Personal From Requirement........

[Michael Billings]

Forgot one thing. At some level forms are practiced as if against a live opponent. Marcos Bonfigliano and I were talking right after he won the Internationals with Long #6, and he told me he practiced and performed the Form, as if at any time a live opponent could step in.

When you have been AT the ART for long enough, you are no longer "dancing with yourself", rather you are facing a very real, live attack. You learn to focus body, mind, and spirit through the diligent and intense practice of your Forms ... that is, if you choose to.

OOS,
-Michael
UKS-Texas

 

[kenpo3631]

I thought that you were supposed to perform all forms from Short 3 to Long 6 like that anyways...:asian:

 

[Klondike93]

Originally posted by Goldendragon7

What is the general consensus on the creation of Forms as part of your curriculums....... Is it required for you or not........ if so, do you Love it or hate it? Why?


:asian:

At what belt level do you require this GD?




:asian:

 

[Michael Billings]

I do them all that way. 30+ years ago I started in Shotokan, then did several years of Taekwondo, before finding Kenpo in 1979. All the forms I knew prior to Kenpo were at about the level of Short #1 or Long #1. So that power and focus can be done at the "Basics" level. And it can win tournaments in open divisions against hard stylists.

The more sophisticated basics in the #2 Forms's all have practical applications, you just have to find them. I visualize opponents and teach the Forms against opponent's here also. Or at least the potential self-defense applications inherent in the moves. It helps add saliency to the repetitive strikes for the beginners and captures their interest.

-MB
UKS-Texas

 

[Goldendragon7]

Originally posted by Klondike93
At what belt level do you require this GD?

I start this process at Purple Belt as originally outlined by Mr. Parker.

Purple.......... 5 techniques
Blue............. 10 techniques
Green........... 15 techniques
3rd Brown.... 20 techniques
2nd Brown... 20 techniques
1st Brown... 20 techniques
1st Black... 20 techniques

:asian:

 

[jeffkyle]

Originally posted by Goldendragon7



I start this process at Purple Belt as originally outlined by Mr. Parker.

Purple.......... 5 techniques
Blue............. 10 techniques
Green........... 15 techniques
3rd Brown.... 20 techniques
2nd Brown... 20 techniques
1st Brown... 20 techniques
1st Black... 20 techniques

:asian:

Do you allow/require or dissallow weapons at any point?

 

[RCastillo]

Originally posted by Seig

I dislike doing forms, period. That is not to say that I do not understand the need for them. I realize that I am expected to teach them and to help encourage others to make their own. The main reason I have trouble doing forms is that I have a very hard time "visualizing" attackers while I am in "real" motion. I do much better when I have "live" opponents. Otherwise, I feel like I am dancing by myself.

Always a "Radical" in the bunch.

 

[Klondike93]

Originally posted by Goldendragon7



I start this process at Purple Belt as originally outlined by Mr. Parker.

Purple.......... 5 techniques
Blue............. 10 techniques
Green........... 15 techniques
3rd Brown.... 20 techniques
2nd Brown... 20 techniques
1st Brown... 20 techniques
1st Black... 20 techniques

:asian:

Where is it outlined at, Infinite Insights or the kenpo manuals?

:asian:

 

[ProfessorKenpo]

Originally posted by Goldendragon7



Sounds like you must be an expert by that post. How much experience do you have to support such a statement?

BTW, I disagree with you.

:asian:

You sure have your nerve coming off like that. I don't remember anyone promoting you to Grand Master!

I agree with Brian wholeheartedly, and wish I had a few more students like him.

Have a great Kenpo day

Clyde

 

[Goldendragon7]

Originally posted by jeffkyle
Do you allow/require or dissallow weapons at any point?

Sure, depending upon one's ability and interests or after black belt.

:asian:

 

[Goldendragon7]

Originally posted by ProfessorKenpo
You sure have your nerve coming off like that

LOL, talk about my nerve...... hee hee sounds like the pot calling the kettle black:rofl:

 

[Goldendragon7]

Originally posted by Klondike93
Where is it outlined at, Infinite Insights or the kenpo manuals?

