Forms (Japanese kata, Chinese taolu) are considered to be a foundational teaching tool in martial arts. Nearly any traditional school that you go to is going to put you through these at some point or other. Forms are useful for teaching the student's body how to move. They teach body mechanics, the generation of power, and are good for coordination and posture. In addition, they can offer a decent workout - moving through them slowly to develop lower body static strength; going quickly for cardio benefits. They're a good tool for students of the martial arts.

Despite how complicated some of the moves may look, this is not a difficult process. That said, you will definitely want to go to your class regularly, as your teacher is the one responsible for helping you to learn these forms. In addition, it is important to remember that forms are no substitute for sparring. They may represent a theoretical approach to fighting, but sparring is what allows you to find what actually works for you. Read on to learn how to remember martial arts moves.

Forms exist as sequences of movement. Depending on your teacher, you will have been given maybe a few moves, or been pushed through the entire sequence. In either case, it is likely that some of the moves stuck with you, while others feel more awkward or forced. This is okay. Everybody starts here.

What you need to do is begin with the moves you remember. Typically, this can be anything from the first move to the first five, maybe more. Just practice what you remember, over and over and over. Rinse and repeat. Do them until you're sick of them. Then start over.

The big thing that you need to keep in mind at this phase of learning is repetition, repetition, repetition. This is your mantra. It's a lot like learning to walk. In the beginning, it's a hard process. Crawling is simple, easy. Learning proper balance and how to move yourself and your legs to keep it is very hard at first. But you keep taking steps. Eventually, it gets easier. And as it gets easier, you don't have to think about it.

It's the same principle here. You're teaching your body the rudiments of generating power and maintaining proper posture.

By this point, you will have been practicing a given form for maybe a week. If you have been a regular student throughout the week, your teacher has probably given you a few more moves each class. If not, that's all right. This isn't something to rush through. Merely continue to repeat the movements that you know, until you can go through an entire form.

Now what you need to begin doing is figuring out how the form works. Each move is in there for a reason. It has an application. The Heian Shodan video here is an example of this concept. Each move is either a block or a punch. In addition to this, each move involves shifting yourself into a new position to facilitate the landing of the technique. In order to get the most out of it, you need to develop a meditative focus to the form.

Visualize an opponent for yourself. Imagine that he is your size. At first, it will do to imagine that he is simply standing there. Your punches and kicks need to be landing in specific places. This will teach you to be conscious of targeting specific points.

As you get used to this, begin to imagine that your opponent is fighting back. Your form is going to have blocks and counter-strikes in it. Visualizing the attack teaches the student how to block by showing what block works for what strike. If the form calls for you to block high, you visualize something coming down from overhead. If low, you visualize a kick or a low punch.

Now we come to the real reason that you're learning these forms. By this point, you have been practicing the form regularly for two to three weeks. You have hopefully gotten used to the idea of using these movements to hit people. Now it's time to perfect your form.

The real reason to memorize forms is to teach your body how to generate power. Striking power is something that starts in your feet, torques through your hips and shifts your entire body before exiting out of your handhttp://www.mensfitness.com/fitness/workout_routines/464. The same goes for kicking - the hip is the part that generates powerhttp://www.wikihow.com/Kick-%28in-Martial-Arts%29.

This does not mean to do the form with tension. Generating power actually involves very little muscle tension, and has more to do with the torquing of the hips. As you do the motion of the form - again, visualizing your opponent - try to feel that power. Don't just punch - twist your waist and push into it.

All the while, maintain good posture, and do not snap into position. Doing so is harmful to the joints, and will ultimately damage your practicehttp://jointpaincauses.com/.

And really, that's all there is to it. This is not a complicated process. Simply repeat it over and over and you will see improvement in your technique. And remember, if all else fails, ask your teacher for help. That's what he's there for.