I wanted to talk about something today that I’ve encountered quite a bit in my travels. When I first started my journey on the path, I was amazed by the wonder of what was in front of me. I can remember that first class so vividly. My Nephew had already joined this dojo, and I was at the time in Ballet and Jazz, Musical Theater, TV Production, Stage Management, Acting and other things theater and he had asked me to come down and watch a class.
He was so exited at this new activity. I hadn’t thought at all about Karate, nor did I have any interest in it, but I wanted to support my nephew. We were very close in age, and raised more like brothers than we were like Uncle and Nephew. I was 13 at the time, and he really wanted me to come and check it out, so I went to the dojo to watch one of his classes.
The organization was sharing space with an Auto Workers Union Hall. The floors were tile, not the soft kind, and the building was sparse. I went in and greeted my nephew. He had this smile on his face a mile wide and just seemed happier than I had seen him in a long time. I sat down in the metal chairs they had at the back of the hall near the door and his class began. They started with the warm ups and the basics I expected to see, punching and kicking, stretches and running the dojo floor to get the cardio up.
Then, at the end of the warm up, the Instructor clapped his hands. Here was a smaller guy, and I hadn’t thought anything about it until he clapped his hands. It echoed through the hall loudly and I thought.. “Wow.. that guy has some power there”. When he clapped, he said “Straighten Gi’s and Belts!” and the whole class said “SIR!”. They turned away from the front of the hall and straightened their belts and gi’s to become presentable again after that hard warm up that obviously got people warm, they were already sweating.
The class turned back around, and he said loudly “Mokuso!”, again greeted with “SIR!”. The class then lined up from left to right by rank. Highest ranking to the left, and the lowest ranking to the right. I thought, “What the heck are they doing?” Then a peace came over the hall, and the instructor who was standing front and center facing the line, closed his eyes and began to meditate. I thought, “Well they all must be meditating then I guess”, but the hall that had been so loud, was now silent. I could feel the energy in the room of young minds trying to quiet themselves. I didn’t know how I could understand that without being told what was going on, I just somehow understood. It was a clarifying moment to me, that this was more than a physical activity.
When the Instructor opened his eyes, he scanned the line briefly, checking that all students were focused, and he quietly said “YAME” (Ya - May). He then quietly told everyone to line up and began the first drills.
Later in the class, the instructor gave them all a water break of 5 minutes and my nephew came over to the water fountain, which was right behind me. He said, “Watch this next part, we’re going to do Kata”. I smiled and said “Sure, this is really cool”. When they got back out on the floor and the instructor came over to break the students up into smaller groups for this “Kata” of which he spoke, my nephew went over to a section of the floor and one of the assistant instructors began leading the group in unison with a series of moves much resembling a dance. I thought, hmm.. I could like that.. there was strength with the blocks and strikes balanced with smoothness and fluidity of movement and transition from one move to the next. 
During the course of my watching this, the Chief Instructor approached me. He had been in the office while the class instructor was leading the class. He introduced himself and we spoke briefly as he explained what was taking place in the class with more depth and detail. I really liked what I heard, and when he found out that my background included Ballet, he expressed how the Martial Arts could be an extension and natural progression to what my training had been up to that point. He began to tell me about how the Martial Arts was a journey of self discovery and depth. How the technique was a vehicle to finding inner peace and discipline, and how ballet for all those years would lead naturally into what they did if I wished to expand my personal journey in life.
First let me say, that when I met this man, Jerry Devine, I felt very calm. He carried himself with a calm strength that I couldn’t put my finger on, but he seemed so “balanced”. Somehow he put forth this feeling that there was power and strength beneath the surface and that he could snap my neck if he wanted, but was peaceful and calm. This was something I saw in some of the best Ballet dancers and teachers that I’d had the privilege to work with in the past. It was a sense of “Completeness”.
I went home and asked my parents if I could start taking karate, and I handed them all this literature I was given by Mr. Devine. They asked me, well what about Ballet? I said, “I don’t want to do that anymore, I think I’d really like to take this to the next level.” “What about Baseball and Soccer?” I don’t want to do that anymore either. I can do karate year round, and I really want to do this.
In a moment of brilliance, my father looked at me with this little smile he had and said, “Ok, when do you want to start?” “Mr. Devine said I can start tomorrow if I want, and he has the equipment I need, all we need to do is go down and fill out the paperwork". My father chuckled and said something to the effect that I’d already thought the whole thing through, and that once I got my mind set, there was nothing he could do but go with it.
This would be a day that would change my life forever.
I tell you that rather long story to tell you this. On my first day, in a fresh new white belt and gi that I had no idea how to tie, I felt something. It was a smallness and a hugeness all at the same time. It was a wonderful feeling that I was on a path that would somehow help me to find that inner strength and peace that I had witnessed from Mr. Devine. I began my first kata that day, Taikyoku Shodan, and although it seemed simple in form, there was so much to keep in mind while performing it. I had to watch my shoulders stayed square, I had to watch my punches, I had to make sure my block was positioned right and that it started from the right place and so much more. How could I think about all this and still lose myself in the kata? I knew from my Ballet training that this was possible and I had felt it before. There is so much to think about in Ballet, yet you’re still trying to lose yourself in the movement. I loved it.
All these years later, I’ve been a student, a teacher, an organizer, a planner, a mover and a shaker. Still to this day I fall back on my Taikyoku Shodan. It’s my way to take the most basic thing I learned, and lose myself in it. I’ve learned many katas, very complex and technical, but I always fall back on Taikyoku Shodan. It brings me back to that feeling on day one, that I know nothing.
So often, I’ve met Martial Artists, many of them very senior people that like to tell me all that they know, and all that they’ve done, and what their favorite kata is. Funny thing, usually I get the answer that their most technical and advanced kata is their favorite, and it always just happens to be those same folks that like to tell everything that they know and all the advanced things they can do. I’ve met lots of them that don’t possess that same inner peace and calm that I met on day one. Their technique is good and their strength certainly impressive, but to me, it seems out of balance with what I’ve sought since day one.
Don’t get me wrong, These people are not any less impressive as a result, these are merely my personal observations. These folks offer much to the Martial Arts, and I don’t think any less of them in any way. That’s the beautiful thing about the Martial Arts, everyone’s path is individual, and we all seek something different. 
What I do notice however, is that the folks I’ve met along the path that posses that inner strength kept firmly in balance with outward calmness are also the same ones that speak with me about their day one experiences and how they have kept that focus on chasing the feeling of day one during the course of their path. The simplicity.
Whatever one’s path is, it is theirs, and should be respected. The commitment that one makes when they undertake the pursuit of the Martial Spirit is a lifelong one. Where that takes them is a benefit for them, and what works for one, might not work for another. We all share a common bond wishing to pursue strength of character, personal growth and discipline. This is what makes the Martial Arts such a wide and positive journey.
I encourage you all to find your simplicity. Just for a day, put a white belt on and work through your day one again. Truly put yourself back in time and take advantage of all you’ve learned to take that first basic kata to a new level. Don’t rush it, take your time and some deep breaths to let go of all the craziness of your day. Lose yourself in the kata and allow yourself to feel nothing and everything all around you at the same time.
I’d love to hear some of your results and to share these feelings with all of you.
Yours in the Martial Arts,
