Sensei often discussed martial arts ideology. Many times, a given ideology was symbolized by a zen koan, or an obscure saying. The following from the Zen-master Ikkyu, is one such example.
“Many paths lead from the foot of the mountain, but at the peak we all gaze at the single bright moon.” (See endnote number 1)
In the martial arts, this quote has several applications. One such application is to express the idea that regardless of the specific martial art (karate compared to kung-fu compared to aikido, etc), all martial arts have the same goal. Similarly, within the context of karate, the quote illustrated the idea that notwithstanding the specific style of karate studied (Goju-ryu compared to Shorin-Ryu compared to Isshin-Ryu, etc), all styles of karate had the same goal.
I remember the first time I heard the quote. After a hard training session, Sensei DeFelice used the quote to symbolize his concept that the various karate kata all had the same goal. I looked around the dojo and, as par for the course, the class were all nodding their heads knowingly like a bunch of enlightened bobble-head figurines. Unfortunately for me, my character is not one to bob-the-head. My character tends to absorb such teachings and then ask more and more questions.
I came to realize that the above concept was utterly incomplete. A close examination clearly implies three stages of a journey. The above discussion merely expresses one-third of the available concepts.
The next three articles will explore my thoughts as to not only the apparent one-third, but also the unrealized two-thirds of ideology behind the saying.
Until then, train hard, practice your kata with a true heart, and be of clean spirit. Oh, and remember:
“Many paths lead from the foot of the mountain, but at the peak we all gaze at the single bright moon.”
Respectfully submitted (“By the light of the silvery moon”)
Sensei John Szmitkowski
Featured video: from the Underground Bunkai series:
ENDNOTES
1. Though not referenced as a source of the quote at the time, the quote seems to come from the Zen-master Ikkyū (1394-1481). It is; however, also found in other sources and contexts. Two examples are:
“There are many paths to the top of the mountain, but the view is always the same”, a Chinese proverb, and
“There are hundreds of paths up the mountain, all leading to the same place, so it doesn’t matter which path you take. The only person wasting time is the one who runs around the mountain, telling everyone that his or her path is wrong.” A Hindu proverb.
For a refreshing and innovative discourse on kata and bunkai, please feel free to visit Sensei John’s Kata Laboratory and “THINK * SWEAT * EXPERIMENT” using this convenient link: https://senseijohn.me/kata-lab/
Sensei John is now on Facebook, under – FLY FISHING DOJO, you are invited to send a Facebook friend request.
You may wish to view my other blogs – my fishing blog which includes my fishing journals and the interrelationship between martial arts protocol to fishing http://flyfishingdojo.com
and the Goshin-Do Karate blog at http://defeliceryu.com
My Kata Lab posts, representing my almost five decades of experience, are shared here free. If you would like to donate to help defray costs, your generosity is appreciated. Thank-you & THINK-SWEAT-EXPERIMENT with kata.
$5.00
Background:
Summer. Two months when most students leave the Dojo for summer vacation. More likely than not when the students return from vacation, they forgot at least one kata. Except one summer and one student, whom I’ll call Jacqui. She taught me a lesson. That lesson led to this Kata Lab. Jacqui was away at camp all summer. She was a relatively good student though a bit lazy. Her first night back at the Dojo, I wanted to gauge how much she forgot. While her kata were a bit awkward, I was amazed that she did not forget any kata. I told her that I was happy she found time to practice while at camp. To my surprise, she told me that she did not practice any kata the whole summer. Rather, she informed me that “lights-out” was rather early and she often laid in her bed bored and unable to sleep. To alleviate her boredom, she thought about her kata and mentally “practiced” them. With that conversation with Jacqui, the seeds of this kata lab were planted. Before the next summer, Jacqui stopped training. Her “legacy” lives on.
Experiment:
Notwithstanding the motto of my Kata Lab, “Think * Sweat * Experiment”, this kata labs involves very little sweating. For this lab you should:
Find a quiet place to sit comfortably. My preference is always an outdoor location; however, the first time you try this lab, you may wish to preserve a “martial atmosphere” and do the lab in your Dojo and while wearing your gi. Now, mentally perform your kata as if you were performing it physically:
• Strive for technical perfection; • Speed and power should be as appropriate within the kata; • Timing of breath, inhalation and exhalation must be accurate; • Kiai where called for and in the appropriate manner; • Maintain the proper focus and mental attitude as if you were physically doing the kata.
