Page 20 - Sports Energy News, Cornwall, Issue No 8

20 sportsenergynews.com

Karate Komments: What is a Kata? Colts Season Finally

an extreme pain point. Kata’s are taught Comes to an End
By Jim Riddell means of accessing a pressure point or

The word kata simply translates in a specific order. They are designed

to mean “form.” Most Japanese and to teach smooth movement and basic By Sports Energy Staff and the right to travel to Truro, Nova
Okinawan martial art systems have coordination initially, progressing Scotia to play in the Fred Page Cup
kata in their syllabus. As a component along with the student’s development. tournament.
of karate it can be explained as a pre- The performing of a kata is often Things didn’t go quite so well for
determined series of movements, referred to as “fighting an imaginary the Colts in Truro, as they ran into

utilizing blocks, punches, kicks, strikes, opponent.” What this means is that extremely strong defensive play.
and grabs, while stepping and turning. mental imagery or visualization In game number one they were

Repeated practice of the kata leads techniques are used to improve After a confident march through shutout 1-0 against the Summerside
to the improvement of form, and performance. These techniques are the CJHL playoffs that earned them Capitals.
development of the attributes. These not unique to karate and are used by a spot in the 2013 Fred Page Cup, the In their second game the Colts
attributes, - speed, power, timing, athletes in many other sports. Two Cornwall Colt’s season has come to were outscored 6-2 by the host
balance, coordination, focus, and examples of this – golfer Jack Nicklaus an end.
endurance will all improve thru kata would, before each stroke, envision his The Colts opened up the post- Truro Bearcats, the team that
training. This training helps to condition swing, the flight of the ball, and the ball season against the Brockville Braves, would eventually go on to win the

the mind and body to work as a single ending up exactly where he wanted it. and while the series went six games, championship.
unit. There are dozens of katas across Muhammad Ali, while doing his early Their third game produced a better
the various styles of karate. Depending morning roadwork, would visualize his two of which required overtime, the result as the Colts picked up their

on the style, the learning of anywhere opponent passing him. This he used Colts never seemed to be in danger of first win of the tournament, dropping
from 12 to twenty katas are required by as a motivational tool, to train harder not advancing. Le Collège Français de Longueil 5-4.
the time a student tests for Shodan (first ensuring that he had the required Next up were the Carleton Place The win moved the Colts into the

degree black belt). conditioning to get him through the late Canadians, and a first-ever matchup semi-finals where they were shutout

Learning kata is much more than rounds of a championship fight. between the two teams. This one went a second time by the Summerside

“something you have to do” to get The repetitions involved in the the distance, with Cornwall winning Capitals, thus ending their season.
promoted to your next belt. It is of practise of kata are necessary to develop game seven 2-1 in Carleton Place.
no use to just memorize a series of coordination and flowing technique.. Offence, rather than defence was the While the Colts would certainly

movements, without having a complete This learned motor action is often focus in round two. have liked to add a Fred Page Cup
understanding of the practical referred to as muscle memory. More With only the Nepean Raiders to their list of accomplishments,
application of each move. on muscle memory in the next issue of the 2012-2013 season was one to
The breakdown of the movements Sports Energy. standing between them and a ticket to be proud of and one that will make
of a kata is called Bunkai. The student, KARATE QUOTE: Practise not until the “Freddy” the Colts tightened-up hockey fans eager for the return to
thru bunkai, learns how each move is you get it right, but until you can no on defence, and wrapped things up in the ice and another season of Colts
used as a self defense technique or a longer get it wrong. Six, winning the league championship Hockey.

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