Forms/Kata competitions

Discussion in 'General Martial Arts Discussion' started by huoxingyang, Dec 20, 2016.

  1. huoxingyang

    huoxingyang Valued Member

    Just wondering, do many people here ever compete in forms/kata competitions and what do people think of them?

    I recently did rather well in one (funnily enough performing a set another MAP member has accused me of not possibly knowing :p) and while I am happy with my achievements and thought it was a great experience, on reflection my main feelings are:

    1) I still have so much room for improvement
    2) It isn't at all a test of my martial ability

    I also feel a little hypocritical - I still firmly believe that forms are a means to an end and not an end in themselves, but then there I was partaking in a competition where all I am being judged on is my ability to perform them... but I still want to do it again!
     
  2. SWC Sifu Ben

    SWC Sifu Ben I am the law

    The question is whether you want to become good at fighting or good at looking flashy. Forms are a training tool. Critiquing them is good for making sure people are performing them well. Making them a competition leads to stuff like this, which is cheerleading with a bigger baton, in a gi, and with as much martial content as same:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e51WoZvn9Vo
     
  3. Mitch

    Mitch Lord Mitch of MAP Admin

    It's not a simple binary choice though is it? The guys I know in my org who are good at patterns and win medals at tournaments will sometimes be the same people who win medals for sparring.

    The mindset that drives a competitor to great achievements will serve them equally well in either discipline, and many of the attributes required are held in common.

    Mitch
     
  4. Fish Of Doom

    Fish Of Doom Will : Mind : Motion Supporter

    I used to be relatively good at it. I also hate it training-wise and think it serves no practical purpose and leads to aberrations in execution (I refuse to call it performance because they are solo training tools, not performance pieces), but it is actually VERY fun to do :p
     
  5. SWC Sifu Ben

    SWC Sifu Ben I am the law

    It's a choice between spending that time on any of the innumerable functional skills you could be learning or refining which increase your applicable skills, or trying to look pretty for the sake of looking pretty. If the goal is to be able to do the forms better than other people then, assuming the forms benefit your combative skills, one should be able to see such benefit in your combative skills.
     
  6. Mitch

    Mitch Lord Mitch of MAP Admin

    Even Olympic athletes do supplemental training or just plain relaxation training :)

    Mitch
     
  7. SWC Sifu Ben

    SWC Sifu Ben I am the law

    Your point being?
     
  8. icefield

    icefield Valued Member

    But they make the distinction between the two, they also are more than willing to drop certain supplemental training routines if something better comes along

    Their supplemental training is also specifically designed to work on certain aspects of their training that cant be directly worked thoroughly enough during their main practice, core work for OL divers for example. And it never distracts from their main training.
     
  9. Mitch

    Mitch Lord Mitch of MAP Admin

    Not necessarily; the Olympic TKD squad play footie occasionally :)

    You're also assuming that forms training is not core to a given art; for some it is, so is an equally valid area of practice :)

    Mitch
     
    Last edited: Dec 21, 2016
  10. icefield

    icefield Valued Member

    occasionally is the word, they dont spend every session doing it, and it is part of relaxation and team building, not anything they claim makes them better at fighting :bang:


    Sure if your choice is to learn an art for arts sake rather than learning to fight thats a valid reason to learn it, if your core reason is to learn to fight well then it should be different :hat:
     
  11. Tom bayley

    Tom bayley Valued Member

    I haven't done a forms competition for a while but when I did I always picked a form that I did not like or did not understand. it gave me extra impetus to really focus , be open minded, to learn and to improve my understanding of technique, anatomy, and bio mechanics.

    Forms are like text books of technique and theory. Reading a good book on fight technique is not learning how to fight but it can give you insights and understanding that you may then apply in practice with a training partner.

    They are also a great way to practice mindfulness, reduce stress, move healthily and generally enjoy being alive.
     

Share This Page