Once you are comfortable with this kata lab, move your mental practice outdoors. Concentrate on:
• Visualize how the different terrain affects your mental kata. Should you be aware of slippery surfaces? Is the kata being visualized going up or down a hill, if so, what is the effect? • Is the air temperature hot, cold, raining or snowing? Visualize the effect
Conclusion:
Not only is this kata lab a fun mental exercise, but as Jacqui did, it allows you to remember your kata in a convenient manner. You can mentally practice your kata any place and any time. It also provides a convenient introduction into the spiritual aspect (state-of-mind, emotions and psychology) of kata.
Please remember, the mandate of the kata laboratory is
This weeks featured video:
Cum superiorum privilegio veniaque (“With the privilege and permission of the superiors”)
Sensei John Szmitkowski
For information on my “no-risk”, kata seminars, please visit the seminar page using this convenient link https://senseijohn.me/seminar-kata/
You’ve heard it in the dojo, you’ve read about it in books, magazines and blogs. It’s mentioned in videos on You-Tube. Heck, I even posted an article concerning the idea that “Practice makes perfect.” https://senseijohn.me/2010/07/19/practice-does-not-make-perfect/
Well, I say “Do NOT ‘perfect’ your kata!”
To ‘perfect’ means to, “make (something) completely free from faults or defects, or as close to such a condition as possible.” Kata is one “something” that it is utterly impossible to perfect. Consider the following.
First, let’s start with the kata itself. I submit it is impossible to perfect a kata. Initially, how is a perfect kata to be defined. Is it one that is technically correct, free from faults or defects? If so, then a perfect kata is one that is merely pretty and lacks any functional utility. It must be remembered that kata is a dance, the highest form of dance in my opinion, but a dance nonetheless. What differentiates kata from all other forms of dance is one crucial element. Kata has at its core a martial purpose. It is designed to facilitate self-defense (see endnote # 1) So, to consider a kata as perfect merely based upon technical correctness of the performance is incomplete. Surely, a performer that performs a perfect kata in the dojo or a tournament but cannot defend him or her self with the sequences and techniques from the kata is but a perfect dancer.
Second, kata exists merely as a concept. It is enlivened only through the actions of a performer. In so far as the performer is an imperfect being (as is all humans), the kata can never be perfected. As to this point, I am reminded of a saying from one of my instructors, “Kata is to be thought of as clay in a mold.” Even assuming, arguendo, that the mold (the kata) is itself perfect, the clay (the performer) contains individual imperfections. Through the performance of the kata, repeatedly subjecting the clay to the mold, one hopes to remove as many perfections as possible; however, given the nature of flux of the imperfections, this is impossible. (See Endnote # 2)
Third, as regular readers are aware, I steadfastly maintain that kata contains three individual aspects, a physical aspect, a spiritual aspect (the manner in which kata affects your state-of-mind, emotions and psyche) and an environmental aspect (the manner in which kata is affected by environment and vice-versa). When most teachers talk of “perfecting” your kata, they limit themselves to only the physical aspect of kata. By doing so, they avoid the most difficult aspect, the spiritual aspect. This aspect is difficult on several fronts. To start, I submit each kata contains within it a specific state-of-mind required for the performance. A full discussion of this point is beyond this article; however, you may gleam an idea of a specific kata’s proscribed statement of mind from the translation of its name. Examples include, the Kanto (Fighting Spirit) kata of Goshin-Do Karate, Taikiyoku (To build the body and the spirit) Geikisai (To Destroy) and Seienchin (Calm in the storm / storm in the calm). Thus this state of mind must be “perfected” within the kata – a monumental task at best. One’s mind, states thereof, including emotions and psyche can never be “perfected.”
In addition, even though a kata is relatively short in duration, it is exceeding difficult for the human mind to maintain itself in a “perfect” mental, emotional and psychological state for such a duration.
Fourth, looking at my environmental aspect of kata, two points must be borne in mind when considering the notion of “perfecting” your kata. It must be remembered that a kata was once a creation of its inventor. You can easily
research the inventor’s physical characteristics at the time of creation. You may also discover insight into his general mental state (such as whether history tells us he was depressed, quick to anger, starving as in the case of a few post WWWII masters, or an alcoholic). You may not be aware of the impact of the creator’s environment on his kata creation. The kata would have been created taking such terrain into account. As such, the only way to “perfect” such kata is to perform it in its intended (read “perfect”) environment. Not sure? Take any of the various Kobudo oar kata as an immediate example. Most contain sequences involving using the oar to throw sand and /or soil into the eyes of the kata opponent. True, the kata can be performed in a dojo; however, such performance can not be “perfect” unless sand or soil is actually thrown and not merely simulated. Additionally, while you may “perfect” a kata within the sterile environment of a dojo, you may not be able to duplicate such perfection outside of the dojo, on uneven terrain, in clothes and shoes, with variations of temperature and climate.
