There are pockets within a city, my city, where karate walks in peace. There would be times when Kimo would move the dojo to a pier by the bay, to the grounds of the Spanish military fortress El Morro, or to the beach near the entrance to the San Juan islet. Most within walking distance.
Kata in the open is different from kata within a confined space, the energy moves different, it could disperse and you with it. Energy, ki, is a voluble thing. Group kata is also different than solo kata, the difference between singing in a chorus and singing alone.
Where once I sang in a chorus, now I sing alone. I often walk now through the same darkened streets I once walked, sometimes passing dojos that no longer exist. One carries the past dojos, senseis, and people in oneself. It has taken me many years to move the many as one.
Dojos and faces fade, but the kata moves on. All one's life is there in the kata.
It is ebb and flow, the spirit that moves the water.
Kata in the open is different from kata within a confined space, the energy moves different, it could disperse and you with it. Energy, ki, is a voluble thing. Group kata is also different than solo kata, the difference between singing in a chorus and singing alone.
Where once I sang in a chorus, now I sing alone. I often walk now through the same darkened streets I once walked, sometimes passing dojos that no longer exist. One carries the past dojos, senseis, and people in oneself. It has taken me many years to move the many as one.
Dojos and faces fade, but the kata moves on. All one's life is there in the kata.
It is ebb and flow, the spirit that moves the water.
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