The little advice helps!

[Ademadis]

Just a little anecdote;
Recently my university Dojo has restarted (as term has now also officially started) with a much more structured and determined training regime. So essentially all the bad habits I've picked up over summer are now coming to light.

On my first session I ran through Taikyoku Shodan for a couple of people to see and they dissected it. They liked it; my movements look powerful and quick, they told me it would pass a grading and yet they heavily criticised my punching technique (the majority of the kata).

At first this really irked me, I'd been training all summer and hadn't improved as much as I'd liked. Clashing federations meant I couldn't grade (which I desperately want to do) and to top it off now I had to backtrack and focus on the basics.
However, instead of staying angry about it I decided to take in the advice people had given me and sit down and think about it.

In one exercise someone looked at my punching and told me that the timing of my fist and foot is off. They should land at the same time. Later another small remark on my stance limiting my waist rotation struck a chord.
When I sat and thought about it I realised my forward stance subtly sucks; I twist my back foot to close 45 degree angle outward, which means when I step and punch the momentum is carried diagonally, it also limits the power I can carry in my waist and makes my stance a lot longer, making it awkward for me to time the punch properly with my stepping.

Now whenever I'm in forward stance that back foot is in the forefront of my mind, it's as straight as it can be. My stance has shortened but I can carry momentum easier and I can feel already my punches are a lot more powerful.
Though, these main criticisms were given by training partners on the fly, it's the most useful instruction for general technique I've had in months.

So my little bit of advice to everyone else is listen to the little advice! The things people say when they're not overthinking, when they notice something small that seems relatively irrelevant. Don't let frustration get to you, it's good your annoyed as it means you want to do better, but taking a breather and sitting down to think about these little things can help out quite a bit too

Hope my little moment of pride helps
Osu!

 

[hoshin1600]

Just a little anecdote;
Recently my university Dojo has restarted (as term has now also officially started) with a much more structured and determined training regime. So essentially all the bad habits I've picked up over summer are now coming to light.

On my first session I ran through Taikyoku Shodan for a couple of people to see and they dissected it. They liked it; my movements look powerful and quick, they told me it would pass a grading and yet they heavily criticised my punching technique (the majority of the kata).

At first this really irked me, I'd been training all summer and hadn't improved as much as I'd liked. Clashing federations meant I couldn't grade (which I desperately want to do) and to top it off now I had to backtrack and focus on the basics.
However, instead of staying angry about it I decided to take in the advice people had given me and sit down and think about it.

In one exercise someone looked at my punching and told me that the timing of my fist and foot is off. They should land at the same time. Later another small remark on my stance limiting my waist rotation struck a chord.
When I sat and thought about it I realised my forward stance subtly sucks; I twist my back foot to close 45 degree angle outward, which means when I step and punch the momentum is carried diagonally, it also limits the power I can carry in my waist and makes my stance a lot longer, making it awkward for me to time the punch properly with my stepping.

Now whenever I'm in forward stance that back foot is in the forefront of my mind, it's as straight as it can be. My stance has shortened but I can carry momentum easier and I can feel already my punches are a lot more powerful.
Though, these main criticisms were given by training partners on the fly, it's the most useful instruction for general technique I've had in months.

So my little bit of advice to everyone else is listen to the little advice! The things people say when they're not overthinking, when they notice something small that seems relatively irrelevant. Don't let frustration get to you, it's good your annoyed as it means you want to do better, but taking a breather and sitting down to think about these little things can help out quite a bit too

Hope my little moment of pride helps
Osu!

good advise,,,,, and in response i will say, then take all the advise from others and toss it out in the trash!!!
for every opinion there is a logical argument against it and every opinion is both valid and worthless at the same time. you can train for years and years and get your Taikyoku shodan kata "Shimejurusan" perfect, and if you came to me i would tear it apart and tell you its horrible and worthless, i would then show you how I think you should move, stand and generate power.
this is a much deeper argument and concept than you realize.
its the difference between self knowledge and expression VS institutional conformity.

