1.04.2010

Inhabit the Invisible House


Do kata until it disintegrates and you are left with nothing. Inhabit the house until the walls crumble.

At my age when they ask me what I derive from karate they have already taken stock of my paunch, drooping jowls, sallow skin, flaccid arms, sunken eyes, gray hair. What will this old bugger dare to say?

I just live in the kata of the everyday.

Fear, a barking dog in the dark, sitting stone still in a doctor’s office awaiting judgment. A prayer repeated over and over again in an empty church.

Peace, sitting in my sister’s living room watching the swaying famboyán tree.

Joy, running into a friend from long ago.

Resignation, the perfect kata never attained.

2 comments:

Arsjo said...

I read your Memories of a Nidan with amazement. You have done a wonderful job recreating the history. I also trained at the Ochoa Dojo and UPR Dojo and earned Shodan on 1975. We probably trained together. I am honored to be featured in one of your photos. Goju-Ryu changed our lives. Thank you for allowing me to relive such a special time in my life.

Jorge Morales-Santo Domingo said...

Arsjo: Without doubt the most incredible comment I've received. Thank You!