QUOTE
January 31st, 2008
In This Issue
> Does Age Affect You, Or People You Know From Starting Karate?
> How Am I Going To Reach My Next Grade?
> Does Practise Make Perfect? Part 1 – Basics And Kata
While everyone whom this newsletter goes out to, most likely already does karate. If you are like me, I imagine you have people around you (family, friends etc) who could benefit enormously from doing karate, but they let their age act as an excuse to stay idle.
There has been numerous occasions when speaking to people about doing karate that the term “I’m Too Old” comes up. The reality is that you are never too old. The eldest person in the club is in their late 70’s and of course our founder and chief instructor Kancho is now 60 and most of the Japanese masters are in their 60’s and 70’s.
Some of us that are older might also think that it is too late to start training. Well it is never too late. Every Black belt grading that I attend during the year has older people attempting their Black belt grading. Recently there was a person of 57 who achieved their black belt.
We of course don’t expect a 50year young person to do what an 18 year old would do but in saying this most 50year olds still do the same things that the 18 year old does.
So how would you like to feel like an 18 year old again?
The crazy thing is when we speak to older people they think karate is about breaking bricks with their heads and rolling around on the floor etc. In actual fact we don’t do any of that which is good because breaking brick’s with your head might not be too good for the brain. Sometimes the perception we have can hold us back from doing the things we want to do.
For those of us who are training and experiencing this wonderful way to keep fit and protect ourselves know that it is self paced. You as the individual will train as hard as you can for what you can do.
We are all governed by the limitations that we put on ourselves. It is all about choice. It doesn’t matter who you are, how old you are or even if you are in a wheel chair, the decision is yours…to train or not to train, that is the question. All anyone has to do is speak to us and make an informed decision from there.
So to answer my original question, does your age affect you, or someone you know from starting Karate? The answer is OF COURSE NOT. The only thing that affects you not doing Karate is YOU.
I hope this article and my thoughts will allow all of us to encourage everyone to give karate a go.
^ top
The New Year is a great time to set resolutions about how we would like our year to turn out. Most people set New Years Resolutions, but so few stick to them. Why is it that we start a year of so motivated, and before we know it, a month or two has passed and we are back to our old ‘bad’ habits?
The answer is daily disciplines!
Is it really quite simple to achieve new things such as reaching a new grade, stopping smoking, loosing weight, eating healthier etc. It just requires daily disciplines and the re-setting of your goals.
When it comes to your grade in karate, finding out what you need to work on, consider the amount of training you can commit to every week, of course the effort you put in when you are in the Dojo is a major factor. Then every time you train, exercise the disciplines required to make improvements.
I believe it is important to set goals not only at the beginning of the year but from month to month. If you are not on track after a month it’s no good leaving it to the end of the year to find out what happened. This is a major reason why most New Year resolutions don’t seem to work out the way you intended.
Another reason people fall short on New Years resolutions is that they have to go it alone.
The good news is with your karate goals, you can ask your instructor what you need to work on, and he/she will be happy to advise and help you progress to your next level.
Be prepared for set backs. There will always be something that comes in the way of what we are trying to achieve, but that is life, you re-adjust and go again, don’t get disheartened when its hard and is not going your way… it will only make the achievement at the end so much more rewarding.
Why do people grading to black belt shed a tear? Years of training, aches and pains culminating in the ultimate achievement? But they stuck at it and kept coming back for more, punch by punch, grade by grade you can do the same! In GKR everyone who put the commitment, time and effort can one day wear a black belt. But it starts with setting goals. How many times a week do I need to train, what can I improve on, do I need to train at home, should I get a DVD to help me when i'm not in class, is there any exercises I can do at home to help me i.e. Stretching etc.
^ top
When it comes to karate mastery, a common ideology is that it just requires practise, practise, and even more practise. In many ways this is very true, its takes years of repetition to master our technique, chipping away at the small inconsistencies and developing instinctive muscle memory.
The challenge that people in Western cultures face however is that we live in the age of instant gratification. With this, the idea of practise, practise, practise, deters many westerner karate-ka from reaching their potential.
