CUT THE NIGHT WITH MY KATANA
or
DESTRUCTION FOR CREATION
The enchanting and wonderful thing about karate-do is that it is forever enchanting you. Though, if I were to catalog all of the information I have gathered, including the 16 kata I have learned, spanning the two years I have devoted to my training this coming fall, I would find that I practice the same thing day in and day out. However, each session that I train in earnest is somehow liberating and magical. I wrote this poem after the first “midsummer’s night” lesson that I have had.
Mystical evening, Sensei’s dojo.
Students attentive and one with each other.
Full moon illumines the samurai symbol.
Now listen closely, hear Sensei enlighten.
Successive explosion, mellifluous rhythm.
Students push harder as pain liberates them.
Inevident breezes cause blossoms to flutter.
Sensei walks by you, your stance slightly falters.
Intimate learning, selfless immersion.
Students enchanted by the body’s magic.
Cupped hands are filled with the soft radiant moonlight.
Capture the moment, feel Sensei inside you.
My eternal thanks to my Senseis, Frank and Lenore Gaviola for giving me the sight to see my everyday life as a wondrous gift that only God could have given.