Day 870: It's not my fault, she asked!

" ''Tis the Season",  collage, digitized

Okay, agreed, I am a little quirky.

I do this daily blog when there is no need.

A gift, to me, is a comment left on this blog.

I still train in karate, 2 or 3 days a week.

Recently Roy commented on this blog about kata.

Treasured blog commenter Lynn, asked what is kata?

And I answered:

"Kata is a series of anywhere from 

22 to 128 or more specific, continuous movements.

Each with a specific stance, direction, 

hand and foot technique and focus.

I equate it to how figure skating used to be

when they had compulsories, and were graded

on performance against perfection of the techniques. 

It is done individually, within a group or alone,

by count or silent, no music or staging.

Rika Usami, Japan  World Champion

Jodi Nguyen,  Moreno Valley, CA

It is my favorite of the three parts of karate.

Kihon (basics) is the daily rudimentary practice of techniques, 

through repetition, focusing on correctness of technique. 

Usually in a group, in lines, moving together ... 

often, this is  everyone's least favorite, 

as it is definitely the hard work phase.

Traditional kihon training

Kumite, utilizes the basic movements for defense, 

with a partner, or against multiple attackers. 

This is probably the favorite of most karate-ka.

I think this is easier, as you have someone to work with.

Brian Hilliard, USA Champion, photo by Angel Vineza

In Kata, it is just you trying to get more correct each time.

Current female kata world champion is Rika Usami, from Japan. 

I am adding a link to her doing kata, here. 

I showed this to my eldest grandson, a 6'4" volleyball athlete,

and he stared intently throughout, saying WOW!

No doubt this is TMI, but once I started, where to stop? 

Maybe one blog, just one time? 

Several people said they are clueless to my passion for karate."

Maybe this explains a little bit.

Lynn asked, and this was my answer. I had to.

A smile for Saturday ...