As I mentioned on the About Me page of this site, I study Karate – Goju Ryu, for the practitioners out there. I’ve been training for over three years now, and what I’ve noticed over time is that the reasons I continue to study karate have changed since I first took up the art.
Why am I bothering to tell you this?
Because life is short. There are only so many hours in a day. And if you’ve read Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers
When I first began my training, I was in it for two reasons: to learn self-defense, and to get in shape. I had an end state in mind, a finish line I could see in the distance that I was working towards. The funny thing is, that finish line came up way faster than I expected it would.
I’m not saying that I know all there is to know about self-defense, or that I’m in top shape. Far from it on both counts. But I hit a level of proficiency in both far sooner than I expected, and yet I wanted to continue my training. So why was that?
Insider Tip: Karate is about more than just punching and kicking stuff.
Shhh don’t tell anyone. If you’re training in a classical dojo however, this is no secret. A big piece of your training is focused on constant self-improvement, and it’s a goal with no finish line. Today, this is the big reason I continue to study Karate; I have plenty of flaws, and my training keeps me focused on improving them. Knowing that I’m making progress in this area gives me a feeling of calm and relaxation. It’s something I work on both inside and outside the dojo – in fact, there are a bunch of ways that lessons from karate can translate into work and life. You can read about the first one here.
So how does self-improvement play a role in karate training?
Good question. It’s different for everyone, but I’ll share my perspective on it. If you want to make self-improvement a goal of your training, I think it starts with some reflection. You need to know your faults – that’s a given – but you also need to reflect on the lessons your sensei has taught you in class… and I don’t just mean the techniques you’re learning. A good sensei will sometimes share anecdotes and stories throughout your training, most of which usually have lessons in them that translate to both your karate and to life in general.
The first lesson I learned was to pay attention and actually spend some time thinking about what I learned that day, and up to that point in my training. Let me give you a small example:
Any good dojo will constantly reinforce the importance of basics in training. Over and over again, you’ll work the same basic blocks, kicks and strikes. Sometimes it seems repetitive, until you remember the reason why:
Without the fundamentals, nothing else matters.
It’d be like trying to build a house by starting with the roof instead of the foundation. Crazy! So can you think of a few other areas of your life outside of karate where this principle applies? How about work? Relationships? Literally any other art form? The number of places you can apply this principle to is practically unlimited, and this is just one example of something I practice in karate that applies to other areas of my life as well.
Wrapping it Up
No matter what hobby or sport you want to practice in your spare time, it’s important to ask yourself why you’re pursuing it. Depending on the answer, you may realize that it’s time to drop or add a hobby, or that what you’re already doing is giving you exactly what you need.
Anyone else have an experience similar to mine? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!
