Post a video of your favorite form from your style

Disclaimer: not all styles use forms/kata/patterns as a training tool. That's cool. But I don't want this thread to be a discussion of whether or not forms training as a whole has value. Instead, I want this particular thread to show off some of the varying interpretations of "what's a really awesome form" for those of us who do use them. It's the difference between saying "is it healthy or not to eat ice cream" and "if you like ice cream, what's your favorite flavor of ice cream." They're two separate discussions, and this is the latter.

So, for those of us who have forms training as part of our training...would you be willing to post a video (can be of you, or of somebody else) of what your favorite form is? Maybe a couple sentences as to why too. I think that it'd be interesting to see the variety from the various folks here.

 

Here's the one I'd most like to have learned:

I like for multiple reasons: On the more banal side it looks really cool, and it's one of the few White-Crane influenced forms that my style has (so it has subjective value in the "exotic"/"advanced" sense, and also the other one of which I know is not as cool), and on more substantial considerations it's an excellent physical representation of the style itself, with an even, integrated mix of compact directness and non-linear movements, and has some nasty stuff mixed in with which to play in training

 

I believe that this is my teacher performing an extract of southern Wu Tie chi. Southern wu is a little more box shaped than yang tie chi. it is arguably related to bagwa. You really have to practice the form to experience what is nice about it. It is incredibly simple yet hugely technical, a foot a few degrees off the correct angle and it falls apart. but when it clicks an it flows its like flying.

 

fish - nice. shades of Chen cannon-fist in the hip-shake in that form.

 

To the best of my knowledge it's a variant of a variant (probably of a variant) of the whooping crane form Ershiba:

 

I really see the similarity in the hands - but the crane vid shows very little in the waste I am thinking the waist has shades of cannonfist

Although looking at some vid of canon fist maybe i am making it up. the hip dynamic in the karate is more closed than in the chen and cannon fist has much more upper body power generation/transmission than I remembered but i still see a similarity in the small hip movements.



But I always was a glass half full kind of person.

 

A clip of myself performing the 2nd section of our yang-derived tai chi long form.



This is probably my favourite part of the long form, is it introduces the bulk of the techniques found in the long form, as well as revisiting the key elements from the first section.

 

Interesting. Haven't done Chen so can't really comment on that. Wouldn't know if it was taught that way by the guy who taught it in Okinawa (Go Kenki/Wú Xiánguì), if it was added by Kenwa Mabuni when he codified the style, or if it's from somewhere down Mie Nakayama's lineage (Teruo Hayashi > Yoshimi Inoue > Mie Nakayama, to the best of my knowledge)

 

From my Shotokan days, I always liked Jion the best. With simplicity of the techniques and the sequence of of hip rotation and transitions from stance-to-stance, it just felt like it nailed the "Shotokan" feel, at least how I trained in the art.



In Chun Kuk Do, I haven't yet personally trained in this particular form, but from what I've seen, I really like UFAF 2. It is certainly designed specifically as a performance form and is unapologetic about that. I like its flow, and in my opinion it hits the sweet spot of being complex and athletic without being over-the-top.

 

Thank you fish for your very kind post. at this point I note that I have had a migraine for the last 3 weeks baring one, two day, lull and am not entirely coherent. When I now Look at your video and the chen one I posted the hip mechanic is different enough to be significantly different. I do however like the chen cannon fist form because there is a whole lot of really fun stuff going on in it.

 

I've always loved watching somebody good do Moon Moo (and not just because the-cow-jumped-over-the-moon jokes write themselves). The control and precision needed for all the slow-motion kicking sections is incredible.

 

Form follows function. I remember Shotokan kata. Boxing calls these "Drills" and honestly you spend way more time on them than sparring. Of course it all helps with fighting. It's not needlework or anything, going through the motions of attacking someone isn't attacking them, but it is putting yourself in that mindset and maybe the body follows, if you're well conditioned. If you spar, you keep the whole package honest. But routines are important when training, no matter what you call them. One of my favorite routines is jumping rope, which is a form all its own. I'm always reminded little girls on the streets own me in their rope-jumping skills. Does jumping rope help for fighting? Yep, ask any pro boxer.

The forms of the various martial arts always strike me as just a collection of drills, but any one of those drills can be a potential KO in practice, especially the ones they call "unorthodox". Please see below

 

My favourite forms are...

Tensho. A horrible form to watch and listen to someone performing but I like the techniques and close range sticky hand clinch applications. Grip releases, palm strikes, slaps, neck grips, arm wraps, groin shots, eye jabs. All the good stuff. Plus it look kinda Tai Chi-ish and esoteric and flowery like you'd see someone doing up a mountain in a film.



Also from Taekwondo I like Yulgok.

Has a nice mix of techniques, has a similar hooking block as found in Tensho and it's the first TKD pattern with an elbow (and I loves me some elbows).