Kata should be approach(ed) as art on one level, and the pursuit of the kata should, in my opinion, have all of the elements that I touched on: a fever, desire, even obsession. The pursuit of kata should involve the desire(,) the desire to achieve more tha(n) skill, but become art. . And let me be clear the word obsession, it teeters on imbalance. Hmmmm… teetering on the edge of imbalance – where the action is in pursuit of art.
--Obsession in the Pursuit, from The Striking Post
It's a tough line to walk--there has to be an obsessive element to raise any pursuit to an art form that causes other parts of your life to suffer by comparison. You don't want that to create an imbalance that makes your life too one-dimensional but you do want it to create a spirit of freedom that allows you to take chances and explore, both in your art and in the rest of your life. Where you draw the line (and how well you hue to it) will be different for everyone.
The tension between doing one thing and doing it extremely well, and doing many things but none of them well is something I've always been acutely aware of. Balance schmalance.
Posted by: Amy | February 03, 2010 at 10:42 AM
are you trying to admit that you're stalking someone? :-O
Posted by: robin | February 03, 2010 at 07:11 PM