S
Shuri-te
Guest
Fellow Martial Artists:
I am trying to better understand some issues regarding how kata is commonly taught and practiced in Okinawan and Japanese systems today. I have two questions targeted to those karateka that both train in dojos with an emphasis on kata practice, and have an expectation that kata movements provide for good self defense.
For those of you that would like to participate in the post, it would be helpful if you would imagine you have a new beginner student that is "typical." (Average strength, athletic ability, and motivation). The student has come only to learn self defense and has no interest in competitive karate, or in carrying on a tradition, or in the study of karate as a means to moral development or spiritual enlightment.
This student has heard that it often takes approximately 4 years to get to black belt and is expecting to make this investment. Whether the student ever makes it to black belt is not an issue, but for now, all this student is planning is a 4-year investment in the art.
Now let's imagine this student comes to the dojo a reasonable amount for an average student. (You should feel free to define it, but I would say the minimum would be between 3 and 4 hours per week, 50 weeks out of the year).
If this hypothetical "average" student were to train in your dojo,
1. What would be the rate of introduction of kata. (A new kata introduced, on average, every xx months.)
2. What would be a rough estimate of the number of total repetitions for all kata, that this student would practice in the dojo in a typical month. If the number changes over time, the rate of change would be useful as well. (1st year students - xx number of total kata reps per month, 2nd year students - yy number of total kata reps, etc.)
Rough estimates would be fine.
Anything else you want to throw in on the subject would be appreciated.
Thanks for the help.
I am trying to better understand some issues regarding how kata is commonly taught and practiced in Okinawan and Japanese systems today. I have two questions targeted to those karateka that both train in dojos with an emphasis on kata practice, and have an expectation that kata movements provide for good self defense.
For those of you that would like to participate in the post, it would be helpful if you would imagine you have a new beginner student that is "typical." (Average strength, athletic ability, and motivation). The student has come only to learn self defense and has no interest in competitive karate, or in carrying on a tradition, or in the study of karate as a means to moral development or spiritual enlightment.
This student has heard that it often takes approximately 4 years to get to black belt and is expecting to make this investment. Whether the student ever makes it to black belt is not an issue, but for now, all this student is planning is a 4-year investment in the art.
Now let's imagine this student comes to the dojo a reasonable amount for an average student. (You should feel free to define it, but I would say the minimum would be between 3 and 4 hours per week, 50 weeks out of the year).
If this hypothetical "average" student were to train in your dojo,
1. What would be the rate of introduction of kata. (A new kata introduced, on average, every xx months.)
2. What would be a rough estimate of the number of total repetitions for all kata, that this student would practice in the dojo in a typical month. If the number changes over time, the rate of change would be useful as well. (1st year students - xx number of total kata reps per month, 2nd year students - yy number of total kata reps, etc.)
Rough estimates would be fine.
Anything else you want to throw in on the subject would be appreciated.
Thanks for the help.