5 Speeds of Forms (Hyung / Kata) Training

As a beginning student I was taught that our basic forms for white belts consisted of twenty techniques and should be performed in 30-35 seconds.  This was constantly reinforced while we trained. It was only after I had my own studio and had been teaching a number of years that I discovered this is not the only speed at which to perform our forms.  Further investigation and experimentation leads me to believe that there are 5 speeds at which forms are to be practiced.

1) Teaching Speed

2) Learning Speed

3) Practice Speed

4) Demonstration Speed

5) Combat Speed

Teaching Speed (no time limit)

When we as instructors introduce a new form to a student it takes a considerable amount of time to educate them on just the pattern of the form.  Typically in teaching speed we start by instructing the student in the gross motor skills of 2-4 techniques in the form.  We have them repeat those few moves until we are satisfied that they have programmed the fundamental muscle memory of those techniques and can repeat them back without assistance.  We then add the next few techniques in the form and have them go back and repeat all the moves from the beginning of the form to their new stop point. This cycle of showing a few moves, repetition from beginning to the new stop point, evaluating the student’s ability to recall without assistance then adding additional techniques continues until the student has the fundamental skills of all the techniques in the form. This process may take an entire class, or it may be spread out over a number of classes depending on the complexity of the form and the learning ability of the student. There is no set time to accomplish the task – the focus is on setting the foundation of the form so that the student will be able to go home and properly practice the pattern (as much as they have been shown) before returning to next class.

Learning Speed (no time limit)

Learning Speed builds on the foundation established in the Teaching Speed portion of learning.  In this phase the student methodically goes through the form seeking to understand the applications (bunkai) of the individual techniques in the form. This is the student’s personal discovery phase – this is where they explore all the facets of the form in hopes of unlocking the gems of knowledge the Master who created the form wished to impart.  The student will often return to learning speed throughout their martial journey as they gain in experience they begin to see there is not one application to a technique in a form but many applications.  The movements of the form are like tools in their tool box, or paint on a palette, what the craftsman can build or the artist can paint with those tools is endless.

Practice Speed (traditional timing)

Training in Practice Speed is the traditional timing our instructors told us the form should take. For the basic form of twenty moves I mentioned earlier this is the 30-35 seconds. The student seeks to polish the skills they have discovered in the Learning Speed phase by repetition, repetition, repetition. The student is taking the time to execute the best technique they can and performing a self evaluation of the technique before proceeding on to the next. At the completion of each technique they can assess: the speed they executed the technique, the efficiency of power generation, proper targeting, quality of posture and stance, correct mechanics as they transition from the previous move into the current, etc... In short the student is focused on a constant improvement in their technique. We do not want the student mindlessly practicing the moves over and over without focusing on specific goals. Instead they should be seeking to critically analyzing each technique as they do them; acknowledging what they have performed well and always giving themselves a goal for improvement next time. 

Demonstration Speed (up tempo)

Assuming the student has properly applied the learning in the three prior speeds this is the stage where they get to demonstrate their competency in executing the techniques. Demonstration Speed can be seen when the student performs the form in a testing format, a public demonstration or during training when they want to attain the state of empty mind, or movement without thought. (Moo Shim).  The well trained body is freed of limitation and allowed to express what it knows.  Typically this speed is 25-33% faster than Practice Speed.  There is no time restriction put on the student, rather a quality restriction – the student should only perform the form as fast as they can while still maintaining the proper quality of motion (posture, stance, targeting, balance, etc…) that is necessary to correctly execute the techniques. When the quality of motion breaks down the student is no longer in Demonstration Speed they are entering Combat Speed.

Combat Speed (full throttle)

In Combat Speed the student pushes themselves to the limit – all out effort – full throttle. At the end of a Combat Speed form the student should be breathing very hard near the point of exhaustion. The goal in this phase is for the student to execute the form as fast as they possibly can; there is no time to worry about mistakes that are made because you have to move onto the next movement. The student need not be concerned that their stance is not perfect or their techniques are not flawless – this is a fight – hit the target and move onto the next objective.

Final Thoughts

As instructors we need to educate our student on all five of these aspects of training their form. We also need to be sure they spend an appropriate amount of time in each speed. Most students will want to gravitate to the faster speeds before they are truly ready for them. That is where we as the instructors come in to keep their egos in check and their focus on the right track to proper learning.