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TAKE
YOUR MEDICINE
Mother
was right
When I was young,
my mother always use to give me a good size dose of cod
liver oil whenever she thought I was not looking all that
well.
She said no matter
how it tasted the medicine was good for me, and that
by taking it my health would improve.
To this day I truly
dislike the taste of cod liver oil, but mother was
right, taking my medicine when it was needed worked.
Today I see many
student practicing in the dojo who could use a good dose
of my mother's cod liver oil, because to me their basics
and their kata do not look all that healthy. Yet
class after class they still avoid taking the medicine
that they need to get better.
You know what I
mean.
A solid stance,
correct placement of all blocks and punches, good
posture, proper balance, timing, all those things that if
taken to heart, and applied in the appropriate measure,
would help make their basics, and their kata, look great.
However, in
spite of constant reminders to improve the quality of
their karate, and private lessons to remind them of
what is needed, many students still fail to practice what
they have been taught. As such their present level
of understanding remains unaltered, and often their
personal progress continues to be slower when compared to
that of their classmates.
The simple fact of
the matter is that for these students the message is not
sinking in.
Yet in spite of
this fact, it is often these very same students who still
feel they are ready to learn a new kata. A higher
kata. All the while not realizing, or not willing to
admit, that they are in fact still struggling with
the very katas that they so often claim they
"already know".
More often than not
it is this supposition by the student that they
"already know" all of the katas that they have
previously been taught, that really is the crux of
the problem. I imagine that from their
prospective, since they can get from point "A"
to point "B" in all of their katas, and
they can get from the start of the embusen (pattern)
to the final movement, they probably think there is
nothing more that they need to focus on in that
particular kata. So why not move on to the next one,
after all what else can there possibly be left for
them to learn - right?
The answer of
course is a great deal.
It is a fact that
no matter how much you think you know, or how good you
think you are, there is always a great deal more that you
can learn when it comes to all aspects of karate. But
that is especially true when it comes to kata.
The trouble is most
student today do not have the patience to delve
deeply enough into each of the katas that they already
have been taught in order to find the answers that they
are missing, let alone to try and figure out what
questions they should be seeking the answers to.
I suppose having
been brought up in a "fast food, fast cars, cell
phone, computer driven, I want it now world" these students
are simply in a rush to learn as many katas as they can.
The only problem
with that is there is no fast way to learn a kata well.
Understanding any
kata takes time.
It takes patience.
In fact it takes
a lifetime.
In the end very
few karate-ka will ever put in the years of effort that
are really needed to understand what the words "I
know this kata" truly mean.
So whose fault is
that?
Their parents?
Their teachers at
school?
Their Sensei's?
Or theirs?
In the end karate,
like anything else, comes down to two things, "what
do you want to know, and how well do you want to know it".
Once you decide on the answer to those two questions then
it is simply a matter of applying yourself to the task at
hand until you finally get the job done.
For example, some
people will put in the required effort to obtain a
Bachelors Degree in a specific discipline. While
still others will be willing to put in the extra time and
energy to obtain a Masters Degree. Then you have those
people who are willing to go the extra mile, and devote
whatever time, and energy it takes to obtain a
PHD and a Doctorate in that same discipline.
It is the same with
karate.
Regardless of how
much time and information the teacher provides them with,
in the end the task of "learning" falls
squarely on the students shoulders.
Not their parents.
Not their teachers
at school.
Not on their
Sensei's.
Others can tell
them what they need to know, and how to practice to
become better, but, in the end it is up to the student
themselves to take their medicine, and to apply the
knowledge that they have been given in the proper manner.
That medicine of
course is, effort and hard work.
A simple formula
really, but one which so few students seem willing to
swallow on a consistent basis.
A shame really,
since the longer and harder a student practices the art
of karate the more they will come to realize
just how much there is still to learn, but so
many students get frustrated and quit rather than simply
putting in the effort needed to succeed.
That is why the
saying, "for every one thousand students who start
karate, only one will ever make it to black belt" is
so true.
So the next time
you think you "know your kata" ask your Sensei
if you can get up and do it in front of the whole
class.
And when you are
finished the kata if you found a flaw in your
stance, in your basics, in your timing, in your focus, in
your balance, or in any other aspect of the kata, then
think again before asking to be taught a new kata.
Chances are you
will have just discovered that you still have some things
to learn about the kata that you think you "already know".
If that is indeed
the case then take my mothers advice, take your medicine,
and take it in large doses.
You may find
that the health of your karate improves to the point that
your Sensei will notice. In which case he or she may just
take it upon themselves to start teaching you the next
kata in line.
As I have said
before knowledge comes to those who seek it, however, knowledge
only remains with those who apply what they know
properly, and on a very, very regular basis.
Remember:
Karate
is just like boiling water,
if
you do not keep the heat on,
your
skills will cool very quickly.
Part
the clouds - see the way.
"The
objective of karate-do is to contribute to the evolution
of
the human spirit through physical and mental training."
Sensei
Peter Lindsay
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