...So I'm starting a new one.
Hahaha.
I was thinking about waiting for the new year, but I decided I'd just get started on creating a new blog account this month. The only real truth is that I was getting bored with the layout of this blog. Not much room for customization. Or at least not customization in the way I want it. I started another blog on WordPress and I like the layout of that, especially how I can choose my own photos for the header. So I figured it's time to switch.
I can't believe it is December already. I started this blog in March during my last weeks in Detroit. So many things have happened since that time, karate and non-karate related.
My search for the kind of karate I want isn't over yet. I'm looking for a combination of something that is physically healthy and also trains realistically. More broadly, I'm looking to deepen my understanding of kata, as that is the heart of this art. So far that search has taken me to places outside the world of karate and I am sure it will continue to expand even further. My concern with karate isn't with "styles" or "teachers" or "techniques". My interest with karate has to do with "how things work". As the author and martial artist Rory Miller says,
"...A mechanic that knows every tool in the tool box but doesn't know what an engine looks like...this is endemic to martial arts..."Well, I ain't lookin' to be just another incompetent mechanic. I'm looking to gain an understanding of the thing so that the thing starts to make sense. I'm tired of looking at the words on the page struggling to make sense of how they sound, how they flow together, how they make meaning. I'm interested in learning the alphabet of karate so that I can learn how to read, write and speak karate. I'm tired of being an illiterate karateka.
What's interesting is that, in my heart of hearts, what karate is about for me is gaining confidence in self-protection. That's why I walked into a karate dojo in my mid-twenties, that's why I'm attending Rory Miller workshops, that's why I'm searching like I am. I'm not interested in tournaments, demonstrations or even "tradition". What I care about is overcoming fear. I'm not looking to have some kind of macho MMA image. I don't care about my identity associated with doing martial arts. I don't care if people think I'm too old to be a martial artist (gonna be 31 at the end of this year). I'm an artist, period. How I interpret and manifest the various streams in my life is up to my imagination.
And that's what the karate world and the rest of the world needs right now...
Some goddamn imagination.
Anyway, I'm gonna keep on searching for what I need. Keep on trying out things to see how they fit. This upcoming year should prove to be very fascinating to say the least.
If you're interested, here's a link to the new blog: http://thequantumkarateka.wordpress.com/
Take care.
Elbow SMASH!
- Hiji Até
