Life lessons from the dojo
Back to waking up early on Saturday for karate again. I can’t say it’s my favourite part of training, but at least I got to try out a whole bunch of Yoshukan katas.
240: The power of meaningful gifts
I’d mentioned to the sensei earlier this week that my gi didn’t fit, and that I’d had mixed results finding a new one. We’d been brainstorming for a few days, and finally the sensei just decided to bring in some of her old gis and gift me with any one of them that fits. Consequently, I now have a new-to-me gi that would probably retail for about $150 if I bought it in the store. And if you don’t think that a gift like that makes me feel indebted to the sensei, you really haven’t been paying attention to human nature very much. Good job, New Sensei, now I have to come to class! :)
241: It’s good to be exposed to higher-level material
During the class, we did a kata review of everything from white-belt katas up to about brown-belt katas. I managed to follow along with most of it, because they were (mostly) katas I’d practiced in my previous karate dojos, so I had at least some level of familiarity. On the other hand, there was another white belt in class who hadn’t done any other karate beyond this particular dojo, and she was in way over her head. She acquitted herself quite well, given the circumstances, and we were all quite proud of her. The sensei made a point to note that it’s good to sometimes be exposed to material that’s beyond your level, both because it familiarizes you with it and also because it gives you a taste of things to come. Even if you can’t do it now, you’ve got a sense of what you should be preparing yourself for, and that’s super-valuable sometimes.
242: It’s easier to learn things right the first time
Two corrections came up in yesterday’s class, which I think reveal an apt metaphor for so much more in life. On the one hand, the new white belt kept getting corrected in her stances: to keep them low, to ensure the proper foot placement, to bend the correct knee, to place the hips in the correct direction, etc. She’s new enough that none of this is muscle memory for her yet, which is fine. It’ll come with time. I, meanwhile, kept getting corrected in a different stance (ichi hachiji-dachi), one that I had learned differently at previous dojos. It’s not super-different, but it’s different enough that it gave me problems every single time I was focusing on some other element of my technique. The sensei pointed out that it’s easier to learn things correctly the first time than to try to correct bad technique later. So, once the other white belt gets her stances down (pun not intended), she’ll be all set, whereas I’m gonna need to be constantly vigilant for at least the next few months about making sure I don’t fall back into my old patterns.
240: The power of meaningful gifts
I’d mentioned to the sensei earlier this week that my gi didn’t fit, and that I’d had mixed results finding a new one. We’d been brainstorming for a few days, and finally the sensei just decided to bring in some of her old gis and gift me with any one of them that fits. Consequently, I now have a new-to-me gi that would probably retail for about $150 if I bought it in the store. And if you don’t think that a gift like that makes me feel indebted to the sensei, you really haven’t been paying attention to human nature very much. Good job, New Sensei, now I have to come to class! :)
241: It’s good to be exposed to higher-level material
During the class, we did a kata review of everything from white-belt katas up to about brown-belt katas. I managed to follow along with most of it, because they were (mostly) katas I’d practiced in my previous karate dojos, so I had at least some level of familiarity. On the other hand, there was another white belt in class who hadn’t done any other karate beyond this particular dojo, and she was in way over her head. She acquitted herself quite well, given the circumstances, and we were all quite proud of her. The sensei made a point to note that it’s good to sometimes be exposed to material that’s beyond your level, both because it familiarizes you with it and also because it gives you a taste of things to come. Even if you can’t do it now, you’ve got a sense of what you should be preparing yourself for, and that’s super-valuable sometimes.
242: It’s easier to learn things right the first time
Two corrections came up in yesterday’s class, which I think reveal an apt metaphor for so much more in life. On the one hand, the new white belt kept getting corrected in her stances: to keep them low, to ensure the proper foot placement, to bend the correct knee, to place the hips in the correct direction, etc. She’s new enough that none of this is muscle memory for her yet, which is fine. It’ll come with time. I, meanwhile, kept getting corrected in a different stance (ichi hachiji-dachi), one that I had learned differently at previous dojos. It’s not super-different, but it’s different enough that it gave me problems every single time I was focusing on some other element of my technique. The sensei pointed out that it’s easier to learn things correctly the first time than to try to correct bad technique later. So, once the other white belt gets her stances down (pun not intended), she’ll be all set, whereas I’m gonna need to be constantly vigilant for at least the next few months about making sure I don’t fall back into my old patterns.