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Life lessons from the dojo
If it seems like I haven't posted my dojo life lessons for a while, you're right. That's mostly because I haven't been to the dojo in two weeks, and I forgot to post them after the last time I went. But I was back at it today, and I figure I owe you all.
Life lesson #14: A beginner's class doesn't necessarily mean beginner-level corrections
One of the nice things about my sensei is that she has a very good grasp of skill levels. She knows who in the white-belt class are true beginners and who have more experience (like me). The "real" beginners will get corrections like, "Bend your front leg," or "Jodan means punch to the face, not the stomach." But I've been getting all sorts of detailed, minute corrections that you wouldn't normally give a white belt, like hip rotation or the angle of my foot when it's kicking. It just goes to show that even when you're in a beginner's class, it doesn't mean you'll necessarily be corrected as a beginner if you don't want to be.
Life lesson #15: Punch where the target is
Part of karate is a process called "kumite," which means fighting or sparring. In Shotokan karate, the process is very formalized. At least at the white-belt level, it consists of five attacks of the same type (say, a face punch) blocked five times by the same block. One of the things that's extremely common among white belts is that they punch where they know the arm is going to wind up after it's been blocked. So if my block is going to throw your face punch too high, many beginners will just punch too high to begin with (especially if they're tall). Sometimes, I just won't block at all, and they'll realize they're punching a good five or six inches above my head, where it's not going to do any damage. The life lesson: if you want to hit your target, hit where the target is. Yes, it's going to get diverted off-course if your opponent is even halfway competent, but that doesn't mean you need set yourself up for failure.
Life lesson #16: Doing things slowly is harder than doing them quickly
When you get good at anything -- karate, writing, playing piano, whatever -- you tend to fall into a natural rhythm. You get to the point where you're not thinking about the individual steps involved, but rather looking at the action as a whole. I've heard that if you ask trained pianists to pay attention to how they're hitting the keys, they won't play nearly as well. Similarly, going back to deconstructed, down-to-basics moves in karate is a lot harder than I'd expected it would be. When you're used to punching in one count, deconstructing it in four is tricky! It's a good review, though, and it makes me realize where all the little flaws are in my technique. But it's definitely humbling.
Life lesson #17: The mind learns faster than the body
If I had a quarter for every time the sensei reminded me to turn my hips when I'm blocking, I could buy lunch after class. It's not that I don't want to. Intellectually, I understand that the hips turn when you block. My body, on the other hand, is a slow learner. When my focus is somewhere else (say, on giving a really good block), my hips don't turn! It'll come in time, but it's very frustrating for now, seeing my body lag behind where my mind wants it to be.
Life lesson #18: The best exams are surprises
After class today, the sensei called up three relatively advanced white belts, myself among them. We were taken through an entire exam, from basic maneuvers to sparring to kata. Though the exams at this dojo are usually announced beforehand, this one was completely unexpected. Even now, I have no idea whether it was a real exam or just a practice. Whatever it was, I was absolutely certain that I didn't want to mess up in front of the entire class. It was a good thing that I knew everything we were asked, because I hadn't had a moment to prepare. It's these sort of "pop quiz" exams that really test your internalized knowledge and let you know exactly what you need to work on. In a way, I find them much more useful than pre-announced exams where you have a chance to prepare and cram.
And that's it for now. The question of the hour is, "After going to the class this morning, do I go back this afternoon for another?" Only time will tell.
Life lesson #14: A beginner's class doesn't necessarily mean beginner-level corrections
One of the nice things about my sensei is that she has a very good grasp of skill levels. She knows who in the white-belt class are true beginners and who have more experience (like me). The "real" beginners will get corrections like, "Bend your front leg," or "Jodan means punch to the face, not the stomach." But I've been getting all sorts of detailed, minute corrections that you wouldn't normally give a white belt, like hip rotation or the angle of my foot when it's kicking. It just goes to show that even when you're in a beginner's class, it doesn't mean you'll necessarily be corrected as a beginner if you don't want to be.
Life lesson #15: Punch where the target is
Part of karate is a process called "kumite," which means fighting or sparring. In Shotokan karate, the process is very formalized. At least at the white-belt level, it consists of five attacks of the same type (say, a face punch) blocked five times by the same block. One of the things that's extremely common among white belts is that they punch where they know the arm is going to wind up after it's been blocked. So if my block is going to throw your face punch too high, many beginners will just punch too high to begin with (especially if they're tall). Sometimes, I just won't block at all, and they'll realize they're punching a good five or six inches above my head, where it's not going to do any damage. The life lesson: if you want to hit your target, hit where the target is. Yes, it's going to get diverted off-course if your opponent is even halfway competent, but that doesn't mean you need set yourself up for failure.
Life lesson #16: Doing things slowly is harder than doing them quickly
When you get good at anything -- karate, writing, playing piano, whatever -- you tend to fall into a natural rhythm. You get to the point where you're not thinking about the individual steps involved, but rather looking at the action as a whole. I've heard that if you ask trained pianists to pay attention to how they're hitting the keys, they won't play nearly as well. Similarly, going back to deconstructed, down-to-basics moves in karate is a lot harder than I'd expected it would be. When you're used to punching in one count, deconstructing it in four is tricky! It's a good review, though, and it makes me realize where all the little flaws are in my technique. But it's definitely humbling.
Life lesson #17: The mind learns faster than the body
If I had a quarter for every time the sensei reminded me to turn my hips when I'm blocking, I could buy lunch after class. It's not that I don't want to. Intellectually, I understand that the hips turn when you block. My body, on the other hand, is a slow learner. When my focus is somewhere else (say, on giving a really good block), my hips don't turn! It'll come in time, but it's very frustrating for now, seeing my body lag behind where my mind wants it to be.
Life lesson #18: The best exams are surprises
After class today, the sensei called up three relatively advanced white belts, myself among them. We were taken through an entire exam, from basic maneuvers to sparring to kata. Though the exams at this dojo are usually announced beforehand, this one was completely unexpected. Even now, I have no idea whether it was a real exam or just a practice. Whatever it was, I was absolutely certain that I didn't want to mess up in front of the entire class. It was a good thing that I knew everything we were asked, because I hadn't had a moment to prepare. It's these sort of "pop quiz" exams that really test your internalized knowledge and let you know exactly what you need to work on. In a way, I find them much more useful than pre-announced exams where you have a chance to prepare and cram.
And that's it for now. The question of the hour is, "After going to the class this morning, do I go back this afternoon for another?" Only time will tell.
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