QUOTE
On the karate road above all else, you must always be honest with yourself, and more importantly, honest with your instructor. That is why you must never, ever, be afraid of admitting as a student that you don't know it all, or for that matter ever will.
Besides, I for one don't know many students who would willingly follow a 'know it all' for very long. Maybe it is because the 'know it all' often comes across as having a very inflated ego, or maybe it is because they usually give off an 'I am better than you and I will prove it to you' attitude. Either way, listening to someone who claims to be an expert on absolutely everything there is to know about karate can get awfully boring, awfully fast.
After all 'student for life' means that learning is never ending, no matter how old you are, or how high your rank.
To me admitting that you don't know it all is the first step towards success as a student, because students who are eager to learn usually make the best students.
From past experience here are six simple guidelines that I always try and follow in order to help me walk this same path. Since I learnt long ago that you cannot quench your thirst if you always try and drink from an empty cup:
1. An open mind will help you to overcome ego, without ego the truth is much easier to find.
2. An open mind will always acknowledge a good opportunity and quickly seize upon it, but always for the benefit of others, not just for the benefit of the self.
3. An open mind must always gives credit where credit is due, and accept honest and accurate answers to any question from any truly authoritative source, regardless of whom or what that source may be.
4. An open mind is rooted in honesty, and as such does not judge individuals, or ideas with pre-determined prejudice.
5. An open mind does not look for validation from others, but instead gives validation to others, even if their ideas and beliefs are contrary to your own.
6. An open mind accepts the out come of all things over which it has no control, while at the same time acknowledging that all events are controllable.
These days, as in the past, 'open mindedness' is not a trait found in everyone, but in a GKR student I believe it is essential. The sheer depth of the art of karate makes this a vital necessity.
Practice your basics with honesty.
Approach all your katas with a beginners mind.
Experiment with bunkai.
Read, write, talk with other students, and talk with your peers, but never, ever, stop learning.
Install in yourself a hunger for knowledge, for knowledge is the food of an open mind, and an open mind is a sure sign of dedication in any karate practitioner regardless of their style.
Sensei Mark Burlington UK
You may have used a magnifying glass to concentrate the energy from the suns rays to one point and seen the effect in terms of intensity. That is an indication of what you can achieve by focusing your own energy on what you want to achieve. In terms of karate, that may be a black belt, a devastating reverse punch, first place in a tournament or defending yourself against an attacker.
There are different versions of focus. Focus of attention is something I have learnt from Sensei Tyrone Coates. He was quick to teach me to focus all my attention on the Instructor during class. That way I could pick up the most accurate information to what he was trying to communicate.
Before I learnt this, I used to start analyzing techniques while my instructor was talking in class (for I saw it was wasting valuable lesson time). I learnt to become totally focused on what he was explaining in class and to do the analysis later. A good way to make sure you are focused on your instructor is to say “Hai” at every opportunity you can. If you miss a chance to respond when you know you should have, then your focus on your instructor has lapsed.
Sometimes the hardest part of the journey can be just staying on the path. By just turning up to class every week you can give yourself a great chance of achieving black belt. But you can certainly enjoy the journey more by trying to improve every technique or stance, striving for perfection, focusing on improving the areas pointed out by your instructor. Focusing on good form, trying to relax and tense at the right time, breathing etc, will lead to great improvement.
You can focus your thoughts on getting to your next training session. Choose to focus your thoughts not on negative things that may have happened in the past but what you can imagine to be yours - becoming a black belt and higher in the future. Focus your thoughts through the day on going to training and not giving in to procrastination. Be relaxed and sure that nothing can get in the way of your next training session because it is a chance for you to focus on improving, and feel the satisfaction of knowing you did the best you could.
Simply by focusing intensely on the most appropriate action in an instant, you can improve your karate. Total focus in the instant (as in the snap at the end of a technique, or your weight distribution in a stance). Having tremendous focus on delivering a blow, hitting with precision and power with a kiai, directs all the energy of the body to a single point in an instant, which is pivotal in kata, kumite and self defense.
Focus is important not only in karate but in our lives and should be well contemplated.
