As a teenager, I found it much easier to learn new kata. I’ve practiced Shotokan my entire life, and the advanced kata in Shotokan came more naturally since the fundamentals were already ingrained.

However, I’ve noticed that advanced kata from Goju-Ryu and Shito-Ryu feel much more difficult to learn and retain. Of course, I’m older now and don’t have as much free time as I did back then. At the same time, there are far more resources available today—unlike before, when learning might rely heavily on books.

Still, for some reason, I struggle more now with remembering and retaining the sequences of new kata, especially when they come from a different style. I’ve even explored the JKS Junro kata, specifically Junro Shodan, and experienced the same challenge.

I’m curious if others have gone through something similar, or if you’ve known practitioners who seem to learn kata very easily—even across styles.…