Katas are hard to remember?

Question

i have such bad memory are there any martial art styles that dont practice katas?

Answer 1

katas have there place try working harder at it instead of giving up so easily.you wont get far in anything if you give up when somethings to hard.

Answer 2

Hi there

Nearly all martial arts are based on forms. The style and its history will also determine the type of forms that are practiced.

If you don't have forms then you have no foundation. Likewise if all you do is practice forms then the whole thing becomes a painting by numbers exercise with no piratical application allowing any creativity. Remember that's why Martial Arts has the art in it! Most of the Japanese arts that contain Jutsu in them will consist of forms but are only about 3 to 6 moves in length such as Jujutsu and Akido. Karate Tae Kwon Do and Forms of Kung Fu will all have very long forms. The best way to practice all forms is firstly to commit them to memory. Try breaking them down into 3 stages then combine them. The next step is to study what the forms are teaching you. They are not trying to teach you perfect technique! That would be just plain silly. They are teaching you applications and principles for fighting and it can be difficult to grasp this as a beginner. Even most advanced students haven't a clue why they practice the forms they do so don't worry too much about this.

Break them down and practice. If you decide the art is not for you but you enjoy some aspects of what you do then seek out an alternative such as a free style club.

Regards

Idai

Answer 3

I have a different reason for practicing the martial arts that some of the previous posters. Forms are NOT just for belts or "dances" and people who claim such silly things don't understand the purpose of them. Shame.

IF you actually want to memorize forms...

Practice makes perfect, practice makes muscle memory. Heck, I've woken myself up practicing forms in my sleep. Seriously.

Running through forms mentally also helps you remember them.

If you can get the forms to music, that can also help, not only with memory but with timing. I copied a CD from my kwanjangnim called "드라마 품새." It has some background music for each form with "punches" or "beats" for each point of movement. Working through those helped me get the timing and speed down, as well as memorizing them. And one cool thing about that is that you can set up the CD to play on your computer randomly, so you get the forms out of order. Very important. You really don't know the forms if you only know them in order.

Once you think you really know a form, doing it backwards can be a mental and physical exercise. Holy. Moly. That'll make you REALLY know it.

Answer 4

Judo has Kata techniques however they are not used to teach. Kata is typically only learned by Blue, Brown and Black belts as it is part of grading to go from blue to brown or Brown to Black. All techniques in the Katas are taught up until that point so it is just a matter of learning the order that they are done and the way they are presented. So you could go from white to Brown without ever having to really focuss on Kata. From what I know most full contact styles are similar to this.
I Know that most Gung Fu/Wushu and Karate styles rely on Kata as a means to teach the techniques to students from white belt right to black belt and beyound.

13 years of Judo

Answer 5

Muay Thai.
why spend years perfecting the kata dance when Muay Thai gets you down and dirty straight away, and prepares you for full contact.

katas are good if you want to spend the time perfecting them for your belt awards. but they arent used in fights outside the dojo.

I without a doubt recommend Muay Thai. you also get the heads up on elbows and knees. and how to use them properly. the trouble with many traditional arts is that they place too much emphasis on things you will never need to survive, and this the the nature of war: to not only win the battle but win the war.

too much head space is filled with things that are not essential.

so keep it basic, brutal, and as real to life as you can get.

Answer 6

Where I used to train we had to do allot of Kata's.. and I hated them, couldn,t remember them, and felt like an Idiot doing them,.. They are pointless and should be only used for Thai chi and other meditative arts.... I now train in Muay Thai and am glad that all the other bits and piece's that my other school taught that I didn't like, is thankfully not practised in Muay Thai.. No Chi's, Spinning twirling whatever kicks, and no Kata's, no Kai's.. no punching & kicking air.. no commandments or oaths.. no grading every 2 months.. no Ghi's... If you want to learn a fight style that teaches you basic punch's and kicks, knees & elbows, and teaches you to perfect them (rather than learn 20 different kick's that are complicated and most likely you'll forget).. and lets you spar straight away.. and lets you wear what you feel comfortable in
try Muay Thai.. I'm glad I did.. It keeps me fitter and I can defend myself better if the situation ever arises...(and being able to spar regualarily you can prove this to yourself, rather than being curious of you abilities)...

Answer 7

I've never heard of one. The purpose is for you to remember the forms. The discipline you learn in the martial arts will help you to remember. Don't give up!

Answer 8

There are many schools out there that focus mainly on sparring and contact drills. Not every art utilizes form drills.
If you feel you will be bored then perhaps you should steer away from this type of training. Form is not for every body.
Go out and observe schools in your area and see what appeals to you.

Answer 9

katas are boring The only martial arts i can think of are krav maga, kickboxing and muay thai or vale tudo

Answer 10

Jeet kune do i think doesnt and neither does some muy thai or some styles of karate (the karate one is extremely rare)