This article is submitted, with neither my editorial, nor comment, simply to spark your contemplation. While set forth in terms of Karate-Do Kata, with a little imagination, you can extend it to your own personal endeavors, sports, hobbies and interests. For your contemplation, I submit “The Ten Virtues Of Kata.” (See Endnote # 1).
Kanji for “Kata”
THE TEN VIRTUES OF KATA
1. IT PURIFIES MIND AND BODY;
2. IT REMOVES SPIRITUAL UNCLEANLINESS;
3. PRACTICED EVERY DAY, IT WILL DO NO HARM.
4. IT KEEPS ONE ALERT;
5. ONE’S AGE DOES NOT CHANGE ITS EFFICACY;
6. WHEN PERFORMED IN ABUNDANCE, ONE NEVER TIRES OF IT;
7. WHEN PERFORMED SPARINGLY, ONE IS SATISFIED;
8. IN THE MIDST OF BUSY AFFAIRS, IT BRINGS A MOMENT OF SOLITUDE;
9. IT IS A COMPANION IN THE MIDST OF SOLITUDE;
10. IT BRINGS COMMUNICATION WITH THE TRANSCENDENT UNIVERSAL CONSCIOUSNESS.
As you train your Kata, or perform your life endeavors, see if you can aspire to capture and embrace each of the above virtues.
Until the net submission, I remain a virtue of Kata practicing Kata for virtue,
Sensei John Szmitkowski
Here is a link for a promotional video about my Sanchin Kata & Jiriki Kata-Do DVD filmed in the Tonto National Forest. Arizona. Please see the “SANCHIN DVD & BOOK” page tab above for information on how to purchase the DVD.
LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-pC-tPUrYE
ENDNOTES:
1. A word about the Kanji for Kata. The Kanji is Sumi-e ink on rice paper. It was hand drawn in 1998 as part of the Kanji for the Goshin-Do Kata-Jitsu five volume series by Sensei Szmitkowski. “Kata” is interpreted loosely as “form”, extended to be translated as “Formal exercise.” I prefer the figurative translation, to wit: “Clay-in-the-mold.”
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For more on either Sanchin Kata as meditation or my new book on Sanchin Kata, please feel free to visit the “Sanchin Book” page of this weblog, or my website WWW.Dynamic-Meditation.Com.
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Esoteric Kata 
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