Hombu dojo of 
Shorin-Ryu Karate
    U. S. A.

Sitting Seiza

My job had gotten worse as the year has gone on. Frequently working weekends, more demands, longer hours, and shorter tempers test my strength every day and some days are worse than others. The weight of it stalks my footsteps to the locker door. I change into my gi and feel as if I’m robed in mithril – light as a feather, hard as dragon scales. The shadowy specter of the day is held back.

On the threshold of the dojo, I bow to the teachers that came before and silently ask for their guidance on this path I have chosen. Again the shadows retreat and here they cannot enter. Sempai walks us through warm-up and then we sit seiza – eyes closed, mind at rest.

This has so far been the greatest gift that Shorin-Ryu has given me. My mind is normally troubled by the weight of my thoughts and having chaos in my life makes it worse, despite the help I have reached out for. Moving through the kata and achieving what kiai I can settles these demons, focuses my mind, and fills me with light.

The day fades and all I can hear is the cloth of my gi as I block and strike. It changes pitch from half power to full and sounds like wind through the trees. I feel my body moving with purpose, judging where my feet should be and driving the energy to completion. It is a ballet of purpose that dispels chaos and welcomes in order, an order on which I thrive. At the end of class, sitting again in seiza and thanking the teachers aloft who made this possible, I count myself fortunate that I was able to find my way here and hope that I am worthy of following this path for as long as possible.

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