Practising karate at home will help you make tremendous improvements in your training. You’ll find that just taking a few minutes here and there in between classes will make a big difference. We learn the how-to’s in class, but we all need to practise at home to improve. And while you may not have the luxury of practising on a beach at sunset, even a small space in your kitchen will suffice!
Here are a few words of advice:
I’ve always been in the habit of making notes when I learn a new kata, so bringing a notebook with you to class is highly recommended. As you are in the process of writing things down, you’re also helping yourself understand things better. Then when you’re practising at home, you’ll have your notes to fall back on if you forget.
Practising should be done slowly and precisely with proper techniques, stances and focus. Precision and focus are more important than speed. Just remember your basics, and don’t change them because you are doing kata. Then, when you learn the proper turns and which move comes next, you can speed it up a bit.
You will probably find you will make some mistakes. Now slow it down again and get it right.
Don’t just practice your kata at home – you can never do enough basics. Remember, kata is basic techniques put in a different order as we move in different directions. If your basics are good, then you only need to learn the pattern. After a while, you’ll find that your basic techniques will become muscle memory.
Karate is just like any other sport or activity. The more you practise, the better you’ll become!
To help you with your katas, click on the link below to see Dogday’s katas on Youtube – you should be able to find the one you’re currently working on.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPqQqqL96WASN5C-uQfaZ_w
Practising karate at home – Orillia Academy of Karate