Interesting video you posted. I am curious to know from your Shotokan perspective,
I'm not a Shotokan stylist. I personally can't stand Shotokan. One reason though that I refer to Shotokan is it's very physical in it's practice; hence ,very practical and in line with MMA sport action.
Another reason I refer to Shotokan is that it is most popular karate worldwide, and dominant in Japan. Accordingly, you are referencing a large group of karate practitioners and accordingly a very large amount of material written and posted on line.
Moreover, just because I have a personal preference for another style or styles over Shotokan, that in no way means I can't learn and adsorb what those in another style represent for traditional karate, by and what they have accomplished and achieved. Like Mai.
is this the ideal form of the kata for you ?
Your question is very, very good. I shortened it because now you are really getting into the meat of how to practice traditional karate, in order to realize it's full benefit.
The short answer to your question is yes. But yet that is wrong. For a couple of reasons. In my judgment, Shotokan is practiced with too much physical strength and with too aggressive a mindset. This then weakens or dilutes the YES, which is still true in the broadest, overall principle.
OTOH, there are benefits and advantages to practicing Shotokan's style compared to say TKD. Shotokan is very good for conditioning the body physically yet naturally in a well rounded way. It's specifically designed to do so. It's aggressive demeanor forces one to take action, get out there and really do the technique, put yourself and your body into it. So much of the weak karateka physically could take a lesson from Shotokan. Get yourself activated both mentally & physically.
The best to approach traditional karate is to really ask yourself, what is it trying to do and then HOW?
My personal judgement is that Taikyou kata is not the best kata form for me, or karate in general. Because of some of the qualifiers I've set out above. This judgement, however, is further moderated by how one within the Shotokan style, actually practices kata. For instance, you will see kata on You tube, practiced "slow'" and "fast." Why? Which is best? Why again?
Once one realizes that kata in essense is a mental exercise, you will be able to begin to understand what kata does and how it works and the why's? Kata (and karate) start out physical, look physical, use the physical body; yet the mind, your thinking becomes the ultimated driver. This answers the YES when I started out.
The reason I ask is that we also do Taikyoko katas in Kyokushin and apart from the difference in hikete position which is something we have noted as being different between the two styles, I also noticed that the head block isn't as high as we would typically do it during the mae gedan barai. There is also a question about the straightness of the back leg during the zenkutsu dachi. There seems to be a slight bend in the back leg.
Now again, your getting into the highly technical, and highly conceptual principles of those masters who designed the styles. Why I use Shotokan another reason is that I believe Gichin Funakoshi was an academic who sought to isolate out the hierarchy of principles which power traditional karate and give rise to it's strength, over athletic type training.
A vague answer is the Kyo art & practitioner, being more centered on the sparring, fighting emphasis, altered or modified the structure of Shotokan to make it, in their view, more pragmatic and practical for those purposes. Whether or not Kyo achieves that pragmatism, requires rigorous analysis of what drives karate and what those principle drivers are... before changes can be competently made or assessed. So now you are back to starting with the 1st modern, Japanese karate style, Shotokan karate.
These are not really criticisms per se but a desire to understand the Shotokan perspective.
This is wise. IMO, very wise. Gichin Funakoshi is an under-appreciated martial artist. A skinny little bookworm who took Okinawan karate and fostered it's acceptance across the board practice in Japan and popularity all over the world. provided the basis for many other Japanese, Korean and American karate styles.
Far from perfect he was... his achievement vastly overlooked by todays' marital artists. He was a thinker. I'll show you, post below.
