It’s the night before your belt test. You wake up covered in sweat, terrified you won’t be able to remember your kata.
What if I freeze? What if I do the wrong move?
Everyone’s staring! AGHHH! I feel like an idiot!
WHOA! RELAX!
We’ve all been there, my friend… but you don’t have to stay there! Here are three tips to help you remember your kata and ace that belt test.
Check out the video or article below!
Three Tips to Remember Kata
Yes, forgetting your kata can be a bit embarrassing, but you know what’s worse? Being shot or stabbed!
Please don’t forget that a belt test is just a belt test. No matter what happens, you’ll still be alive to try again.
There. Feel better?
No? Then you better give these ideas a try.
TIP #1: Practice your kata as fast as you can.
Sounds easy, right? But it’s not!
Start your kata and see how fast you can run through the movements.
Power? Forget about it. Strong stances? Not now. Don’t worry about doing it properly at all… just blaze through the sequence in one burst of energy.
It’s like lifting weights. Lifting weights isolates your muscles, right? Well, speeding through your form will isolate your brain. It’s just a memory test.
Imagine saying the alphabet or reciting your favorite song lyrics as fast you can. Same thing here. You either know it or you don’t!
In my experience, when you go as fast as you can, it’s almost impossible to flow from beginning to end without breaking at some point. So, if you don’t feel a break in your flow, GO FASTER!
Everyone’s brain has a breaking point. Find yours.
After you try the speed test a couple times, return to practicing at normal speed. I promise—you won’t believe how smart you suddenly feel!
TIP #2: Practice your form facing different directions.
Back in my Tae Kwon Do days, I had to travel to a different dojang for belt tests. I couldn’t wait to show off my speed and power for Master Park.
But one time, I shouted out the name of the form… exploded into the first move…
…AND FROZE. Not because I was scared. Not because I was stupid.
I froze because the walls were covered in ugly, brown wood paneling.
Where are the mirrors? I always see mirrors when I turn left!
Ugh. One of the main reasons students forget their forms is because they always practice in the same place, facing the same direction… which causes big trouble!
Be careful about learning your kata related to external reference points!
I start facing the flags… then turn towards the mirror… then spin around to face the doors…
This kind of “landmark learning” is actually very smart… so long as you never have to perform your kata anywhere else!
So, practice your kata at home… in the driveway… at the park…
Practice your kata everywhere!
Which brings us to my favorite drill…
Spin around. Count 1…2…3… and STOP! No matter which direction you’re facing, start your kata. That will definitely help you to keep your eyes off of the room and back on you.
BONUS TIP: If you’re a teacher, have all of your students practice spinning at the same time!
Everyone spins. Everyone stops. Everyone starts. It’s difficult to focus when everyone is facing different directions.
TIP #3: Practice kata with your eyes closed.
Once you’ve removed the external reference points from your kata practice, you can better develop your internal reference points. How do you do that?
When your eyes are closed, your awareness of balance, alignment, weight shifting, and breathing will be heightened. You will immediately start to build new sense memories, instead of just intellectual memories, which is the key to making your kata part of you.
Closing your eyes will force you to feel your way through the form instead of see your way through the form.
I recommend choosing one feeling to focus on at a time. Maybe it’s the sound of your breathing. Or the weight in your feet. Or the pressure in your hands.
The big idea is if you give your brain something to focus on, it’s a lot less likely that it’s going to get distracted by noises in the room or the voices in your head. So, pick a feeling and focus on it.
TWO MORE THOUGHTS…
First—if you make a mistake performing your kata during a belt test, keep going!
If you blow it, OWN IT!
Your forms are supposed to help prepare you for a real fight. Well, if you were in a real fight and you missed with a punch, or got hit, you wouldn’t stop fighting, would you? You wouldn’t slap your head and swear at yourself, right?
So, don’t allow yourself to get upset if you make a mistake. Just keep going or ask for permission to start again. Whether they say yes or no doesn’t really matter—keep your cool and keep fighting.
The truth is if you keep going after a mistake, that might be a better demonstration of who you really are than if you had performed your kata perfectly the first time!
