Slow and Steady, Wins the Race

There’s an old story that a lot of you have probably heard about the Tortoise and the Hare. Typically, the Hare was known to be fast, energetic, very confident and a beautiful creature. Whereas the Tortoise was known to be a little more down to earth, slow moving yet a very humble specimen.

One day the Hare decided that it would be a good idea to race the Tortoise to show off his amazing speed. The Tortoise humbly agreed to the race, and they set out to the finish line.

Without question, the Hare raced to the finish line as fast as he could with a beautiful stride and reached it in no time. Furthermore, along the way the Hare decided to stop and check out the beautiful scenery and just before the finish line he laid down and had a nap to prove how fast he really was.

The Tortoise on the other hand moved at a very slow pace. However, he kept up, followed the race line, and never quit along the way. Although he was a slower creature, he was determined to finish the race and didn’t let anything distract him from his goal.

As the Tortoise crossed the finish line the Hare began to wake from his nap. Humbly as the tortoise won the race, he never made mention of the win and showed the upmost respect to his competitor.

Training in karate is very similar to the story of the Tortoise and the Hare. In the past 20 years we have witnessed so many students at First Choice Martial Arts start out a little slower, a little weaker only to become inspired through training and reach each milestone along the way.

With belt testing coming up this month it is important to remain humble, keep up and never let anything stop you from achieving your goal much like the Tortoise. There is no room for ego in the dojo and respect is at the forefront of our karate training.

We are excited as instructors to see our students push through this next milestone in their phase of their training. As you target the finish line try to be like the Tortoise by being determined and having a never quit attitude. This is going to make for a proud accomplishment in the next couple of weeks as you target your next belt test and build upon the confidence you already have.

Stay humble, keep up and cross the finish line!

Sensei Chris