I was going through my empty hand katas today in the USF Rec Center. They had the Borg Scale (also known as Rate of Perceived Exertion) listed on one of the walls. Between forms I would glance at it, and I started thinking about how I would rate the performance of kata. Also, what should it be? If you are not familiar, the RPE is an arbitrary number indicating how hard you are working. It starts a 7 (I assume below 7 your are comatose or dead), and goes up to 20: maximal exertion. Around 10 is an easy pace.

I gotta tell you. I love kiba dachi. There's something about it. The root, the ch'i. Sure, it has its flaws. At first blush, it appears 2 dimensional, off balance. But a deep horse stance is stable. You see it in sumo. It is a place of balance, but its advantages are hidden, like sanchin dachi. Only years will unlock this koan.