boxer's get brought up a lot as an example of efficient training (i've used the example myself). yet not all boxing training methods are efficient. for instance, i've boxed for years & i loath working the speed bag. i can barely move the thing & find it dull, & unrelated to actual boxing. sure, it helps your timing, but it is not the most efficient way to train.
the only difference is that speed bag training isn't wrapped up in tradition. if someone really, really loves training the speed bag to the extent that it gets them training more, more power to them. but it's not essential. same with kata. if you dig it & interests you enough to train more than you would otherwise, cool. if you don't want to do it, cool. IT IS JUST A TRAINING TOOL, USE IT AS YOU SEE FIT.
jf
Once again, and I hate to sound like a broken record, but any of these activities remain useful as conditioning tools. The mistake, IMO, is in trying to make them more than they are. Kata is, IMO, a simple conditioning tool that some have elevated out of proportion to any potential gain. The difference between a speed bag workout and kata is that no one claims to be learning any deeper or more technical understanding of the lexicon of boxing by working the speed bag. The same can't be said for kata.
I think that is more true of 'head' knowledge than 'body' knowledge. Muscle memory is trained at a less than conscious level, and correct repetition brings rewards.
I personally disagree. This is simply how we learn. Cooking. You can read cook books and watch cooking shows to get to a knowledge level. Comprehension begins by cooking from recipes. Application begins when you start modifying the recipes and perfecting the ones you really enjoy. Synthesis is a mastery level.
You can apply these four categories very simply to any learning situation, and it's almost always very clear because this is just fundamentally how we learn. It's so helpful precisely because it focuses on taking information from a cerebral/conceptual level to a concrete/practical level. So often, as adult learners, any training we receive is academic and not practical, spending more time on "why" and "when" to do something and less on "how" and "what" to actually do.
That may be where we branch off. I am in no hurry. I did not begin training at an Isshinryu dojo to learn self-defense, per se. That's simply a benefit. Even our sensei has said, if you're in a hurry to learn to defend yourself, take up boxing.
This places an emphasis on the process, which, if it's your thing, great. Sort of like the friend who writes bad poetry. I have a friend who loves to write poetry. Even she will admit that it's bad, but she has no interest in trying to improve... that's not why she writes. I can respect it, even if I can't exactly understand it.
I am not interested in mastering kata to say I have mastered kata. I am interested in kata for what I perceive as its core value, teaching proper body mechanics and muscle memory.
And this brings us back to full circle. If you are in it for the process, great. If you are in it for results, then focusing on the process is a mistake, and one that many adult learners make.
I have and I do, but again - a correction on foot position in a kumite, shouted from the sidelines, is hardly conducive to creating body mechanics and muscle memory that makes it ingrained.
I disagree completely. Timely feedback in context is THE BEST way to create proper body mechanics and muscle memory. As I said before, I can shrimp down the mats all day long and am only conditioning my body. When I hip out correct and reestablish guard in the context of actual resistance, I'm actually learning body mechanics and muscle memory.
I am naturally splay-footed. That is not an efficient way to stand while punching in most cases. I have found that while sparring, I go right into that 'bad' stance. Sure, sensei yells for me to correct my feet - and I get jacked while I'm trying to think about fixing my feet. In kata, kata, kata, he corrects me, I practice correct foot position, and little by little, my body begins to respond. I look down at the end of a sequence and by God, my feet are right - and I didn't think about it.
Kata will help you condition your body. Sparring will help you fix your stance under pressure. Your stance goes to hell because you let it go during sparring. It seems clear to me that you need to spar more and focus on fixing your stance. Getting jacked is feedback, saying to you, "Your feet might be right, but you also have to keep your hands up." Kata isn't teaching you the technique. It's conditioning the muscles. Sparring is where you're learning the technique and that you continue to do it incorrectly during sparring is a good indication that, regardless of where your feet are at the end of a kata, your body still doesn't understand the technique.
Just in general, this applies to all of the guitar analogies, as well. Conditioning is critical. I appreciate and agree with that.
If you can honestly call your behavior other than a childish tantrum, I'll admit to an ad hominem. But in order for a label to be libelous, it has to first be untrue. 
