Kata-RX For wellness

First and foremost – 

Welcome new readers and new students of either Sanchin Kata or Shibumi Kata! The past few weeks of my “free Sanchin & Shibumi campaign” have been very exciting. I never thought that by simply handing out cards and pamphlets I would meet so many interesting people.

This post is a means by which we can all practice our kata “together” as a group via the internet. The group dynamic is satisfied not by being geographically together, but by all practicing together in accord with the session parameters. To keep practice fresh and interesting, I will post new sessions every two weeks in a new category of blog posts.

Note:   For those of you that have learned Sanchin Kata from either my DVD, book or both, the new category will replace the “Sanchin Pilgrimage” category. This will all me to include the partitioners of the Shibumi Kata and martial artists that may choose to join in our cyber-group. For my martial arts readers, I will act like a Sommelier who recommends pairing of wine and food; however, as a “Kata Sommelier” I’ll recommend kata to be paired with the session parameters.

The first cyber-group session is posted below. We can all start practicing tomorrow and continue until the next session’s parameters is posted in two weeks.

I’ve decided to call this category – –

. . . That’s OK (with the OK being an acronym  for “Online Kata”)

The name is a nod to my Uncle-In-Law, Jim who would tell of hardships he endured during his 82 years on this Earth and end with the phrase “. . . but, thats OK.” “We almost starved during the Great Depression, but thats OK,” is one example.

Similarly we, as an online Kata community can go about our days, good and bad as an online community and simply know that “ . . . . That’s OK” – we have Online Kata to help us.

 * * * * * This Session * * * * *

I have a latin phrase burned in my mind from my years as a student at Seton Hall Law School, Newark, New Jersey (1985-1989). That phrase is “Res Ipsa Loquitur.” It means “the thing speaks for itself.” Res Ipsa Loquitur was not only a legal principle I was required to learn, it was also the name of our school newspaper. As such, I was routinely exposed to it. Now, Res Ipsa Loquitur is the foundation of our first “That’s OK” session.

Session Parameters:

• Date: Every day beginning Monday, January 20th, 2014;
• Time: The very first thing in the morning, or as close as possible to the first thing you do;
• Location:  Any location; however, my preference is an outdoor location;
• Salient Points: This one is simple – as an online community we can perform our kata as a means of getting through our day gracefully, with a sense of satisfaction, no matter what we may encounter, because the benefits of our practice of the kata “speak for itself!” We will feel better than the average person physically, emotionally and psychologically all because of our online group kata. Thus each morning our kata will – Res Ipsa Loquitor.
• Kata Sommelier: For martial artists, if you do not desire to perform Sanchin (or try my Shibumi Kata), during these two weeks, I would recommend you participate by performing the first kata required in your style. Without learning this kata, you would not have advanced in knowledge. Thus the kata “speaks for itself.” In Goshin-Do Karate, this would be Taikiyoku Kata, for Goju-ryu karate-ka, Gekisai Dai Ichi, for Isshin-Ryu practitioners, Seisan Kata, and the like.

In closing, I remain letting kata “speak for itself” –  and – – – “ . . . . That’s OK”

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/

 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/category/kata-laboratory/

NOTES:

Sensei John is now on Facebook, under – FLY FISHING DOJO, you are invited to send a Facebook friend request.

For the official Goshin-Do Karate-Do blog, please visit WWW.DeFeliceRyu.Com

You may wish to view my blog dedicated to the interrelationship between martial arts protocol & ideology to fly-fishing and fishing in general by clicking WWW.FlyFishingDojo.Com

Tags: Academy of Goshin-Do Karate, Group Kata, Jiriki Kata-Do, Kata Online, Kata Sommelier, Res Ipsa Loquitur, Sanchin Kata, Sensei John, Shibumi Kata, Thing Speaks For Itself