I quite like this issue
QUOTE
In This Issue
> Dojo ‘Transference’
> The Winds of Change
> myGKR Training Tip Sample
In Karate, we are often encouraged to apply the lessons learnt in the dojo – hard work, persistence, courage and self-belief – to our everyday lives. This concept, whereby a lesson that we’ve learnt in one situation is applied in a completely different situation, is given the name ‘Transference’ by Educational Psychologists. Unfortunately, you may be surprised to learn that a majority of good research suggests that people aren’t actually very good at doing this!
It’s easy to imagine why. Sometimes it’s hard to know how, why, or when to apply these lessons. Perhaps, we may not be aware that we’ve actually learnt the lesson. Or maybe, we are simply too lazy to bother! As Karate-ka we need to understand that normal, human imperfections can get in the way of our desire to harness what we learn in the dojo for use in our everyday lives. However, it should not be the desire of any Karate-ka to be grouped with the 90 percent of people who are aren’t very good at ‘Transference’.
Every time you put on your Gi you take on a mission to go one step beyond the average, to step out of the ordinary, the standard, and the regular. We are not trying to be part of that 90 percent because we make a conscious, concerted effort to do better, to be better.
So be aware of ways in which you might be letting yourself down in transferring the lessons learnt in the dojo. Know that it’s normal for most people, but most importantly, make a firm, committed and personal decision to go beyond what is simply ‘normal’ and be better! A Karate-ka knows that their art is far more than what they do in the dojo each week.
It is a commitment to hard work, persistence, courage and self-belief both within and - perhaps even more importantly - outside the dojo.
Where were you five years ago?
Think back to what you were doing and how you were feeling. I have picked five years as it is enough time past to be able to look back constructively at the where you used to be. For some of you it may well take you back to life before karate.
Do you remember the trepidation you felt when one of the self defence consultants entered your home and started to talk to you about the benefits of karate training, and the almost blind faith with which you made the decision to do something different and become a member? “I never usually do anything on the night.” I don’t know how many times I have heard people utter these words and still they join and soak up everything that is great about martial arts training within GKR.
How much did you have to soak up in the first few weeks of your training? Techniques, people, philosophies, fitness, flexibility and social interaction? What you joined for, only you really know, but I bet you got more than you bargained for. It is a real whirl wind when you start anything new. This is a big reason why people look for new things, to appease that need for fulfilment and excitement. But what keeps us going? It is fair to say that we have all seen way too many people come and go and, if you are like me, you wonder what it was that they could not see. Perhaps they didn’t know what they were looking for!
When I come across a new student in a dojo I am very interested in their reasons for being there and what they do. Maybe I am just nosy, but I think that knowing a little bit about what makes a person tick will help you to connect with them. I always try to get my senior students to adopt the same approach. We have all been there, and can help a new person to understand that although we are all different, the same challenges are faced by everyone who steps in to the dojo. Whether you are brand new or further down the line, the same feelings of frustration, inadequacy, confusion and pain are experienced by all, but they are outweighed massively by the feelings of accomplishment when things go right.
In the end it is a case of defining your goals, creating your plan of attack and understanding who can help you get there. It would be unreasonable to expect one individual to have all the answers. That is why we have access to a number instructors who all have their own way of getting their point across. You just have to ask the questions and listen to the answers.
So, where were you five years ago and based on what you have learned through your training, where do you think you could be in five years time! Exciting isn’t it?
Often a student might learn to relax in their basics and in their kumite, but this habit just doesn’t seem to transcend into their kata, a frustrating situation for many people.
When this occurs, some karate-ka play the “its just the way I am” card. But this is nonsense. You have power of your body and therefore you control whether or not your kata will be stiff or relaxed in appearance.
So why do we struggle to let go of stiffness in our kata?
The first and most powerful reason is your focus. Our bodies always follow the instructions our minds hand down. Most karate-ka feel that kata should always appear snappy. Every chance they get they want to demonstrate their snappy and powerful technique. When your focus on kata is ‘snap, snap, snap’, your body is constantly tense because ‘snap’ is a tense emotion.
Rather than think of kata as ‘snap’, think of kata as it should be: ‘Art’, ‘beauty’, fluent’, ‘body harmony’ ‘power’, ‘emotion’ and at times ‘snappy’.
Words such as ‘beauty’, ‘body harmony’ etc do not conjure up tense images, instead they conjure up relaxing ones.
When your focus is on more natural, more harmonic images, the body will begin to communicate with more harmonic movements.
You might be thinking, “but that is NOT what kata is”. If this is your thinking, guess what? "It is EXACTLY what kata is”.
Think of it this way. The formula for power is “relax, tense, relax”. This process takes about a half a second. Now if a kata takes about 90 seconds and there are thirty hard, full focus techniques in the kata, then really, the ‘snap’ should only be a feature for a total of 15 seconds. 15 seconds of 90 seconds is a tiny portion.
The rest of the time (the remaining 75 seconds) should be relaxed (even if mid way through a powerful move.
So change your focus and you change your movement.