So, if, as I say you should NOT “perfect your kata,” what then should you do. Let us turn to that great “master of Okinawa football” (hey, now-a-days, if it isn’t Okinawa, it’s not “authentic”), Coach Vince Lombardi of the Greenbay Packers (the team was originally from Okinawa and imported by US servicemen after WWII). 😇
Coach Lombardi once told his team,
We will relentlessly chase perfection knowing full well we will not achieve it, but we will relentlessly chase it and in the process, we shall find excellence.
Applying this to kata, I urge you to forget “Perfect your kata” and instead, “Excel at your kata.” To excel takes into account all the variables contained within my three aspects of kata. You can excel at kata regardless of your age, health and physical limitations. You can excel at kata even if you are not in an ideal mental or emotional state. In fact, I submit you should use kata to modify your dilatory emotional state https://senseijohn.me/2013/10/06/kata-lab-221-kata-as-an-emotional-modifier/ You can excel at kata in any physical environment, terrain or climate. By doing so, you will understand not only the martial aspects of kata and be able to defend yourself (with kata sequences) in the process, but also the “life-giving” aspects of kata. (See Endnote # 3)
So, stop accepting axiomatic advice and “Think * Sweat * Experiment for yourself. Don’t perfect your kata.” “Excel at your kata.”
This week’s featured Kata Laboratory video:
Bonus video: Here is a sneak peak at the newest video series “Underground Bunkai” which features my senior black belt, Sensei Jimmy DiMicelli, Go-Dan, Karate-Do NO Renshi.
Respectfully submitted, Cum superiorum privilegio veniaque (“With the privilege and permission of the superiors”)
Sensei John Szmitkowski
If you enjoy this post please help support this blog, visit my store.
=======cafepress====
For information on my “no-risk”, kata seminars, please visit the seminar page using this convenient link https://senseijohn.me/seminar-kata/
My seminars are the ONLY seminars that allow you to pay at the conclusion, thus insuring your complete satisfaction! For a refreshing and innovative discourse on kata and bunkai, please feel free to visit Sensei John’s Kata Laboratory and “THINK * SWEAT * EXPERIMENT” using this convenient link: https://senseijohn.me/kata-lab/
ENDNOTES:
1. Within the concept of self-defense, I include not only the obvious defense against an aggressor, but also physical health, and mental and emotional health.
2. This concept is the same as a chapter in my Kata Laboratory Book that addresses my concept that it is impossible to perform any kata exactly the same way twice. As of this writing, I have not released a free “teaser” of this chapter. This chapter discusses the multitude of variables and state of flux referred to in the article in great detail.
3. I draw a kata analogy to a concept from kendo (the art of the sword), “Satsujin no Ken (the sword that takes life) and Katsujin no Ken” (the sword that gives life”). I submit that the same applies to kata; Satsujin no Kata and Katsujin no Kata.
Sensei John is now on Facebook, under – FLY FISHING DOJO, you are invited to send a Facebook friend request.
You may wish to view my other blogs – my fishing blog which includes my fishing journals and the interrelationship between martial arts protocol & ideology to fishing http://flyfishingdojo.com
and the Goshin-Do Karate blog at http://defeliceryu.com
Readers and viewers of my Kata Laboratory articles and videos are familiar with the motto, “Think * Sweat * Experiment.” What you may not be aware of is that my thinking, sweating and experimenting with kata is a daily process. I never think or conceive a kata training method without first trying it myself. To do so would be the ultimate form of “kata hypocrisy.” The posts on this blog and my You-tube videos are but an appetizer to what is the full dinner of my Kata Lab project. The full project encompasses over 40,000 words spanning over 200 pages. That being said, my practice then tends to add more to the project. The result is a means of providing you, my readers and viewers, with inspiration to practice and enjoy your kata from an entirely new perspective.
For your consideration, I submit an incident from the life of Mahatma Gandhi. Each day I train, I keep this story in mind.