For every technique in our ‘basics’ and ‘kata’ training, a correct path is laid out with every detail accounted for - and all for a specific reason. To waiver off this path, even slightly, results in a less effective technique, hence karate’s pursuit towards perfection.
Achieving karate perfection, the perfect punch, the perfect stance etc is like the perfect golf swing. Most players over 18 holes will hit at least one shot that comes off the club like a dream, giving us an incredible feeling, making the entire game worthwhile and taking away all the frustrations of other mishit shots. The difference with karate is that we are expected to hit the perfect technique each and every time.
And, for each technique, there is so much to get right. The position of the feet, knees, hips, posture, elbows, fists etc, accompanied with the required timing of all these coming together. All of this takes time to develop, as we must forge through four stages of development.
Stage 1. Unconscious incompetence.
Upon starting, we do everything wrong but don’t really realise what good technique is any way.
Stage 2. Conscious incompetence.
After a short while, we begin to become very conscious of our poor technique and realise we have much to work on.
Stage 3. Conscious competence.
After learning and remembering the details of each technique, so long as we focus on these details with our mind thoroughly on the job, we are able to execute competent technique.
Stage 4. Unconscious competence.
As time passes, through the constant conscious focus on technique, we begin to create positive technical habits, resulting in our ability to execute correct technique without having to think about it any more.
Turn Off Your Autopilot
The only way we are able to forge through these four stages and achieve near perfection; is to turn off our autopilots. Many students who are going through a technique or kata for the umpteenth time – due to their attitude of ‘done this before’ – will switch off their mind and run on autopilot. The danger with this is that they will cling to bad habits and will chip away at the small imperfections. This sees them doomed to remaining on the same grade, or ability level for extended periods
The goal is to find fulfilment in the small improvements
The way we overcome this and go back to focus orientated practise is to become self-aware. A person who is self-aware will be able to locate the imperfections in their technique and, consequently will have something to work on. When the mind has a goal or something to work towards it will be happy to take part in whatever the body is doing. In addition, it is important to find fulfilment in small incremental improvements in technique. Having a goal of perfection may be impossible, but it will always give you a goal none-the-less. Having an attitude of near enough is good enough will see you stagnate and become complacent.
In This Issue
> Does Age Affect You, Or People You Know From Starting Karate?
> How Am I Going To Reach My Next Grade?
> Does Practise Make Perfect? Part 1 – Basics And Kata
While everyone whom this newsletter goes out to, most likely already does karate. If you are like me, I imagine you have people around you (family, friends etc) who could benefit enormously from doing karate, but they let their age act as an excuse to stay idle.
There has been numerous occasions when speaking to people about doing karate that the term “I’m Too Old” comes up. The reality is that you are never too old. The eldest person in the club is in their late 70’s and of course our founder and chief instructor Kancho is now 60 and most of the Japanese masters are in their 60’s and 70’s.
Some of us that are older might also think that it is too late to start training. Well it is never too late. Every Black belt grading that I attend during the year has older people attempting their Black belt grading. Recently there was a person of 57 who achieved their black belt.
We of course don’t expect a 50year young person to do what an 18 year old would do but in saying this most 50year olds still do the same things that the 18 year old does.
So how would you like to feel like an 18 year old again?
The crazy thing is when we speak to older people they think karate is about breaking bricks with their heads and rolling around on the floor etc. In actual fact we don’t do any of that which is good because breaking brick’s with your head might not be too good for the brain. Sometimes the perception we have can hold us back from doing the things we want to do.
For those of us who are training and experiencing this wonderful way to keep fit and protect ourselves know that it is self paced. You as the individual will train as hard as you can for what you can do.
We are all governed by the limitations that we put on ourselves. It is all about choice. It doesn’t matter who you are, how old you are or even if you are in a wheel chair, the decision is yours…to train or not to train, that is the question. All anyone has to do is speak to us and make an informed decision from there.
So to answer my original question, does your age affect you, or someone you know from starting Karate? The answer is OF COURSE NOT. The only thing that affects you not doing Karate is YOU.
I hope this article and my thoughts will allow all of us to encourage everyone to give karate a go.
^ top
The New Year is a great time to set resolutions about how we would like our year to turn out. Most people set New Years Resolutions, but so few stick to them. Why is it that we start a year of so motivated, and before we know it, a month or two has passed and we are back to our old ‘bad’ habits?