> Dojo ‘Transference’
> The Winds of Change
> myGKR Training Tip Sample
In Karate, we are often encouraged to apply the lessons learnt in the dojo – hard work, persistence, courage and self-belief – to our everyday lives. This concept, whereby a lesson that we’ve learnt in one situation is applied in a completely different situation, is given the name ‘Transference’ by Educational Psychologists. Unfortunately, you may be surprised to learn that a majority of good research suggests that people aren’t actually very good at doing this!
It’s easy to imagine why. Sometimes it’s hard to know how, why, or when to apply these lessons. Perhaps, we may not be aware that we’ve actually learnt the lesson. Or maybe, we are simply too lazy to bother! As Karate-ka we need to understand that normal, human imperfections can get in the way of our desire to harness what we learn in the dojo for use in our everyday lives. However, it should not be the desire of any Karate-ka to be grouped with the 90 percent of people who are aren’t very good at ‘Transference’.
Every time you put on your Gi you take on a mission to go one step beyond the average, to step out of the ordinary, the standard, and the regular. We are not trying to be part of that 90 percent because we make a conscious, concerted effort to do better, to be better.
So be aware of ways in which you might be letting yourself down in transferring the lessons learnt in the dojo. Know that it’s normal for most people, but most importantly, make a firm, committed and personal decision to go beyond what is simply ‘normal’ and be better! A Karate-ka knows that their art is far more than what they do in the dojo each week.
It is a commitment to hard work, persistence, courage and self-belief both within and - perhaps even more importantly - outside the dojo.
Where were you five years ago?
Think back to what you were doing and how you were feeling. I have picked five years as it is enough time past to be able to look back constructively at the where you used to be. For some of you it may well take you back to life before karate.
Do you remember the trepidation you felt when one of the self defence consultants entered your home and started to talk to you about the benefits of karate training, and the almost blind faith with which you made the decision to do something different and become a member? “I never usually do anything on the night.” I don’t know how many times I have heard people utter these words and still they join and soak up everything that is great about martial arts training within GKR.
How much did you have to soak up in the first few weeks of your training? Techniques, people, philosophies, fitness, flexibility and social interaction? What you joined for, only you really know, but I bet you got more than you bargained for. It is a real whirl wind when you start anything new. This is a big reason why people look for new things, to appease that need for fulfilment and excitement. But what keeps us going? It is fair to say that we have all seen way too many people come and go and, if you are like me, you wonder what it was that they could not see. Perhaps they didn’t know what they were looking for!
When I come across a new student in a dojo I am very interested in their reasons for being there and what they do. Maybe I am just nosy, but I think that knowing a little bit about what makes a person tick will help you to connect with them. I always try to get my senior students to adopt the same approach. We have all been there, and can help a new person to understand that although we are all different, the same challenges are faced by everyone who steps in to the dojo. Whether you are brand new or further down the line, the same feelings of frustration, inadequacy, confusion and pain are experienced by all, but they are outweighed massively by the feelings of accomplishment when things go right.
In the end it is a case of defining your goals, creating your plan of attack and understanding who can help you get there. It would be unreasonable to expect one individual to have all the answers. That is why we have access to a number instructors who all have their own way of getting their point across. You just have to ask the questions and listen to the answers.
So, where were you five years ago and based on what you have learned through your training, where do you think you could be in five years time! Exciting isn’t it?
Often a student might learn to relax in their basics and in their kumite, but this habit just doesn’t seem to transcend into their kata, a frustrating situation for many people.
When this occurs, some karate-ka play the “its just the way I am” card. But this is nonsense. You have power of your body and therefore you control whether or not your kata will be stiff or relaxed in appearance.
So why do we struggle to let go of stiffness in our kata?
The first and most powerful reason is your focus. Our bodies always follow the instructions our minds hand down. Most karate-ka feel that kata should always appear snappy. Every chance they get they want to demonstrate their snappy and powerful technique. When your focus on kata is ‘snap, snap, snap’, your body is constantly tense because ‘snap’ is a tense emotion.
Rather than think of kata as ‘snap’, think of kata as it should be: ‘Art’, ‘beauty’, fluent’, ‘body harmony’ ‘power’, ‘emotion’ and at times ‘snappy’.
Words such as ‘beauty’, ‘body harmony’ etc do not conjure up tense images, instead they conjure up relaxing ones.
When your focus is on more natural, more harmonic images, the body will begin to communicate with more harmonic movements.
You might be thinking, “but that is NOT what kata is”. If this is your thinking, guess what? "It is EXACTLY what kata is”.
Think of it this way. The formula for power is “relax, tense, relax”. This process takes about a half a second. Now if a kata takes about 90 seconds and there are thirty hard, full focus techniques in the kata, then really, the ‘snap’ should only be a feature for a total of 15 seconds. 15 seconds of 90 seconds is a tiny portion.
The rest of the time (the remaining 75 seconds) should be relaxed (even if mid way through a powerful move.
So change your focus and you change your movement.
Any thoughts?
