It’s been a while since I set foot in a dojo proper; Covid has made sure of that. But I had been diligently practicing my karate katas in my home’s basement each week… until recently. I’ve started running more, and with the nice weather, my katas began to fall by the wayside. It wasn’t until I did them again for the first time in a month and got into that flow state that I rediscovered how important they are to me.
In case you don’t train a martial art, katas are basically a pre-arranged set of movements and techniques. They have multiple purposes, including strengthening important muscles, committing techniques to muscle memory, and subtly demonstrating how to apply many of the techniques. For me though, katas have served mainly as a form of meditation.
Have you seen the movie Soul? If you haven’t, just stop reading this post right now and go watch it.
Seriously, I’ll wait.
Ok, now that you’ve seen the movie… you know that flow state it describes? Where you get so completely absorbed in what you’re doing that you lose track of time and space for a while?
Kata does that for me.
Now, recently I’ve been struggling a little bit, mentally-speaking. There have been not one, not two, but four health scares within my immediately family recently, and it’s been a lot to take in. As a result, I didn’t even notice that I wasn’t doing my katas. At the exact same time, I also noticed an uptick in my irritability at work, which is bad for everyone, especially me.
After an especially hard day at the office, I came away feeling extremely stressed and unable to properly disconnect for the day. Not knowing where else to turn, I went into the basement and worked through my katas, one after the next (called a kata ladder). What happened next was magical.
Despite all my stress and frustration, I was still able to get into that flow state while working through my katas. I let all my stress and anger exit my body and mind through the movements and techniques, until all that was left was a kind of peaceful exhaustion. Having left everything I had on the table, I felt a kind of afterglow coming out of that flow state. And you know the craziest part?
It lasted for days afterward.
For you martial artists out there, that is the power of katas. They’re not just about making you fight better. If you’re the type that treats katas like your biology homework, you’re missing out on what I believe is one of the most important and powerful benefits of all.
If you’re not a martial artist, that’s the power of the flow state. You can get into it with anything that you love to do: sports, cooking, writing, reading, painting, cleaning, whatever. But immersing yourself in something that you love, that causes you to lose track of time, can also have the power to cause you to lose track of your stress, leaving it behind entirely.
Wrapping it Up
I’m sorry, katas. You’ve been so good to me over the years, and I had neglected you in recent weeks. Yet when I needed you the most, you had my back, no questions asked. Never again!
To those of you reading this and thinking “man this is some new-age martial arts mumbo jumbo” – like I said, it’s less about the medium and more about the state of mind you get into. If you’re sitting there wrinkling your nose, chances are you haven’t experienced the flow state before.
Get out there and try some new hobbies and activities… when you find the one that really clicks, you’ll see what I’m talking about!
