Ever have a moment when say performing kata with intent, visualization, etc. and suddenly you realize your outside that kata and doing a set from another kata or your just starting to perform another kata? If you do, what do you do at that point?
Once I watched a Ni-dan doing his kata when suddenly he stopped, turned and took a breath, turned back and said "pardon me" and then commenced to do the kata from the beginning again. It made me think those many years ago about when something doesn't work in a fight so you either stop or you try to restart that same technique again and then again and then again - stuck in a loop. In a nutshell you butt is in a fix and your in receipt of damage, not good.
I do understand that as a novice your goal is to learn the essence and context of a system but there comes a time when you must embrace things when the "brain takes over" and goes into autopilot - this is actually good in the later stages of learning and practicing.
Lets pick a level where this should begin. Assuming the sho-dan is a level that says you are actually now a dedicated student we should assume that you are still striving for perfection in the essence, principles and context of the system, in my case Isshinryu. As you travel through the path toward say san-dan your working to perfect and to encode things into memory.
Now, you have reached san-dan. Now is the true beginning of the path to mastery of the ability to "make it work" in a fight, combat and/or violent conflicts. When you do a kata as previously mentioned and run into a sudden difference that feels like it does not belong ..... go with it and see where it leads you. If it leads you to one or more other kata techniques, parts or combinations let it flow, accept it and let the brain or limbic lizard brain do its thing and let your thinking brain relax and be in the present moment like the smooth surface of a still water reflecting the sun's light off the moon and onto your mind/water/stillness.
Don't say sorry or pardon me but let it flow and if it returns to the original kata then finish and feel like you made it work. Let the brain work toward autopilot so the lizard drives the action as appropriate to your mind's visualizations, intent and context - a fight, violence, self-defense.
When the brain takes overs and sets on autopilot and your training and practice have been as close to reality as possible along with other training and practice models and methods you can pretty much deposit that check in your account for when you need it most - in self-defense, the street or when conflict comes a knockin on your door.
You may even want to mix it up when doing kata. Stop following a strict enbusen, pattern and directions and let you mind shift into autopilot and do any or all of any combinations or single techniques from all your kata and your fighting drills into a new and unique kata as dictated by your visualization or better yet your two person practice of kata which is another solid practice where you have a group of say eight stand in a circle around you and work attacks and defenses in a random manner - no real speed but rather a speed that promotes random counters, etc. changing directions, seeing, hearing and feeling the body movements, contact, the techniques and see how in time your mind in autopilot will start to naturally choose appropriate responses.
Caveat: don't' get locked into any one particular set of techniques or patterns but allow true randomness. Also keep in mind it is more important to remain steadfast in the principles of martial systems when applying any technique, combination, etc. Also, make this your last line of defense in any conflict so you don't lose sight of first "avoidance," second "deescalation," and so on ..... enjoy and learn grasshopper ;-)
Those who are still following the kyu and first three levels of dansha, remain steadfast in the core context of the system.
p.s. also, just because your moving to a different level of practice and training as a san-dan when you reach yo-dan, go-dan, roku-dan and above does not mean you leave behind that which you learned in the lower levels - remain steadfast and in practice with that aspect as well, add all of this on top of that foundation. You have to maintain your foundation even when it is finished, solid and secure for time tends to wear our a foundation if forgotten and not maintained.
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