“We recognize the importance of Kata in the sport of Judo and plan to study ways to better incorporate Kata into the organization.”
My intention in this role is not to play salesperson but more so to assist the provincial organization in its mandate to provide a “blueprint for the athletic & personal development of the participants” as per Judo Canada’s Long Term Athlete Development model. (LTAD model)
I will attempt to provide this mandate by supplying our membership with information & skill development processes that will better prepare our participants for the study of formal kata & judo in general.
I’m hoping that the brief document "What is Kata", below, will give our membership a different way to view kata. Next in the series will be a kata challenge that I will put forth to our club instructors.
As well I would like to leave an assignment with our instructors and a ‘thought for the moment’ with all our membership. (see below) And please always remember, this is your organization. Your thoughts, ideas and constructive comments are not only welcome but are necessary to maintain our provincial organizations viability.
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PUBLICATIONS |
What I would ask of our instructors at this point is that we start to use the term kata when we are describing a training exercise. For example one could refer to the “Saskatchewan Drill” as the Saskatchewan Drill Kata. Or possibly that regular pre arranged sequence of breakfalls that you always use could be called the ukemi kata. Exposing our members to the term kata on a regular basis and viewing these prearranged developmental processes as kata, will assist in putting participants in a frame of mind that accepts kata as something that they do every time they are participating in judo. Then when it comes time to introduce your members to the formal Kodokan kata or portions of those kata they will accept it as just another training exercise and not some formidable hurdle that must be struggled with in order to obtain a belt rank. Just how important is an Uke (practice partner) to your judo development? Bonus Note: The plural of Kata is Kata. (no s required) |