Forget the idea that you must be perfect. No matter what your teacher says, there’s no such thing!
Second thought—if you follow all of these tips and you still can’t remember your kata, I’ve got news for you—
You’re not ready to test yet!
And that’s okay!
Understand that these tips are not meant to be a short cut. No matter how you train, you still have to put in long hours of practice to be your best.
Yes, passing your next belt test is exciting, but remember—the ultimate goal of martial arts training is not a new belt… it’s a new YOU. A better you!
So, don’t be in a hurry. Do the work and enjoy the journey.
That’s it! I hope these tips will help you remember your kata and get some sleep!
You can also add in some moves with confidence until you can find your place. This doesn’t fool the instructor but the spectators think you’re doing great.
Great tip, Kevin! I’d rather see a students do the wrong moves with commitment than give up. That’s a habit that will serve them well in self-defense as well as belt tests!
Thanks for commenting, sir!
Ossu! [bow]
As someone who is directionally dyslexic, I can tell you the Spin & Stop helps *tremendously* – yes it’s a daunting challenge, but when I do this, I absolutely *must* focus on where my imaginary opponent is and what he’s trying to do to me. It feels *fantastic* when I can pull off the Spin & Stop drill!!! I can’t wait to try the other drills – I’ve a tournament coming up on Sunday 🙂 Yes, Sensei, I’ve already put in the hours and hours of practice 🙂
[bow]
OSU, Jo!
Imagination is definitely the ideal internal reference. That’s what kata is all about.
Good luck at your tournament! Can’t wait to read about your experience.
Our style is very forms (kata) heavy so this is a great article for me. One of my kung fu brothers pointed out the problem you mention in #2 the other day. We always do our tests facing a certain wall. His theory on why some students freeze up and forget forms they know well is that they’re facing a different direction than they normally practice, and you articulated that problem well.
I agree with Kevin about continuing through mistakes. The most praise I ever got during a sash test was when I was doing a staff form, my worst form, at the same time as my son. That’s HIS form, he’s great at it. I hadn’t practiced it enough, and halfway through I went the wrong direction. I suppose I was in the right mind frame though, I just kept going and made up some stuff, knowing I had to work my way back to a certain place. My sifu knew I messed up, but some of the other black sashes there thought it was a new form and had nothing but praise for me. My son was incredulous. 🙂 It opened my eyes to the fact that good kung fu is not perfect, it’s just good.
Hi James! Hilarious about your son. Keep your edge over him for as long as you can. Old age and treachery can always win out over youth and skill! 🙂
Thanks for dropping by and commenting. Happy training, sir!
I love this article, especially trying it blindfolded and in locations or facing different directions. I also remind my students to remember just the first move for each of the katas; that is usually enough for them to get going. It helps eliminate the total inability to remember a kata when you know several. The name and the first move, in every possible order, from easiest to most difficult, or any which way. Thanks friend!
Thanks for the tip, Andrea! Sounds like a good game, too. Call out a kata and everyone does the first move. Then go faster. Then call out combinations of different katas!
I am brown belt at Shotakan Karate, at Bassai Dai kata stage and find remembering lower Katas challenging, to say the least. Know, of course it’s a matter of practise, practise, practise. Whereas I dont tend to use dojo reference points such as mirrors (mainly as I’m short-sighted}, I find comments above qite haelpful, namely, associating the first move to certain katas and to imagine kata sequences with eyes closed.
Thanks
It sounds like you’ve got a good system going, John. Happy training! 🙂
My problem is memory. At nearly 73 my memory isn’t so good any more. For my next belt test I have to memorize. 8 forms, 1 bo staff form, 15 each grabs, kick and hand self-defense forms. That is pretty daunting.
Hi Jerry! Yikes–that is a daunting list to remember at ANY age! I wish you luck, sir!
We call this mental practice. #1 When you have trouble sleeping, go through the motions in your head. #2 Write the steps down, and just read through the steps. #3 If possible, watch the form being performed on YouTube #4 Record yourself doing the form and watch it later. See where you are deficient in the execution and try to correct it.
I love all of those tips, Jerry! I think you should make a video immediately. Thanks for sharing! 🙂