July 8th , 2018

This week’s TOTW is submitted by Kyoshi Michael Mackay
Ueshiro Midtown Karate Dojo
Ueshiro Shorin-Ryu Karate USA
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Seiza

Onegai shimasu, Hanshi, Sensei, and fellow Deshi,

Seiza offers a drawbridge between the preoccupations of our work-a-day
world and the focused attention required for karate training. It provides
an opportunity for introspection in the present - how we're breathing,
aligning our body, storing or releasing tension - as opposed to
contemplating things past or future. We learn the discipline of gently
placing our concerns on hold, not to be ignored or forgotten, but simply
side-lined until the benefits of the class leave us better equipped to
handle any challenge.

Seiza also teaches a skill highly advantageous to the martial artist: the
power of detachment. When sitting seiza, a deshi strives to detach from
the many distractions of body, mind and spirit, be they physical
discomforts, wayward thoughts, or unruly emotions. Ego falls by the
wayside and the student gains the power to "see" (or ignore) everything,
unconstrained by the limitations normally imposed by our sense of place,
self, and time. It's the same skill displayed by the hawk hovering over a
vast horizon, oblivious to the subtle wing movements keeping it aloft,
oblivious even to its own hunger, perceiving everything at once but seeing
nothing except a possible spec of movement below.

Much of our training centers on kiai - the hawk's strike. Learn to detach
from your distractions, especially those you enjoy most, so your body,
mind, and spirit can be clutter-free the moment they converge.

Domo arigto gozaimasu, Hanshi,

- Kyoshi Michael Mackay
Ueshiro Midtown Karate Dojo