{"id":320,"date":"2016-01-23T01:44:38","date_gmt":"2016-01-23T01:44:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mainetraditionalkarate.com\/blog\/?p=75"},"modified":"2018-10-01T13:49:16","modified_gmt":"2018-10-01T13:49:16","slug":"heart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mainetraditionalkarate.com\/?p=320","title":{"rendered":"Heart"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"kokoro\"<\/a>Wednesday<\/span> last marked the final regular adult karate class before testing\u00a0for rank promotions\u00a0tomorrow<\/span> afternoon.\u00a0 As I prepared to leave class, I asked one of the students how his preparations were going.\u00a0 He responded in a rather dejected way.\u00a0 “I wonder\u00a0if\u00a0I even deserve to be testing on Saturday<\/span>.”\u00a0 I put my gear bag down.<\/p>\n

Let me tell you about this karateka.\u00a0 He’s got to be at least 6 ‘ 4″ and is quite rugged.\u00a0 Think mountain man.\u00a0 \u00a0I haven’t measured, but when his foot neared my face while we were sparring, I would guess it’s about a size 96.\u00a0 When we work on wrist locks together, I have a hard time because I cannot hold one of his massive hands in both of mine.\u00a0 He works hard.\u00a0 He is skilled.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0You would never hear him admit it.\u00a0 I really enjoy it when we get to work together.<\/p>\n

He is also one of the most gentle human beings I have ever known.\u00a0 He has a great sense of humor.\u00a0 He likes to needle me about my desk job just because his requires regularly lugging 50 pound bundles of construction supplies up and down ladders in near and sub-freezing temperatures.\u00a0 Our stock “you didn’t\u00a0eat too many cheeseburgers before class did you?” line never fails to generate a juvenile smirk.\u00a0 He is a loving grandfather.<\/p>\n

Every class, without fail, this student approaches me, shakes my hand, and asks how I am doing.\u00a0 I doubt he realizes it, but I still have days when I don’t feel as though I fit in at our dojo.\u00a0 His simple greeting helps me refocus\u00a0 and push such insecurity right out of my head.\u00a0 He is a good man.<\/p>\n

“I wonder if I even deserve to be testing on Saturday.” …\u00a0 It just about killed me\u00a0inside to hear him say this. \u00a0I poked him right in the chest and told him he deserves it because of this – heart.\u00a0 “It’s all about heart,” I said, “and you have it.\u00a0 Don’t let a missed block or a forgotten step shake your confidence”<\/p>\n

He didn’t say it, but he must have been thinking I’d seen one too many Lifetime Movies or\u00a0 “underdog overcomes all” specials.\u00a0 Probably the few others who had gathered by the door were thinking the same thing.\u00a0 I simply said, “I know you probably think I’m being corny, but I’m completely serious, you have a good heart, you’ll be fine.”<\/p>\n

I meant it.<\/p>\n

You see, if you read our Grandmaster’s book, The Spirit of Okinawan Karate, turn to page 157 to read the words spoken by Mr. Baker and his experiences with Master Kise:<\/p>\n

From the beginning, I did not think I could do karate.\u00a0 Still now, I cannot do it well, but I try my best.\u00a0 There are too many things to memorize.\u00a0 For instance, I may learn a new kata today, but by tomorrow<\/span> I may have forgotten it.\u00a0 Every one single kata is very hard for me. \u2026\u00a0 This is embarrassing.\u00a0 I have asked Master Kise to downgrade me to a white belt, but he refused.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Master Kise later speaks to the meaning of his karate in describing another student:<\/p>\n

I once had a student with a very short temper who was probably the worst student I\u2019ve ever taught.\u00a0 As years passed, his character generally changed.\u00a0 By the time he became a black belt, he was much more calm and acted more patiently.\u00a0 I often say that training the mind is more important than kata or technique.\u00a0 This is how I have been teaching, and this will never change.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So, to all my fellow students on this eve of testing, I share this thought.\u00a0 When you make an error during the test, as everyone inevitably will at some point, embrace the resulting moment of self-doubt.\u00a0 Own it.\u00a0 Control it.\u00a0 Beat it.\u00a0 Move on.\u00a0 Our Sensei believes in all of us.\u00a0 He expects no less from you of yourself.<\/p>\n

I can tell you with no uncertainty that\u00a0“success” in the Maine Traditional Karate Dojo is, above all else, about character development, heart, and attitude.\u00a0 I do not pretend to possess the wisdom or skill of a Sensei, but, in moments of self-doubt when I’ve completely blown a technique, I remember the words of our Grandmaster – “training the mind is more important than kata or technique.”<\/p>\n

Who better than Master Kise to dictate the true goals of our system?\u00a0 After all, it’s his.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wednesday last marked the final regular adult karate class before testing\u00a0for rank promotions\u00a0tomorrow afternoon.\u00a0 As I prepared to leave class, I asked one of the students how his preparations were going.\u00a0 He responded in a rather dejected way.\u00a0 “I wonder\u00a0if\u00a0I even deserve to be testing on Saturday.”\u00a0 I put my gear bag down. Let me … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Heart”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-320","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-shawn-roberts"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mainetraditionalkarate.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/320","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mainetraditionalkarate.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mainetraditionalkarate.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mainetraditionalkarate.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mainetraditionalkarate.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=320"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mainetraditionalkarate.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/320\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":331,"href":"https:\/\/mainetraditionalkarate.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/320\/revisions\/331"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mainetraditionalkarate.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mainetraditionalkarate.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mainetraditionalkarate.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}