how to make karate kata look better?

Daisho · Orange Belt

Longer suits, in particular longer pants, do make the kata look nicer in my opinion.

we don't train any katas at all, but the school a few blocks down from us had a whole mess of isshin ryu kata.

of course practice is the most important part of making anything look good, but the people saying that what you look like doesn't matter… well i just don't get.

what's the point of kata aside from looking cool?

Soheir · Orange Belt

If you don't count balance, power etc. How about the techniques in the kata?
What do you do with techniques when they look cool if they don't work?
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The BB of C · Black Belt

Everyone here has already said everything I would have said.

Strong kiats, but not obnoxious ones (see most XMA demonstrations). Watch your stances and footwork. Transition slowly and smoothly. Try to keep your head level. Try to end at the same place you started from unless the kata specifically calls for it. Uniform aesthetics do matter but not as much as everything else. Snap your techniques. Differentiate your breathing. Differentiate the speed of your movements. A good rule of thumb that I always had was slow/smooth transitions in stances and footwork and fast strikes. ALWAYS re chamber your kicks unless they are specifically pushing kicks. Add your hips and shoulders wherever possible. This adds power in striking anything through physics. This will add power to your kata.

You could help us help you by showing a video of yourself doing the kata in question. It's a lot easier for people to make suggestions when we know what style you're doing and what kata from that style.

And now to yet again agree with everyone else here:
PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE

We can't say it enough.

PRACTICE!!!

Lee M · Yellow Belt

Best thing is to find who is the best and to achieve the standard you want - learn from them and copy what they do to achieve similiar results!

Training, how they think, eat - everything.
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Gareth · White Belt

It starts with learning the basic pattern, then from there go on to understand the bunkai (the meaning of the kata), each move is an attack or defence against an opponent.

The final key ingredient is visualisation of your opponent, this allows you to work on your kime (timing, power, speed).

For shotokan kata Kanazawa Sensei is a great example for you to follow, you can find a collection of him performing all shotokan katas at http://www.karateinternetvideos.com/shotokan-kata

JusticeZero · Black Belt

This is in Sports, so this is presumably for competition.

Question is "Are there any things I can do, beyond practice, to improve my score in kata performance?" Presumably recognizing that practice is important, but if not paying attention to extra detail will shave a point off (because someone who looks like they got their gi out the dumpster they live in doing a picture-perfect technique will still project an impression of "sloppy") then those details must be addressed.

Yes, wear a heavyweight gi as mentioned. Have it cleaned and pressed before the competition. Bow to the judges. Beyond that it gets tricky, and you may need to do some research, because I expect that different venues will operationalize a 'good kata' differently. See if you can get hold of footage of the kata competitions before. Look for things that all the winners do. Work those things in.
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sensei8 · KF Sensei

Eye contact with the judges...all of the judges...not just the center judge. Walk smartly in and towards the judges and speak in clear phonetics and be heard, but not shouting.

These are first impressions and first impressions have a lingering effect on your final scores. If you don't look at me AND all of the other judges, I'll deduct .5 off your score. If you walk disrespectfully in and towards the judges, I'll deduct .5 from your scores. If I don't understand what you've just said, I'll deduct .5 from your scores. If I can't hear you or if you're shouting way to loud for me, I'll deduct .5 from your scores. That's a 2 point deduction from me before you've even started.

You've received a lot of helpful info here. Good luck, train hard, and PRACTICE. As an instructor, I can tell if the Kata competitor has or hasn't been practicing. "How would you know? You're not that competitors instructor" and you'd be right, but I can discern sloppy from solid just as any of the other judges.

Believe in yourself, visualize your Kata, and visualize your new trophy. And if its a weapons Kata, please don't drop the weapon unless it's part of the Kata and you've informed the judges that you'll be dropping said weapon and at what point.

Good luck and have fun!

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**Proof is on the floor!!!

ShoriKid · Pre-Black Belt

One thing to add that kills me and I was mentioning it to Pitbull the other day. Kiai short and sharp. It's not an operatic note to be held for 3 seconds. Make it forceful and authoritative, but drag it out. You're not drawing attention to the technique.
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Kisshu fushin, Oni te hotoke kokoro. A demon's hand, a saint's heart. -- Osensei Shoshin Nagamine

rhilllakefield · Yellow Belt

If you're doing a competition or grading, its always a good idea to run an iron over your gi to make it crisp.

Also, for the Kata itself, practise practise practise! Work on timing and fluidity. All Katas have individual timing, work on that, and it'll show.

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