As some of you may know, Sensei Dan Smith is a good friend of ours at Tenchi Family Karate, and to me personally. I recently ran across a piece of his work that I would like to share:
“I asked all of these senior teachers how did they measure who the best karate man on Okinawa was. Their answer was all the same even though the question was asked separately over several days. The one who lives the longest. Okinawan karate is for giving you a long and healthy life, so the man who lives the longest must have the best karate.
”I asked what the key was and they said the kata. Practice the kata it will serve you. It will provide you what you need and give you the ability to defend yourself while keeping your body strong and healthy. The tendons and ligaments are the keys. The internal massage from the kata will develop you internally. Kata is for life.”
Thanks to Sensei Smith for sharing this wisdom.
