Staring at the blisters on my hands from what seemed
like hours of digging I came to a strange realisation... gardening is
like kata!
I spent the best part of a weekend tending to the garden, broken only
by the odd break for 'a light refreshment'
Looking at the garden on Monday morning it doesn't really look any different
despite all my toils, although it obviously is. Often after spending time in the garden I feel that I have actually done
or achieved very little when in reality the work and it's effect is still
there.
Kata is the same, I put in many hours of practice (digging), corrective
training under Sensei George (weeding), exploring bunkai (planting) and
teaching kata (sowing seeds)
When performing/practising kata one cannot expect an immediate result
in ones performance, the same as when I plant some new flowers they grow
very gradually to eventually fill out the bed. After many similar weekends when I look back in years to come my garden
will look very different.