The answer is daily disciplines!
Is it really quite simple to achieve new things such as reaching a new grade, stopping smoking, loosing weight, eating healthier etc. It just requires daily disciplines and the re-setting of your goals.
When it comes to your grade in karate, finding out what you need to work on, consider the amount of training you can commit to every week, of course the effort you put in when you are in the Dojo is a major factor. Then every time you train, exercise the disciplines required to make improvements.
I believe it is important to set goals not only at the beginning of the year but from month to month. If you are not on track after a month it’s no good leaving it to the end of the year to find out what happened. This is a major reason why most New Year resolutions don’t seem to work out the way you intended.
Another reason people fall short on New Years resolutions is that they have to go it alone.
The good news is with your karate goals, you can ask your instructor what you need to work on, and he/she will be happy to advise and help you progress to your next level.
Be prepared for set backs. There will always be something that comes in the way of what we are trying to achieve, but that is life, you re-adjust and go again, don’t get disheartened when its hard and is not going your way… it will only make the achievement at the end so much more rewarding.
Why do people grading to black belt shed a tear? Years of training, aches and pains culminating in the ultimate achievement? But they stuck at it and kept coming back for more, punch by punch, grade by grade you can do the same! In GKR everyone who put the commitment, time and effort can one day wear a black belt. But it starts with setting goals. How many times a week do I need to train, what can I improve on, do I need to train at home, should I get a DVD to help me when i'm not in class, is there any exercises I can do at home to help me i.e. Stretching etc.
^ top
When it comes to karate mastery, a common ideology is that it just requires practise, practise, and even more practise. In many ways this is very true, its takes years of repetition to master our technique, chipping away at the small inconsistencies and developing instinctive muscle memory.
The challenge that people in Western cultures face however is that we live in the age of instant gratification. With this, the idea of practise, practise, practise, deters many westerner karate-ka from reaching their potential.
For every technique in our ‘basics’ and ‘kata’ training, a correct path is laid out with every detail accounted for - and all for a specific reason. To waiver off this path, even slightly, results in a less effective technique, hence karate’s pursuit towards perfection.
Achieving karate perfection, the perfect punch, the perfect stance etc is like the perfect golf swing. Most players over 18 holes will hit at least one shot that comes off the club like a dream, giving us an incredible feeling, making the entire game worthwhile and taking away all the frustrations of other mishit shots. The difference with karate is that we are expected to hit the perfect technique each and every time.
And, for each technique, there is so much to get right. The position of the feet, knees, hips, posture, elbows, fists etc, accompanied with the required timing of all these coming together. All of this takes time to develop, as we must forge through four stages of development.
Stage 1. Unconscious incompetence.
Upon starting, we do everything wrong but don’t really realise what good technique is any way.
Stage 2. Conscious incompetence.
After a short while, we begin to become very conscious of our poor technique and realise we have much to work on.
Stage 3. Conscious competence.
After learning and remembering the details of each technique, so long as we focus on these details with our mind thoroughly on the job, we are able to execute competent technique.
Stage 4. Unconscious competence.
As time passes, through the constant conscious focus on technique, we begin to create positive technical habits, resulting in our ability to execute correct technique without having to think about it any more.
Turn Off Your Autopilot
The only way we are able to forge through these four stages and achieve near perfection; is to turn off our autopilots. Many students who are going through a technique or kata for the umpteenth time – due to their attitude of ‘done this before’ – will switch off their mind and run on autopilot. The danger with this is that they will cling to bad habits and will chip away at the small imperfections. This sees them doomed to remaining on the same grade, or ability level for extended periods
The goal is to find fulfilment in the small improvements
The way we overcome this and go back to focus orientated practise is to become self-aware. A person who is self-aware will be able to locate the imperfections in their technique and, consequently will have something to work on. When the mind has a goal or something to work towards it will be happy to take part in whatever the body is doing. In addition, it is important to find fulfilment in small incremental improvements in technique. Having a goal of perfection may be impossible, but it will always give you a goal none-the-less. Having an attitude of near enough is good enough will see you stagnate and become complacent.
Any thoughts?
Tom.
