Do you think Kata actually does help you defend better?

Yes I am a firm believer in kata and the value it holds and know first hand that it has made me a better and stronger martial artist. The thing about this though was I was also lucky to have really good instructors who knew the value of kata and knew how to teach it and the bunkai that went with that and relate the practical applications of it. If that is not taking place then yes in some or a lot of cases kata becomes just a time filler and a very much watered down approach to teaching certain skills, application, and knowledge of those techniques that kata contains.

Kata is a great training tool if it is taught like it should be and the standards are such that students are expected to practice and perform it at a high level and taught how to do this. While it can be argued that there are also other approaches also that can be used for someone reaching a high degree of skill, knowledge, and ability in a martial or fighting art that is not to say that kata has no value like many uneducated think or believe. I of course encounter this sometimes with those that I see and workout with in MMA and fighting arts and they short changing kata and the value of it. Once I sit down and explain to them that repetition and learning about movement and the executing of a technique and its application is really not any different than them doing the same with a combination on a heavy bag and a coach standing there and giving them feedback about it then they begin to understand that maybe its not as ridiculous as what they first thought.

No.

I have been in various MA's and some with almost all Kata it seemed.

People are saying things like this guy and that guy knows it, so what. Yea so some fighters know it but none utilize it in the cage/ring. I have seen all TUF episodes since they started which have had most all the top fighters ever in UFC, I have seen the Anderson Silva documentary, I have seen almost all pre fight programs where they follow the fighters to fight day and NONE have ever referenced or practiced Kata in the gym getting prepared for a fight. On TUF you get to see training from so many top fighters and some of the most used trainers. NONE have ever said or tried to do anything about or with a kata. There are thousands of fight videos on YouTube and not one shows a real fight with a guy using Kata. I see some saying there are hidden applications to it. Why? what is the purpose of that? My Sifu wont train me on some things not because they are secrete but because I am not ready. If almost all Katas are useless until you get to the hidden ones, what is the purpose?

No Kata has no real fighting applications in the real world. Others have said, point out one pro fight, or non staged fight on the web where a kata is used to win a fight. There are none!

I am sorry you all wasted so many years and so much money to learn something that has no practical use.

No. Nonofyourbusiness is absolutely correct!

It does not matter what professional fighters know katas, they have never and will never use any of them in a professional fight. If someone says they do, please provide video proof. I have missed maybe 3 UFC events in the last 12 years, I have probably seen every fight Lyoto Machida had and never saw one kata. He knows them only because of his karate training. no pro fighter has ever acknowledged the effectiveness of katas. There has never been a pro fight, or armature fight where I have seen it used. I have heard some say that after 20+ years they learned the "secrete" deadly kata and it all finally made sense how powerful it is. Show a real video of a fight, pro or armature (not staged), where a kata was used without the guy trying getting his but kicked. If they are effective but only after countless years of training, what it the point?

There is no practical point to katas in my opinion. I spent at least 1 year at a school that taught them, so I have some experience with it. Other than being good for your legs they are of no use. I would love to see a guy try to spar, full contact, using only kata against another fighter. Unless it is staged I guarantee the kata guy goes down. As much as what I wrote seems.........hostile towards karate and kata, I am really not, I just don't believe there is any practical use for them in self defense other than stories people will tell with no way to prove it.

What is the purpose of have hidden applications to self defense training other than that is the only way to secretly defend something that does not work.

Rather than repeat myself here is my answer to anyone that does not feel Kata is worth the time.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=ArKME...

EDIT:

It never ceases to amaze me how many young people are so opinionated about things they know nothing about. But are quick to tell everyone what they believe. If they would look at what the older more experienced martial artists here all say they might learn something. for the record, i did not start my training in 1967 believing that Kata was so important. I believed that it was more a muscle memory exercise than anything else. Fortunately, I was lucky enough to have some instructors that taught me just how valuable Kata is. All my students are shown from day one what Kata is. I convince them by showing them some moves from a Kata and then show them some of the hidden applications. It results in students that want to learn Kata and that make a strong effort to master the techniques so that when they learn the Bunkai they have the ability to actually use them.

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Yes kata helps you to defend better when you understand kata. It is taught that it teaches muscles memory and it does, but it is so much more than just the muscle memory. It helped my son at 7 with muscle memory and he didn't understand kata then. A classmate waited for him in a school's restroom and as soon as he walked in he tried to hit my son. My son without thinking and know what was happening did the 1st taught technique in pinan sandan (chest block). When he did it he hurt the other guys arm as it was used as a strike. The guy took off and ran and told the teacher that my son did something and it hurt him. He couldn't explain what had happened. Notice I said first taught technique. I said that because there is actually a technique in the kata before the step and turn into the strike(no block in karate). Many don't even know the other technique is in the kata because it is not taught nor is it seen unless ypu watch some footage of some of the old masters and see a small gesture, but you don't know what it means unless you have been taught the bunkai of that kata.

Kata is more important in my opinion for beginners. It helps a lot for improving technique, however once the technique is perfected it becomes a lot less effective. It ok to do it here and there to ensure your keeping good technique, but if done too much the moves will become telegraphed in a real fight. And yes mma fighters, myself included, do kata on mitts and heavy bags but we limit it and do different combos every time to prevent telegraphed moves.

Kata helps build muscle memory and center your balance. This is the foundation of your martial arts training. All the things you learn in the dojo go right out the window when it becomes crunch time unless your body is conditioned by hours of repetition to respond without thinking to an attack.

Of course. Without kata or forms, what exactly are you be basing your self-defense techniques on?

The kata is the syllabus of your style. It contains the distilled essence of your style. Although it does not directly help you in self-defense, it is there to build the foundation so you can learn to defend yourself.

Kata helped me learn technique. It made freestyle easier when I started learning it. Also, you have to teach techniques some how. You can't just hand someone a loaded gun without teaching them how to use it.

Perhaps in a round-a-bout way. I think things like kata can help with improving coordination (it helped me), help with balance, help with technique and focusing one's power. All these things are useful in defending yourself.

But I view kata as more of an exercise to help me learn control of my own body rather than defending myself. Not everything in a martial art, in my opinion, is meant to be directly for fighting.