Im not sure what kata's to practice there are so many to chose from. Is it worth training in kata for schools i dont train in? For example a guy that trains in Goju to do some shotokan kata at home. Is that just crazy? What are your opinions.

I would imagine it all depends on who's doing the additional kata/s. Some retain better than others. And I would think it matters what you are in a club for. To train? To grade? If you're only there to train, and grading doesn't matter to you, and you fancy doing a kata outside of your clubs syllibus, then why not?

I think I'll need more than 5 minutes to answer that. At one point I learnt 5 different versions of one kata but quickly decided I only needed 3 of them for what I was doing. Stay tuned...


Mick

Thanks for your responses.

I only want to train in karate as a form of fitness. I have done several martial arts and to me the fitness aspect is always the most enjoyable. People have often said to me that there are other better and cheaper ways to get fitness, but for some reason I like doing martial arts. Although I have to admit i do like kata... when i learn it that is learning it kinda sucks and takes ages.

hope that made sense its early in the morning :S

If fitness is your only reason for training, and you enjoy doing kata, then I think you should feel free to practice whatever kata take your fancy. I'd suggest some dynamic athletic kata that are designed as much as performance art as they are martial art. Why not find some you like the look of on youtube and give it a go? As long as you practice it in a manner that is safe for your body it doesn't really matter if you properly replicate the execution of a particular kata - as long as you're having fun and getting fitter.

Mike