Ernest Cadorin
5 Ways to Maximize Kata Practice
2020/07/18Keys to Better Performance
Last year, I collaborated with the folks at Black Belt magazine to share some training tips with their readers. The article I wrote was published in the Aug/Sep 2019 issue of their magazine*, and it suggests ways to train more intelligently in order to optimize kata practice. It was well-received, and I’m delighted to have the opportunity to share it with you here.
A Little Background
It all started when a short video I created about improving kata practice got the attention of someone at Black Belt. They asked me if I would be willing to flesh it out into a full article for their magazine, and I said yes. My original idea was to present the material as a list of training tips for students, but the magazine editors asked me to present it instead as a list of teaching tips for instructors. In other words, rather than writing, “make sure you do…,” I would write, “make sure your students do…”
It seemed like an indirect way to present the material, but then I remembered that the readers of Black Belt magazine are generally experienced martial artists, and many of them are instructors who might appreciate teaching tips more than training tips. In any case, this is the reason the article addresses instructors rather than students.
Online Access
The article is now available online. Several people have suggested that these tips could be applied to many types of activities — not just martial arts. I agree! If you have applied any of these strategies in your training (martial arts or otherwise), I'd love to hear about it in the comments.
* I love the cover of the issue, with Bruce Lee in his classic pose!