round kata.

They were also required to take a written test, based on the WUKO/WKF kata rules. Then, they were asked to judge the kata performances of ten athletes. Their order of finish, first through fifth placement, had to be very close to that of a panel of senior officials. Next, they had to go before a board of senior dan grades, who questioned them about their knowledge of kata. And, finally, they had to perform whatever kata the board selected. It was this last requirement that proved the most scary and often humbling for most candidates.

As I’ve mentioned, Hanshi Anderson claimed that, besides being an encyclopedia of your system, kata represented a karateka’s credentials. The number of kata one knows, the quality of their ability to perform them, and their ability to clearly demonstrate the self defense elements contained within them, become their credentials – proof of their rank.

But he also said those who could pass the kata judge’s exam became “certified as competent in their art. Those who can’t pass the test are certified as being incompetent in their art.”

On a couple of occasions, Hanshi Anderson asked me to sit on evaluation boards to examine PUKO kata judges for certification. Those who came before us were mostly medium to high dan grades. But regardless of rank, everyone was extremely nervous.

If someone asks us about our qualifications as martial artists, we can tell them about our years of training, who we trained with, mention our rank and titles. We can show them trophies won, rank certificates, course completions, articles on us, and awards received. But on the floor, in front of people judging our every move down to the most subtle nuance, we are laying it all on the line. There was no place to hide. One sensei, a 7^th dan and the head of a major style in a significant country, got so nervous he started having chest pains. We had to stop the test and get him medical help. One ran off the floor to throw up. Another forgot to kiai. Very few made no major mistakes.

I always remind my students that our true rank is not necessarily what we wear around our waist. It is more likely closer to what people who don’t know us or anything about us would judge us to be if we put on a white belt and joined a class. A black belt would look like a black belt. A high dan would look like a high dan. If no one noticed any difference between us and the beginners around us, then we’re likely far lower in rank (knowledge and ability) than we think.

Just my two cents. Thanks again for reading my humble ramblings.

Those who can, spar. Those who can't, do kata - Part VII

I’m continuing my look at some of the things I discovered along the way while a national coach and head of the National Coaches Education Committee – as well as my travels around the world – about bringing my students’ katas up to a high competitive standard. (I’ll soon be getting into the other side of the kata coin, what I’ve learned about the self defense applications hidden within them.)

Each action within a kata should be executed with as much acceleration and power as can be mustered. But then, it must all be brought to a full and abrupt stop. I tell my students not to contaminate action with inaction or inaction with action. When they attack, I want them to hold nothing back. And when they stop, I want them to freeze immediately and lock everything in place.

If they don’t come to a full and complete stop, it gives each action a soft edge, like trying to stop Jello – you may stop the plate but the Jello keeps moving, blurring the line between movement and stoppage. I want them to create a clear and distinct line between movement and non-movement and between non-movement and movement, as fine and sharp as a razor blade, or the blade of a katana. The Japanese refer to this brief but complete halt after each action as a “dynamic stoppage”.

Hanshi George Anderson put all this more succinctly: “When you move, move. And when you stop, stop.”

Stopping movement also includes stopping or diminishing it in their gis, belts, and hair. Top competitors generally wear a heavyweight gi, or starch their lighter weight ones. Softer, lightweight materials tend to continue to move a bit after the student stops, making their actions look softer, less precise. Top women’s competitors often tie their hair in a French Braid, so their hair moves as little as possible, and stops when they stop. A very long belt will tend to move more and longer than a shorter one. (And be sure they tie their belts so each side is the same length. Imprecision here indicates to a judge even before a student begins that their kata performance will likely be equally imprecise.)

When I evaluate a kata performance, I always ask myself, “If they were executing that particular technique on the street, would it be effective?” Would a block actually stop a focused kick or punch? (Would it be fast and powerful enough and executed in a manner that would make it effective?) Would a punch have sufficient power and focus to break through an opponent’s block or deflection attempt and still possess enough force and extension to penetrate their opponents’ protective layers of muscle and bone and do damage to internal organs?

I also look for extension. If you watch a top gymnast, ballet dancer, or ice skater, you will often hear the announcer note that a particularly good performance possessed good extension. This means they extended every action as far as that limb would go. This gives each technique a more aesthetically pleasing line. But, more importantly, it enables them to deal with an opponent at a further, more safe distance.