Sensei Greg Brown US
Why do so many people blame the referee for losing in karate tournaments, but so few blame the referee for winning?
Of course referee’s can make mistakes; they are only human. Kata competition has many variables (speed, snap, fluidity etc), and some of which a referee may favour over others. In kumite, techniques come out in the blink of an eye, it is not always easy to distinguish whether a technique was cleanly in or not. But why is it that it is generally those who lose that make note of a referee’s errors – and keep in mind, others may not believe the referee did make a mistake at all?
Tournaments as a whole are great for testing skill, providing motivation and friendly competition. And generally speaking, the person who wins is most often the more deserving. But again, errors can at times occur.
While these times may be frustrating, they are also a good test of our character. Karate is ultimately about self-mastery and this applies to not only the physical self, but the mental self.
A person who is of weak character will focus purely on what they see, as the referee’s error. A person of strong character on the other hand will focus on the fact that errors do happen. They will also focus however, on the fact that they could have made it an easier job for the referee by performing better. In other words, they will take responsibility.
There are strong reasons for this but we will discuss these next week. We have purposely held these back so that in the mean time you have the opportunity to decide for yourself how taking responsibility for the bout can improve your character.
The truth is, life is not always fair and sometimes we will get the short end of the stick. When this happens we have two choices. To complain and refuse to change or to ignore the mistake, that it was something that is out of our control, and focus on what we can do better.
Champions understand that even though the referee may have made a mistake, it is likely they, the competitor, made numerous mistakes in the bout to leave it in the balance. Lets say they lost two points to one and a half. There are still a few valid reasons (loss of points) to illustrate that they need to improve. Chances are the made many poor decisions through that bout. Now, if they can shift their focus off the referee and bring it back to themselves, they can identify these errors and fix them. If they do this, next time a referee makes an error, it may mean they only win by two points instead of two and a half.
Karate is an individual pursuit. Some believe it is about being able to master any opponent. This is true in a sense, but the most important opponent to master is ones self. So if karate is about self-mastery, no one can achieve self-mastery by focusing on others. They achieved it by focusing on themselves – in good and bad situations. Whether it is a tournament or not, this principle always applies.
Besides, I for one don't know many students who would willingly follow a 'know it all' for very long. Maybe it is because the 'know it all' often comes across as having a very inflated ego, or maybe it is because they usually give off an 'I am better than you and I will prove it to you' attitude. Either way, listening to someone who claims to be an expert on absolutely everything there is to know about karate can get awfully boring, awfully fast.
After all 'student for life' means that learning is never ending, no matter how old you are, or how high your rank.
To me admitting that you don't know it all is the first step towards success as a student, because students who are eager to learn usually make the best students.
From past experience here are six simple guidelines that I always try and follow in order to help me walk this same path. Since I learnt long ago that you cannot quench your thirst if you always try and drink from an empty cup:
1. An open mind will help you to overcome ego, without ego the truth is much easier to find.
2. An open mind will always acknowledge a good opportunity and quickly seize upon it, but always for the benefit of others, not just for the benefit of the self.
3. An open mind must always gives credit where credit is due, and accept honest and accurate answers to any question from any truly authoritative source, regardless of whom or what that source may be.
4. An open mind is rooted in honesty, and as such does not judge individuals, or ideas with pre-determined prejudice.
5. An open mind does not look for validation from others, but instead gives validation to others, even if their ideas and beliefs are contrary to your own.
6. An open mind accepts the out come of all things over which it has no control, while at the same time acknowledging that all events are controllable.
These days, as in the past, 'open mindedness' is not a trait found in everyone, but in a GKR student I believe it is essential. The sheer depth of the art of karate makes this a vital necessity.
Practice your basics with honesty.
Approach all your katas with a beginners mind.
Experiment with bunkai.
Read, write, talk with other students, and talk with your peers, but never, ever, stop learning.
Install in yourself a hunger for knowledge, for knowledge is the food of an open mind, and an open mind is a sure sign of dedication in any karate practitioner regardless of their style.
