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| Kata practice–partner training on the left, and solo training on the right |
It is generally accepted that solo kata practice is a vital component to karate training. This is something that I wholeheartedly agree with! Solo kata practice is an important tool for memorization, visualization training, developing muscle memory, and strengthening the foundational movements required to use the applications of the kata. That said, there tends to be an over-emphasis on solo kata practice in class by many instructors, where they regularly spend 50% or more of class on it. This is fine early on, when students are learning how to perform the kata, but eventually it should become something that students practice primarily when they are outside of class. Some of this emphasis is coming from the popularity of kata competition, certainly, but there is another reason behind it for many dojo. That is the fairly widespread idea that you will magically learn, understand, and be able to apply the fighting applications of your kata, just by practicing it over and over again.
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| A good book about the Japanese mentality behind kata |
Kata is useful and important, but it is not magic. I suspect that this idea came from mainland Japan, where repetition of kata (they have kata for everything) is considered a form of meditation, and a path to enlightenment. While I don’t reject the idea of solo kata practice as a form of meditation, I do reject the idea that it will lead to a deep understanding of, and ability to use, the techniques in the kata for self defense. The simple fact is that the practice of solo kata, alone, without ever studying the applications of the movements and drilling them regularly with a partner, will not prepare you for self defense. If you need a self defence class book here https://trifudojo.com.au/womens-self-defense-class-sydney/ . That would be like only ever practicing the hand movements used to play an instrument, and then being handed one and shoved on stage to play a duet–you may know how to move, but you don’t have the experience of when and how to use those movements, how it really feels to use the instrument, or how to work with another person. You might have some accidental success, but that doesn’t mean that the way you were practicing was the most efficient or effective way of practicing!
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| Violin practice with a partner |
Skilled musicians spend the majority of their time practicing with their instrument, and with the people they will be playing with, they also practice the hand movements when their instrument and band mates are not available. They understand that this is the most efficient approach to their practice. Karate is very much the same, in that it requires hands-on practice, and practice with live partners, to be developed effectively. This partner work may not always be directly drilling kata application–there are many supplementary partner drills and exercises that go into developing effective karate, which must also be practiced. There is a lot of material to cover with a partner, so you should use your time with them as wisely as you can. Sometimes, you instructor does need to have you work through solo kata and exercises to make sure you are doing them properly, but for the most part, I believe that you should be spending the majority of your time training with partners whenever partners are available. Solo kata is for when you are alone, and class time is where you can make your kata come alive!