Old photo where I was attempting to get as much power
and extension as I could get out of a sidekick.

In a knifehand block or strike, for example, I want their hands and fingers made perfectly straight and maximally stretched. In every stance, their necks and backs need to also be made perfectly straight, as if sitting in a straight-back chair, with the feeling that someone was pulling their heads upwards by the hair.

Thanks again for your support and reading my humble ramblings, Jim

Those who can, spar. Those who can’t, do kata – Part VI

Some instructors view kata as strictly for self defense purposes. They argue that true kata wasn’t meant for competition, considering it a misguided and useless goal, holding that only those who discover and practice the “original” bunkai of the kata can call themselves true students of the art.

Others see things quite differently, choosing to offer their students the option of competing against others in an open arena. They may require even those with no desire to compete to perform their kata up to a competitive standard for promotion, seeing great intrinsic value in the mental and spiritual qualities their students gain through this type of very disciplined approach. These qualities include precision, perseverance, and self control, which can better arm their students against negative peer pressure and unhealthy lifestyles.

I don’t see these two – bunkai versus competition – as mutually exclusive, as some seem to do. I teach both to my students, offering them the great benefits of each.

For me, kata reveals a karateka’s degree of mastery over him/herself – physically, mentally, and spiritually. Physical mastery is seen in the power, explosiveness, extension, and precision of their techniques; their stamina, the lowness of their stances; and so on. Mental mastery is seen in their focus, continuity, and attention to detail. And spiritual mastery is seen in the intensity of their actions, the fire in their eyes, their zanshin or readiness to continue fighting at the end of a long, tiring kata, and so on.

When a new black belt student transfers to my dojo, one of the first things I’ll do is run everyone in the class – including him or her – through kata. I start with Heian Shodan and go right up the list to as high as the new black belt claims to know or should know for his/her rank. I don’t set it up as a test, just everyone practicing kata so the newcomer will execute his kata naturally. I try not to let him/her know I’m watching, as this will likely make them either nervous or try too hard. But I’ll check their performance closely in the mirror. At the end, I’ll have a pretty good idea of what should be their true rank. Sometimes, they should probably be ranked higher than they are. I’ll make a mental note to test them in the near future for advancement. In others, they should probably be ranked lower and I’ll try to get them up to level as quickly as possible. (If they come from a school where they practice primarily bunkai based kata, their understanding of the self defense implications of each action will be clearly demonstrated in how they execute them and reveal their approximate rank.)

Hanshi Anderson claimed that ones knowledge of the kata within his or her system became their credentials – their proof of rank.

To rise to the top, kata competitors have to develop extremely well conditioned and toned bodies – much like a gymnast. We discussed this a bit in my last post. But they also must possess (or develop) the ability to focus an extremely high degree of attention to the most minute of details – like a ballet dancer. And on top of all this, they must also master the kata and the kihon utilized within it.

There are specific things a competitor can do to raise their kata to a higher, competitive level. I’ll begin a look at some of these in my next post.

Just my 2 cents.

Again, thanks for your continued support and for reading my humble ramblings.

Sorry for going walkabout

I'll have another post up soon. I have one almost finished but not happy with it yet. I've been asked to possibly write the filmscript for a significant non-fiction book that will likely soon be a best seller. So I've had to focus most of my attention on that. Thanks for your patience.

Food for thought.

"My neck is clean and ready for the sword." - old Japanese saying.

WKF World Medal of Excellence

I was told I need to pass this on to you guys, as many aren't on Facebook. I somehow was selected to receive the World Kubokan Federation's World Medal of Excellence. My initial goal in karate was to see if I could get as high as 3rd Dan and would have died a happy, fulfilled man with just that. But this truly humbles me. I don't have words to express my gratitude. As I mentioned on FB, I think I just outlived all the really good guys.

Here's a link to Hanshi Ronnie Colwell's great organization. If you're not a member, it's non-style, non-political. All martial artists are welcome as brothers and fellow travelers along the budo path. http://www.worldkobukan.com/medal.html.

Thank you, Hanshi Colwell and the WKF for this great honor, Jim