A woman once brought her small daughter to Gandhi with a simple request, “Tell my daughter not to eat candy. It is bad for her teeth. She respects you and will obey you.” But Gandhi refused. “Come back in three weeks,” Gandhi told her. “I will see what I can do.” When the woman returned in three weeks with her daughter, Gandhi took the little girl on his knee and gently instructed her, “Don’t eat candy, it is bad for your teeth.” The girl shyly nodded her assent. Then she and her mother left for their home. When they were gone, some of Gandhi’s associates were upset and confronted him. “Bapu, did you know that the woman and her child had to walk hours to see you, and you made them walk that great distance twice in three weeks? Why didn’t you give that simple advice to the girl when they first came?” Gandhi laughed. “Three weeks ago I did not know if I could stop eating candy. How could I advocate a value unless I myself practice it?” (See Endnote # 1)
So, kata is my candy. In order for me to encourage you to “eat” the candy – to try the training methods I espouse in my kata lab and “Think * Sweat * Experiment.” I myself must first know I can eat my own candy. You may access the Kata Lab using the page tab above or this convenient link https://senseijohn.me/kata-lab/
This week’s featured Kata Laboratory: Lab # 3120 – Kata to Modify Emotions:
ENDNOTES:
1. Goswami, Amit, The Self-Aware Universe, (G.P. Putnam & Sons, New York, NY, 1993) p. 264-265.
For information on my “no-risk”, kata seminars, please visit the seminar page using this convenient link https://senseijohn.me/seminar-kata/ My seminars are the ONLY seminars that allow you to pay at the conclusion, thus insuring your complete satisfaction!
Sensei John is now on Facebook, under – FLY FISHING DOJO, you are invited to send a Facebook friend request.
Martial artists in general and karate-ka in particular all too often view kata as a serious endeavor. Both in my own kata practice and my writings on kata, I also find myself confined within the boundary of seriousness. Recognizing this I think it is time for you and I to “lighten-up” our kata practice (this also applies to my non-martial arts readers that have learned SanchinKata).
This does not mean that we should routinely practice kata in a trivial manner, rather, we should, when appropriate, recognize the joy of kata. What a radical idea – Kata for the fun of it!
With that in mind, I submit the following OK (Online Kata) Session – “Fun With Kata – That’s OK”
Remember, the group dynamic is not fulfilled by all of us being geographically present, rather, it is fulfilled by each of us performing Sanchin in the proscribed manner.
Session Parameters:
Date: Week of: July 13th, 2015
Time: anytime the mood to perform Sanchin (or other kata) strikes you, BUT, especially when life gets a little too serious;
Location: any location is acceptable;
Salient Points:
first and foremost, ENJOY your kata session;
feel good about your kata;
smile as you practice your kata;
relish the fact that you have the ability to perform a unique and historical, yet living, art called – KATA.
The last requirement of this Sanchin Pilgrimage is to remain in a state of “Zanshin” (the “remaining mind”) – in other words – (to borrow a lyric from Bobby McFerrin), “Don’t worry, BE HAPPY”
Here’s some fun I had performing Seienchin Kata with a wild horse herd during my last visit to the Lower Salt River in Arizona.
Once again, you may wish to not only perform this session as scheduled, but may also revisit the specific pilgrimage and allow Sanchin to unlock the cage imposed upon your by the drama of daily life. Do this as an integral part of your regular Kata practice.
In closing I remain, in a playful mood – – – seriously,
For a refreshing and innovative discourse on kata and bunkai, please feel free to visit Sensei John’s Kata Laboratory using this convenient link: https://senseijohn.me/category/kata-laboratory/
Sensei John is now on Facebook, under – FLY FISHING DOJO, you are invited to send a Facebook friend request.
You may wish to view my other blogs – my fishing blog which includes my fishing journals and the interrelationship between martial arts protocol & ideology to fishing http://flyfishingdojo.com
and the Goshin-Do Karate blog at http://defeliceryu.com
Until then, train hard, practice your kata with a true heart, and be of clean spirit. Oh, and remember:
For a refreshing and innovative discourse on kata and bunkai, please feel free to visit Sensei John’s Kata Laboratory and “THINK * SWEAT * EXPERIMENT” using this convenient link: https://senseijohn.me/kata-lab/
my fishing blog which includes my fishing journals and the interrelationship between martial arts protocol to fishing http://flyfishingdojo.com
the Goshin-Do Karate blog at http://defeliceryu.com
Kata-RX For wellness 
YOUR COMMENTS ARE WELCOME