Katannabis & Esoteric Kata – Are You Ready?

Are You Ready For Esoteric Kata & Katannabis (the combination of Kata-Rx & the cannabis entheogen)? That is the seminal question.

Katannabis (the combination of Kata-Rx & the cannabis entheogen into a moving-meditation ritual) is a subset of the wider practice I call, “Esoteric Kata.” (See Endnote # 1) Having read my explanation of Katannabis & Esoteric Kata, you have one of two possible paths. Path one is to dismiss the concept entirely. That is okay, please go away. You are not ready to devote your self to either practice. Path two is that you are curious but unsure if either Katannabis or Esoteric Kata is for you. Keep reading and we’ll see if you are ready.

I take the fact that you continue to read very serious. Rest assured, even if you choose to not undertake the burden of Esoteric Kata, the following will enhance your overall Kata experience above and beyond the ken of the average practitioner. I am about to attempt to guide you through a condensed version of my over fifty years experience with Kata. The only path to Esoteric Kata that I know is the one that I took. To that end, I’ll lead you along my path. I have already written and filmed much of this Esoteric Kata practice – I just didn’t realize it at the time. 

I think the single most important cornerstone upon which to build the Esoteric Kata experience is your understanding of how kata affects you non-physically. That is to say that as you read this, in addition to all the physical benefits of kata, you already use your kata to:

• •Nurture and sustain you in your daily routine;
• •Modify your emotions when such emotions are dilatory, such as anxiety, depression, fear, PTSD to name a few;
• •Cope with unknown future events (the cause of stress, worry & anxiety;
• •Adjust and rejuvenate yourself physically, mentally and emotionally using past Kata experiences ( what I call the “souvenir-effect of kata);
• •Acknowledge the transcendent use of Kata (similar to performing Kata as a form of “prayer or ritual”).

What allows the above to sprout from your Kata is a vast working knowledge of your Kata syllabus. Simply stated, you must have dedicated sufficient time and effort with your Kata to begin to rise above mere physical technique. There was a placard in our Dojo that read, “Only through man does technique become art.” Your existing Kata experience must rise above even art – it must be a daily necessity. You must already have embraced my maxim that – “Life is a Kata.”

If you have not yet reached the above stage of kata development. That is okay. I have resources to get you there.Theses resources come from my own personal Kata journey. They are as clear and concise as I could make them. I do not simply write about how I use Kata to modify my emotions, or as a souvenir from my vacation or as a means of remembering and paying tribute to a lost friend and colleague. I tell you “HOW” to do it – well, at least how I do it. But that is so much more than other Sensei-Pontificates that merely espouse doing it without actually doing it themselves.

To that end, you should review the following resources:

• •Dip your toe in the ocean with resources from my Kata Laboratory using this convenient link:  https://senseijohn.me/kata-lab/ . I recommend you especially try the Kata Labs marked “Spiritual” and “Environmental Labs;”
• •Experiment, if you are so inclined, with Katannabis using this convenient link to my “Novice Resources,” https://senseijohn.me/2023/02/13/katannabis-syllabus-resources/ ;
• •Learn & practice the two versions of my meditation “Ghost Hand Kata” using this link:  https://senseijohn.me/2023/06/30/ghost-hand-kata-single-hand-version-free/     Even if you do not venture into the ocean of knowledge of Esoteric Kata, learning the Ghost Hand Kata will be a beneficial and fulfilling experience. 

Work through those resources with the knowledge that ALL come from my personal experience and usage. If I din’t perform those resources myself, I didn’t teach them in the Dojo and I will not write about something I did not do myself.

Cum superiorum privilegio veniaque *

Sensei John Szmitkowski

  * (with the privilege and permission of the superiors)

1. Esoteric Kata, by definition, is not for everyone. It is a Kata experience that perhaps 19 out of 20 (or more practitioners will never be able to experience. Esoteric Kata is a new approach, a new way, to view your Kata, its practice and utility. It is not for the beginner practitioner. If you have not practiced Kata for at least 15 years, this new Kata paradigm is completely beyond you.

Esoteric Kata is a method of shifting and redefining the focus of your Kata experience. I include in the phrase “Kata experience” not only the performance of Kata, but also, Bunkai (the analysis of Kata) and Hojo-undo, the subsidiary exercises of Kata. At present perhaps 99% of your kata experience is physical. That is to say, your Kata experience is geared towards the self-defense, and martial utility of the Kata experience. The remaining 1% is the non-physical aspect of the Kata experience. This includes not only martial states of mind, such as Mushin, Zanshin and the like, but also the manner in which Kata affects your psyche and emotions. This is lip service, at best.

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