Too many kata?

[Aefibird]

My personal jury is still out regarding the Heian kata, but I'd like to see Kihon/Taikyoku kata disappear off syllabi. I can't see that it provides anything that Heian Shodan does not and the addition of Kihon/Taikyoku just seems to me to spin out the process of learning a kata. Maybe if beginners were tested on H Shodan and then tested again on H Shodan for their next grade it would show more their improvement. I know not all schools teach Kihon/Taikyoku, but I'd like to see it vanish from my school, if not all the others.

Just personal preference.

[random]

If you are only going to do Taikyoku Shodan then it should go, I learnt up to Sandan, before embarking on the Heian Kata, I had a fanatical but excellent first Sensei.

Although it does make it extremely difficult to re learn kata, the Heian Kata all mingle in with each other, and with everything else, if I could remember the synthesis I create I would start my own system, especially designed for overweight asthmatics.

[Aefibird]

I also think that kata should be taught in "family groups" of kata, rather than that which is just taught for a certain grade. e.g. many schools require Jion as a Shodan kata, but do not teach Ji'in and Jitte alongside. Obviously for Kanku, Bassai and Gojushiho the "Dai" should be taught with the "Sho", and I feel that the Tekki kata series should be taught as a group. Tekki Shodan is often a Kyu grade kata but T Nidan and T Sandan are usually taught for Dan level tests.

I feel that iut would help students to grasp principles and meaning behind certain kata and applications if kata groups were taught together, rather than having one or two kata from each group being for kyu grades and the other half of the group being for when you get that magical strip of black cloth...

[AngelaG]

Don't some schools just have a kata which they are working on, and everyone does it... so you may start a karate school and the first kata you look at is Gojushiho!

[Aefibird]

Yes, I recently visited a club that was like that. I went to a Shotokan club in a village near Doncaster a couple of weeks ago and the class were working on Hangetsu - even the lower grades! They lower grades were also practicing Heian Shodan/Heian Nidan but the main class focus was Hangetsu.

EDIT: Random, the club was at the Cricket Pavillion in Tickhill in case you're interested in a visit sometime. I know that's your neck of the woods innit?