It was taken from my manuals, the same that several others have that were current with Mr. Parker when he passed, as well.

:asian:

 

[Seig]

I thought I would revive it. Since in the later belts, the personal form still requires twenty sets (moves), do you allow students to create one, and then stick with that one, just refining it? To clarify, in Short Form 1, once we learn it, we keep doing it hte same way, over and over, but as our skill and knowledge increases the same moves take on different meaning and "flavor".

 

[bdparsons]

I seem to remember reading how one senior master described learning forms/katas/sets (I think he was from a Japanese art):

At the beginning level you are concentrating strictly on your own moves.

At the intermediate level you are seeing your attackers.

At the advanced level an observer watching you is seeing your attackers.

Here's to getting to that level!

Respects,
Bill Parsons

 

[Goldendragon7]

Originally posted by bdparsons
At the advanced level an observer watching you is seeing your attackers.
Here's to getting to that level!

Now that sounds like a real challenging goal!
:cheers:
:asian:

 

[kenpo2dabone]

I had to do a thesis Kata for my 1st Black as well as a Kenpo thesis. I was given no criteria to follow other than it had to be done for my test. I wrote out what I wanted to cover in my form and then started putting techniques together that covered the points that I wanted to express. Nothing really tested my knowledge up to that point more than putting that form together. One of the things that I really liked about it was I could really express how "I" do Kenpo. Which in turn let my instructor at the time know where I truly was in my Kenpo training. As an instructor, what better way is there to see where your students are at in there understanding of Kenpo than to tell them to make something up even if it is one technique. I beleive that thesis Katas should part of a any system. I read in this thread that some people are not fond of doing forms. That's cool by me but you might think about asking students to come up with a few techniques on their own and have them do them on a body as part of their testing criteria. It is just a suggestion. I had to do the techniques that were in my form on a person which I really enjoyed. In the UKF (Universal Kenpo Federation), where I train now, we are required to do Forms of Spontaneity. Basically, on any test you can be asked to perform five techniques against a right kick or a left punch or combinations of each. I find this to be very beneficial to ones training because yo have to do it "on the Fly". When you become proficiant at it, you really start to feel the flow of techniques and what movements flow smothly, quickly and accurately into one another. When we are asked to do these Form of Spontaneity the creative juices can just flow because you don't have to any particular technique. You can just let movement flow into movement.


Salute,
Mike Miller UKF

 

[Seig]

Originally posted by kenpo2dabone
Basically, on any test you can be asked to perform five techniques against a right kick or a left punch or combinations of each. I find this to be very beneficial to ones training because yo have to do it "on the Fly". When you become proficiant at it, you really start to feel the flow of techniques and what movements flow smothly, quickly and accurately into one another. When we are asked to do these Form of Spontaneity the creative juices can just flow because you don't have to any particular technique. You can just let movement flow into movement.


Salute,
Mike Miller UKF

Isn't that exactly what we are trying to teach our students to do in the real world? This seems to reinforce the entire idea of doing a personal form.

 

[Kenpomachine]

We have something similar to a form done, but it's made "on the fly", before regular forms are performed.
As you go up in the ranks, the complexity and variety of strikes and moves increases.

And then, there's the spontaneous techniques, done to surprise attacks, double attacks, etc. You have to react using your kenpo, and not necesarily a prefixed technique.

However, we do personal techniques for championships.

 

[Brother John]

It's not really a part of the AKKI to require a personal form (I don't think, at least I've not hear of it as such yet...).

But I do like creating my personal form, almost finished with it... at least with the first version of it..
probably revamp it a lot down the years.

Your Bro.
John

 

[Ender]

Originally posted by Goldendragon7
What is the general consensus on the creation of Forms as part of your curriculums....... Is it required for you or not........ if so, do you Love it or hate it? Why?


:asian:

we had to create one as we go...3 techniques from yellow, three from orange...etc.....i usulally picked the ones that were most difficult for me and the ones i needed the most practice.