Finding Something New in Something Old

This past week during karate class I asked the kids during their training, try to find something new in something old. Some kids looked a little perplexed, so I followed up what with what does that mean?

One of our junior black belts John, said it means even though you’ve done something before try to find something new in it. I replied to John exactly!

We then spoke about how there are forms that we will test for at black belt testing and we often do these forms in a repetitive nature. We then discussed that we did not repeat our techniques because we needed to memorize them but because we wanted to be able to perform them better. Class after class, month after month, year after year sometimes students will still do some of the same techniques because they need to learn them better; because they need to be able to perform them with better execution.

You may have heard the old saying that it takes 10,000 reps to master a skill, and that is exactly true with martial arts. John certainly knew what we were talking about at the time and he is one of the students that applies this kind of discipline into his training. Having the discipline for repetition is something a lot of kids these days do not have, but at First Choice Martial Arts our students  tend to take it to the next level. We continually see progress and achievement in our students, but more importantly we see a shift in mindset. This shift has led students at FCMA, to bigger and better things in their training and in their lives.

When I look back to when I was a white belt, it was so easy to make progress if you put in a couple of classes. Do a little extra stretching on the side and before you know it, you are kicking like a master in comparison to where you start. Now many years later with a little skill and experience on our sides it takes a tremendous amount of time energy and effort to make just the slightest progress? Why put it in all the time when it is so much harder to achieve a higher level? I guess the answer is that as much a lot of us are looking for perfection in not only in our technique we seek to better ourselves.

Now going back to what we stated earlier it appears that finding something new  in something old, our FCMA students have understood this firsthand. Students have put aside the nonsense and are looking to better themselves not only in the martial arts but in life.

To me, this is a real sign of self-discipline and that to me is a step in the right direction.

Keep up the tremendous effort!

Sensei Chris