# Men's Intermediate Kata at USKA Nationals



## Azulx (Apr 10, 2019)

Men's Division for Kata , my student got 3rd place. Enjoy!


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## CB Jones (Apr 10, 2019)

I thought with out a doubt he looked better than 2nd place and him and 1st place was close.


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## Azulx (Apr 10, 2019)

CB Jones said:


> I thought with out a doubt he looked better than 2nd place and him and 1st place was close.



I agree , I don't really like putting other martial artists down because at the end of the day they're out there competing and I'm not. But seeing it live and then re-watching the video , I do not understand how he didn't get 2nd. H-form 6 is a super common form, but not the most technically difficult, so I agree that he was closer to the 1st place form than 3rd. That's just my opinion though, it's slightly bias.


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## Headhunter (Apr 10, 2019)

CB Jones said:


> I thought with out a doubt he looked better than 2nd place and him and 1st place was close.


Every judge has his own opinion and there's no such thing as a wrong opinion. That's how it goes in competition it's decided by opinions


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## Azulx (Apr 10, 2019)

Headhunter said:


> Every judge has his own opinion and there's no such thing as a wrong opinion. That's how it goes in competition it's decided by opinions


Totally agree, that's why I am just happy my students are out there competing.


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## jobo (Apr 10, 2019)

Azulx said:


> Men's Division for Kata , my student got 3rd place. Enjoy!


I though he was poor, till I saw first ahe second they were terible, he was robbed


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## Buka (Apr 10, 2019)

His sidekicks hurt his score, just needs to work on his flexibility. And that little balance bobble at the 45 second mark cost some deductions.

But good for him. He went out and competed. And finished in the money. Tell him to keep up the good work, brother.


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## Azulx (Apr 10, 2019)

jobo said:


> I though he was poor, till I saw first ahe second they were terible, he was robbed



Everyone in this particular division will have about 2-3 years experience. So you'll see average at best. My student has roughly two years experience , so he's right around where I expect at that mark.


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## Headhunter (Apr 10, 2019)

Azulx said:


> Totally agree, that's why I am just happy my students are out there competing.


That's why when I competed I never got upset by judges results especially for forms. You never know what judges like. Some like low stances some like high stances some like the forms done fast some like slow. I've won form comps in the past and I've also come last. It's the way the game works.


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## dvcochran (Apr 10, 2019)

Azulx said:


> I agree , I don't really like putting other martial artists down because at the end of the day they're out there competing and I'm not. But seeing it live and then re-watching the video , I do not understand how he didn't get 2nd. H-form 6 is a super common form, but not the most technically difficult, so I agree that he was closer to the 1st place form than 3rd. That's just my opinion though, it's slightly bias.


Not my ilk and I know the 1st place guy was pretty tall but were his stances very, very wide?


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## Azulx (Apr 10, 2019)

dvcochran said:


> Not my ilk and I know the 1st place guy was pretty tall but were his stances very, very wide?



First and second place guy were 6’7 . But I don’t know what you mean by “ not my ilk,” what’s ilk?


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## Monkey Turned Wolf (Apr 10, 2019)

This may be a stylistic thing, but there wasn't a whole lot of "oomph" in any of their forms. The 1st place guy certainly made it look like he had oomph, with his face/attitude, but it didn't seem to translate to his body during the motions. Not sure if that made sense, and I can explain it more if needed, but is this something normal in your style?


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## jobo (Apr 11, 2019)

Azulx said:


> First and second place guy were 6’7 . But I don’t know what you mean by “ not my ilk,” what’s ilk?


ilk , is something similar enough to other things to be placed into an informal classification with them. so you could say all Japanese striking  arts are of the same ilk, but judo is not


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## dvcochran (Apr 11, 2019)

Azulx said:


> First and second place guy were 6’7 . But I don’t know what you mean by “ not my ilk,” what’s ilk?


Not at all my style (MKD TKD).  So I cannot/should not criticize what I may not understand is all I meant. I see wider stances in Okinawan styles but his seemed extreme to me so I wondered how others viewed them.


