Whose form is it anyway?

Hi!

Either I'm getting soft in my old age, or wise... When I was a brown belt in Isshinryu Karate, I spent the summer training with Sensei Harry Charache in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. (Sensei Harry's school is now in Newington, NH.) I had to "re-learn" Wansu Kata because it wasn't my form. Thinking back to this I recall an episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" during which Data is performing a piece on the violin. Picard commented afterwards that while Data's performance was technically flawless, it didn't move him because it lacked emotion. (This was before Data acquired the "emotion" chip from Dr. Sung, of course.) Anyway, that was the problem with my forms. Sensei Harry wanted me to personalize them and make them mine. I knew the moves as they were taught to me, but I didn't internalize them and make them mine, so, like Data's violin performance, my form lacked emotion. I've come to believe that I need to give those I teach the same leeway so they can make their forms theirs...

I'd like to think that this isn't about being lax in my expectations. Sensei Harry didn't do this when I was an orange belt because I wasn't ready to hear it. There are certain aspects of a form that are still "right" or "wrong." For example, if the form calls for a down block and you do an upper block, then you're wrong. However, if the form calls for a mid-section punch and you're hand is not precisely aligned with your solar plexus...that's okay. Why? Well, I've written in the past about visualizing an opponent. (See the "Location, Location, Location" post here.) If I'm to truly allow people to do that, then where they locate their punches should be a function of the opponent they're visualizing. This means that their punches need not all end up in the EXACT same place. This is a revelation to me as I've always felt that there's only one "right" way to do a form.

I think this flexibility can also apply to other transitions. I've written about foot movement in previous posts. (See the "Getting There" post here.) I still believe that there are very good reasons for moving that way, but is doing otherwise wrong? Perhaps not. The key is to make a choice that works for you and and the implications of that choice. The burden of that choice shouldn't be something we (instructors) impose on everyone, though. Beginners, especially kids, still should be taught a "right" way of doing things and instructors at the same school should be consistent. This will avoid confusion and frustration among the students. Those of higher rank, greater life experience (read: older), and the severely anal retentive (like me) will probably need further explanation and the freedom to try things a different way. This is because, well, whose form is it anyway?

Thanks,
Matt