Sensei Mark Burlington UK
You may have used a magnifying glass to concentrate the energy from the suns rays to one point and seen the effect in terms of intensity. That is an indication of what you can achieve by focusing your own energy on what you want to achieve. In terms of karate, that may be a black belt, a devastating reverse punch, first place in a tournament or defending yourself against an attacker.
There are different versions of focus. Focus of attention is something I have learnt from Sensei Tyrone Coates. He was quick to teach me to focus all my attention on the Instructor during class. That way I could pick up the most accurate information to what he was trying to communicate.
Before I learnt this, I used to start analyzing techniques while my instructor was talking in class (for I saw it was wasting valuable lesson time). I learnt to become totally focused on what he was explaining in class and to do the analysis later. A good way to make sure you are focused on your instructor is to say “Hai” at every opportunity you can. If you miss a chance to respond when you know you should have, then your focus on your instructor has lapsed.
Sometimes the hardest part of the journey can be just staying on the path. By just turning up to class every week you can give yourself a great chance of achieving black belt. But you can certainly enjoy the journey more by trying to improve every technique or stance, striving for perfection, focusing on improving the areas pointed out by your instructor. Focusing on good form, trying to relax and tense at the right time, breathing etc, will lead to great improvement.
You can focus your thoughts on getting to your next training session. Choose to focus your thoughts not on negative things that may have happened in the past but what you can imagine to be yours - becoming a black belt and higher in the future. Focus your thoughts through the day on going to training and not giving in to procrastination. Be relaxed and sure that nothing can get in the way of your next training session because it is a chance for you to focus on improving, and feel the satisfaction of knowing you did the best you could.
Simply by focusing intensely on the most appropriate action in an instant, you can improve your karate. Total focus in the instant (as in the snap at the end of a technique, or your weight distribution in a stance). Having tremendous focus on delivering a blow, hitting with precision and power with a kiai, directs all the energy of the body to a single point in an instant, which is pivotal in kata, kumite and self defense.
Focus is important not only in karate but in our lives and should be well contemplated.
Sensei Greg Brown US
Why do so many people blame the referee for losing in karate tournaments, but so few blame the referee for winning?
Of course referee’s can make mistakes; they are only human. Kata competition has many variables (speed, snap, fluidity etc), and some of which a referee may favour over others. In kumite, techniques come out in the blink of an eye, it is not always easy to distinguish whether a technique was cleanly in or not. But why is it that it is generally those who lose that make note of a referee’s errors – and keep in mind, others may not believe the referee did make a mistake at all?
Tournaments as a whole are great for testing skill, providing motivation and friendly competition. And generally speaking, the person who wins is most often the more deserving. But again, errors can at times occur.
While these times may be frustrating, they are also a good test of our character. Karate is ultimately about self-mastery and this applies to not only the physical self, but the mental self.
A person who is of weak character will focus purely on what they see, as the referee’s error. A person of strong character on the other hand will focus on the fact that errors do happen. They will also focus however, on the fact that they could have made it an easier job for the referee by performing better. In other words, they will take responsibility.
There are strong reasons for this but we will discuss these next week. We have purposely held these back so that in the mean time you have the opportunity to decide for yourself how taking responsibility for the bout can improve your character.
The truth is, life is not always fair and sometimes we will get the short end of the stick. When this happens we have two choices. To complain and refuse to change or to ignore the mistake, that it was something that is out of our control, and focus on what we can do better.
Champions understand that even though the referee may have made a mistake, it is likely they, the competitor, made numerous mistakes in the bout to leave it in the balance. Lets say they lost two points to one and a half. There are still a few valid reasons (loss of points) to illustrate that they need to improve. Chances are the made many poor decisions through that bout. Now, if they can shift their focus off the referee and bring it back to themselves, they can identify these errors and fix them. If they do this, next time a referee makes an error, it may mean they only win by two points instead of two and a half.
Karate is an individual pursuit. Some believe it is about being able to master any opponent. This is true in a sense, but the most important opponent to master is ones self. So if karate is about self-mastery, no one can achieve self-mastery by focusing on others. They achieved it by focusing on themselves – in good and bad situations. Whether it is a tournament or not, this principle always applies.
Any Thoughts?
Tom.
