A kata is a choreographed set of martial art moves, or techniques, that simulate fighting  an attacker.  They are composed of blocks, kicks, punches, and stepping patterns.  When rehearsed over and over, they help you improve in your skills. Some people claim that a kata, or form,  is useless, or no longer relevant. I believe they are about much more than just stepping in a pattern on the floor.  When you look deeper than the surface, you start to find a deeper truth.

You can practice a kata, form, or pattern, a million times and yet, it is different every time.  There is always room for  improvement. They contain moving elements, such as stepping with a punch and down block, and moving up and down an imaginary line on the ground, using strong and powerful stances.  There are a whole array of katas, from simple to difficult.  Basic movements turn into maneuvers that challenge even the most experienced martial artists. Beginners often struggle as they try to decipher the correct direction and flow.  The first, most basic kata, is always the most difficult to learn because it feels unnatural and confusing. While forms practice is a good work-out, and looks pretty, don’t let what appears to be a dance of defense trick you into thinking they are easy, or have little value.  The intricacies and nuances involved are tremendous.

The martial art kata or pattern is not all that different than the form that makes up your life. Your life is not choreographed ahead of time, but it contains array of feelings and actions that are swept up in patterns and directions.  There are variables to your daily form. You may be strong one day. Another day, you struggle with a positive mindset, get thrown off your path, or lose the plan for your journey.

The patterns of life can all be controlled in subtle ways. How you how you react, for what you strive, and how you treat each other, tops the list of the most basic of patterns. These are important tenets of martial arts, but are also the ultimate tests of a purposeful life.

• One step forward, be kind.
• Two steps to the right, seek truth.
• Turn around, be thoughtful.
• Back a few steps, share your thoughts.
• Jump high, reach for love.
• Finish strong, find your peace.

One step leads to another. In the end, all of the steps blend together effortlessly. They are so seamless, in fact, that you barely notice how each relates to the other.  Flow and rhythm are everything. Both the life kata, and the martial art kata, require practice, unending endurance, and skill. The key is to wear your black belt on the outside, and on the inside. Your patterns will lead you in the right direction.

Like a martial art form, life patterns itself on how you relate to others. You may feel there is an opponent working against you, or there is just a practice partner who helps to make you stronger and  more resilient. You should continually grow in understanding and compassionate.  The most beautiful thing about the life kata is its power through communication.

The power to make others feel good.  The power to forgive.  The power to change negativity. The power to love.

Call me old-school, but I like to watch martial art katas the way they were done when I was learning them, with low stances, strong movements throughout, and a pace that quickens, then slows, at just the right moments.  In the same way that I love this time-honored tradition of a martial art kata, I also admire the time-honored forms of communication. I prefer reading long, descriptive paragraphs, more than short texts.  I like to hear complete thoughts, more than just listening to a few brief words. Good communication should be practiced and passed on, just like a martial art forms that carries on its eloquence from one generation to the next.

There is no stopping our world from becoming more efficient with technology, but for me, plucking single words out of full thoughts never serves relationships, or life, effectively. If you take something as rich as a martial art and just cut away the “art”part of it, so much would be lost.  You would be like a robot.  The same thing happens when you abbreviate communication in a relationship. The richness is lost, the more you diminish the communication.  Good communication at work, in relationships, and on the dojo floor, all have a commonality and a connection.  Don’t let the artful communication suffer. There is a place, still, for love letters, handwritten birthday cards, and long-winded toasts.  You still need explanations and descriptions and words that come to life.

The way I see it, life is one long, flowing kata. There is so much to learn.  The practice never ends.  You cannot afford to turn valuable thoughts, or thoughtful stances, into a few quick strokes on a smart phone. You can’t reduce life to a certain number of simple steps. You must  review each passing moment and decide how to handle the next. Step through the martial art pattern, and the direction of life, with diligence, persistence, and practice.

I learned a very valuable lesson recently, though, and the biggest truth about katas. Life is the most complicated kata you will ever practice.  It is also the most original, remarkable, fascinating,and challenging kata, that has ever existed.

Andrea