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## Orion Nebula (Apr 12, 2019)

I don't like to be mean, but how is that second guy at the intermediate level? Maybe he is better at sparring. I looked up his school (Palm Springs Karate) and it says it's Shotokan, but I don't recognize the kata (not that I know many). Anyone know what it is?



kempodisciple said:


> This may be a stylistic thing, but there wasn't a whole lot of "oomph" in any of their forms. The 1st place guy certainly made it look like he had oomph, with his face/attitude, but it didn't seem to translate to his body during the motions. Not sure if that made sense, and I can explain it more if needed, but is this something normal in your style?



I agree, but maybe this is a style or personal preference thing. I remember back in the day at my first dojo, we had a range of folks who did kata very gently to looking like they might give themselves an aneurysm. I personally like the oomph, but perhaps the technique can shine better with a more gentle approach.


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## CB Jones (Apr 12, 2019)

Orion Nebula said:


> I don't like to be mean, but how is that second guy at the intermediate level? Maybe he is better at sparring. I looked up his school (Palm Springs Karate) and it says it's Shotokan, but I don't recognize the kata (not that I know many). Anyone know what it is?



The school is not shotokan....its Shorin Ryu.


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## Orion Nebula (Apr 12, 2019)

CB Jones said:


> The school is not shotokan....its Shorin Ryu.



Guess there's two schools with the same name. Makes sense why it doesn't look like a Shotokan kata, though.


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## dvcochran (Apr 12, 2019)

Orion Nebula said:


> I don't like to be mean, but how is that second guy at the intermediate level? Maybe he is better at sparring. I looked up his school (Palm Springs Karate) and it says it's Shotokan, but I don't recognize the kata (not that I know many). Anyone know what it is?
> 
> 
> 
> I agree, but maybe this is a style or personal preference thing. I remember back in the day at my first dojo, we had a range of folks who did kata very gently to looking like they might give themselves an aneurysm. I personally like the oomph, but perhaps the technique can shine better with a more gentle approach.


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## Azulx (Apr 12, 2019)

CB Jones said:


> The school is not shotokan....its Shorin Ryu.





Orion Nebula said:


> Guess there's two schools with the same name. Makes sense why it doesn't look like a Shotokan kata, though.





dvcochran said:


> I am pretty certain they are Heian (Pinan, Pyong Ahn) forms. The numbers change from style/school so not sure there.



It's definitely not Shotokan, and it doesn't really look like the Shorin Ryu pinan katas to me either. According to their website their head instructor Mr. Holtzman teaches a style called "Hoken Soken." I couldn't find their katas anywhere though , which is unfortunate, because I was really interested to see what their style looked like across the board.


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## CB Jones (Apr 12, 2019)

Azulx said:


> It's definitely not Shotokan, and it doesn't really look like the Shorin Ryu pinan katas to me either. According to their website their head instructor Mr. Holtzman teaches a style called "Hoken Soken." I couldn't find their katas anywhere though , which is unfortunate, because I was really interested to see what their style looked like across the board.



It's a branch of Shorin Ryu.  Hohan Soken was the founder of it.....it is also referred to as Matsumara Seito Shorin Ryu.

I'm guessing whoever built the site spelled the name wrong.

Mr Holtzman was a student of Phillip Koepel

United States Karate-Do Kai Karate History


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## Azulx (Apr 12, 2019)

CB Jones said:


> It's a branch of Shorin Ryu. Hohan Soken was the founder of it.....it is also referred to as Matsumara Seito Shorin Ryu.
> 
> I'm guessing whoever built the site spelled the name wrong.
> 
> ...



Ah interesting, I actually did some more research, and it looks similair to "Shogen-Ryu." They even have the same ready stance posture as Darryl did.


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## CB Jones (Apr 12, 2019)

Mr Koepel hosts a tournament called the Trias Cup every year around November where at the end of the tourney the adult black belts compete in Kata.  3 different rings and competitors have to run a different kata in each ring with the scores from the rings being combined.

Last year was the first time we went to it and it was pretty interesting to watch.  Scott S. won the cup but it was cool watching Joe D. get out there and compete.


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