 

[Ademadis]

good advise,,,,, and in response i will say, then take all the advise from others and toss it out in the trash!!!
for every opinion there is a logical argument against it and every opinion is both valid and worthless at the same time. you can train for years and years and get your Taikyoku shodan kata "Shimejurusan" perfect, and if you came to me i would tear it apart and tell you its horrible and worthless, i would then show you how I think you should move, stand and generate power.
this is a much deeper argument and concept than you realize.
its the difference between self knowledge and expression VS institutional conformity.

Ha, fair enough .
I suppose this is what I really love about Karate, I've never encountered something so personal yet so wide and regimented at the same time.

 

[hoshin1600]

Ha, fair enough .
I suppose this is what I really love about Karate, I've never encountered something so personal yet so wide and regimented at the same time.

but the regimented part is your experience only and that was my point. if you were to go somewhere else to learn it would be completely different, not all styles and schools follow the institutional conformity. some are more free to find what works for you. even within the rigid styles there are great debates over details

 

[Ademadis]

but the regimented part is your experience only and that was my point. if you were to go somewhere else to learn it would be completely different, not all styles and schools follow the institutional conformity. some are more free to find what works for you. even within the rigid styles there are great debates over details

I'm not saying that's a bad thing. Every student of the martial arts practices their own style which they develop through so many different influences, some regimented, some unique.

I just wanted to share my recent experiences with you guys. Not start one of these debates on rigidity and formality of teaching in martial arts.

 

[hoshin1600]

I'm not saying that's a bad thing. Every student of the martial arts practices their own style which they develop through so many different influences, some regimented, some unique.

I just wanted to share my recent experiences with you guys. Not start one of these debates on rigidity and formality of teaching in martial arts.

no debate intended my friend..its all good

 

[Buka]

Sounds like you're doing just fine, brother. And enjoying the process is certainly part of it.

 

[Tez3]

Very brave to go to Norfolk though.

 

[Ademadis]

Very brave to go to Norfolk though.

Ahh it ain't that bad once you get past the accent and webbed feet ;P

 

[JR 137]

I don't think the guy who said "don't sweat the small stuff" was very smart. I know, context, it wasn't MA and all. But the small stuff is what the big picture is made out of. If every little detail is messed up, the overall picture has almost no chance of being good. It's like my high school football coach used to say, "Forget about the scoreboard. Get all the little things right. If you get all those little things right, the scoreboard will take care of itself." Getting a kata right is far more than just stepping in the right direction and doing the right technique. The difference between getting those techniques to actually work when needed and not working is all in the subtleties. Same as a grappler - if their hands are off by a few inches or they're not applying the force at the right angle, the choke won't work. If a judoka doesn't drop their weight at a certain time and a certain direction, the throw won't work. It's the little details that make or break the technique. Karate is no different.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

I don't think the guy who said "don't sweat the small stuff" was very smart. I know, context, it wasn't MA and all. But the small stuff is what the big picture is made out of. If every little detail is messed up, the overall picture has almost no chance of being good. It's like my high school football coach used to say, "Forget about the scoreboard. Get all the little things right. If you get all those little things right, the scoreboard will take care of itself." Getting a kata right is far more than just stepping in the right direction and doing the right technique. The difference between getting those techniques to actually work when needed and not working is all in the subtleties. Same as a grappler - if their hands are off by a few inches or they're not applying the force at the right angle, the choke won't work. If a judoka doesn't drop their weight at a certain time and a certain direction, the throw won't work. It's the little details that make or break the technique. Karate is no different.

Actually, the point of the "don't sweat the small stuff" philosophy is to focus on only what affects big stuff. So, you don't ignore small stuff like stances if they affect big stuff like generating power. If you can generate the power with a "bad stance", and can't find anything else that affected by it, then the stance is immaterial at that point and becomes "small stuff".