Normally I do what he terms Practice Kata, slow deliberate with attention to stance and details. But Fighting Kata is the other extreme; fast powerful as though you are in combat.
The mind must be in the moment, every strike, every kick, every step has purpose and is capable of ending the fight. One must not dwell on the moves already executed or think about what is coming up in the Kata. One must remain present without lingering mind.
As I learn finer and finer points about Isshinryu Karate they get applied back to the katas learned earlier and become new again.
"Then if you're ever forced into a reactive self defense creating carving situation..."
I was having trouble with the one leg balance when the stacked fists are moved to the other hip. Turns out it should not be a one leg balance at all but a quick foot lift to counter a foot sweep. The weight is 90-10 when the foot it lifted and it is put back down well before you fall over.
It took me several months to train myself to point the toes, plantar flexion, when I lift me knee for a kick. I had to unlearn what Prof. Tom Ryan showed me, lift the toes first for a faster lift. Tonight Kyoshi reminded me that in Naihanchi Kata we lift the toe and then scrap the foot on the ground as it is pulled in and away from Uki's sweep.
Kioshi Dave Joslin talked about sliding the down foot toward uki when doing a kick. After sending a few standard kicks, with the post foot fixed to the ground, mix in a sliding kick. This disrupts uki's maia.
You don't want to skip or hop forward. Just unweight the down foot so that your forward momentum causes the foot to slip a few inches forward. Keep the post foot on the ground, NO weight on the heal, knees bent with the ball of the foot taking the weight and pivoting so the the heal comes forward of the ball during the slide.
Just adding four or six inches to your kicking range will kuzushi uki. You must train this technique so that it become effortless and natural. If they see it coming they will see it coming.
The Tallahassee Karate Club blog has a very interesting article on Naihanchi Shodan. The video clip of Shinzato Sensei doing Naihanchi Shodan is unreal. Granted this is not the exact same kata but it is the same. Can you say fa jing?
Quoting the blog.
Naihanchi is a deep kata that teaches the student most of the principles they will need to be able to apply in all their other kata. By tucking the koshi and feeling the connection between the waist and the lats, the student can begin to learn to make power without relying on the turning motion inherent in other kata....
We often practice Naihanchi very slowly, combined with circular hip and arm motions. To the outsider, this may look a little like Tai Chi and not karate. Practicing this way helps the student to analyze each movement in a critical way to understand where the power points occur, how to make a connection between the bottom half and the top half of their body, and how to improve their overall body dynamic. Then, when it is performed fast, with full power, the student can retain this wisdom in their performance and make power in all the right places.
