Karate Talk

Learning Karate Online

I have been getting emails from some readers that I I'd like to respond to in an open blog post. First of all, thanks for all the kind comments about the blog; I'm really glad if anyone feels they've gotten something from it. It's great fun for me to write, and great fun to read the comments and chat with other karate-ka around the world.

However, many people have asked why I don't do more "teaching" in this blog, because they'd like to learn more "real karate" (and less philosophy) online before they commit to a dojo. One main reason is that this blog was never meant to be a teaching device; it really is just a discussion forum, and more particularly a place where I can sort of "think out loud" about karate and discuss what is going on in my karate life at the moment. Sometimes thinking out loud helps me to clarify just what I really am thinking!

Another reason is that, quite simply, I don't think it's possible to learn karate online. I could post up a bunch of pictures, sure. I could give step-by-step movements for katas, step-by-step tutorials in how to make technique the Shotokan way, for kicking, punching, blocking, sweeping. However, that really doesn't teach you karate. There are 101 (1001? 1,000,001?) things that come into play, many of them so subtle, many of them simple questions of body position, foot position, transitions between movements. If you're doing those wrong, you're doing the technique wrong, but a beginner will not even be able to see the subtle differences, let alone know how to correct problems. I can write about outside knee pressure and keeping your heels out in kiba-dachi stance, but let's face it, without someone showing you what that means, you probably aren't going to get it right. Even with someone demonstrating in person, it takes weeks, months, years to do techniques properly. Even posting little movies of combinations or katas would not really serve; those are accessible in a number of places already, but Shotokan is an ever-evolving art, and many of those kata films are out of date. Movements change, transitions change. I wouldn't want to teach people something that they'll have to un-learn later on.

Many of the people who want to "learn karate online", also want to learn a few tricky, flashy moves that they can use to impress people. With all due respect to your innate athletic abilities (whatever they may be), it's a lot harder than you might think to do even those few moves properly.

Another issue is motivation and drive. We all get lazy. The dojo experience offers not just instruction but also the motivation of your fellow students -- if there is high spirit in the dojo that night, you will feed off it, and train harder and stronger. Besides, there's just no substitute for a Sensei in your face!

Finally, I'm really not qualified to teach karate, especially not in that sense. Yes, I'm in the Instructor Training program, and I've learned so much. I also help instruct, and can fill in for Sensei when he's out of town. I've been doing karate for 8 years. This does not compare to, say, Master Yaguchi, with over 50 years of experience. Or my Sensei, who's got at least 30 years behind him. Or my boyfriend, in his 18th year. I'm still a newbie. I have learned much, but I have much yet to learn.

To all those who are looking for solid karate instruction outside of the dojo, I recommend without reservation the books by Master Nakayama -- but be aware that some of the katas in those books have been modified to some degree. Get the idea but be open to changing a few moves once you're doing it in the dojo. There are also any number of martial arts websites in existence, many of which also have detailed explanations and movies (just apply the same caution).

But seriously, I strongly recommend putting in some dojo time if you really want to not just learn karate, but learn what it's all about. If you don't like your first lesson, don't give up -- learning new and difficult things can be very frustrating, but give it at least a month before you throw in the towel. If you don't like your first dojo, don't give up -- try another style, or another school.

I suppose karate is not for everyone... but, personally, I think it should be! LOL :-) But, you can't learn it online. Or if you can, you can't do it here...

Karate, Blogs, and Life

I did it! Muahahahaha! I have corrupted my friend and co-worker Nick into creating his own karate blog (ColoWado Blog -- Kyu Spew), where he can post his own musings on martial arts. Several months of reading mine finally cracked him, he just couldn't stand it anymore! LOL okay, to be serious for a moment, this should be a fun blog to check out. Nick's an intelligent guy and I've had lots of fun conversations with him about martial arts, and some very informative "compare/contrast" times where we discussed our relative branches of karate (Wado-Ryu vs. Shotokan) with interest, humor, and respect. He's also a smart-ass so it'll probably be a fun read! Those of us who have made martial arts truly a part of our lives, in whatever way, just can't resist talking about it and thinking about it a lot I guess.

Karate in my life this year has been multi-dimensional and multi-purpose. First of all, I wanted to get back into shape, and one of the first things I did was to train harder. So, it has served a purely physical purpose. Second, I enjoy the dojo, the people, Sensei and the students, so it is also social. Third, I badly needed some distractions this spring from a reality which was at times a bit much to take (my dad's cancer diagnosis, the legal battles with the VP of our company), and doing karate gave me something healthy to focus on, for an hour or so at least. It also gave me a healthy outlet for my nervous energy, allowing me to harmlessly dissipate the anger and fear that I was feeling at times. Finally, karate has assumed a higher importance in my schedule, something I did consciously with Instructor Training and with making my commitment to attend as many tournaments as possible, along with every dojo training unless I had a darn good reason for missing. This year I set out to make karate a high priority. It was a good time for that.

Monday, my father completed his last radiation treatment for prostate cancer. **knock wood** everything is looking good at this point. They took pictures once a week and showed the tumor steadily shrinking, Dad tolerated the treatment really well overall (except for being very fatigued most afternoons, he had few effects) and should rebound quickly. His emails, which had been sounding increasingly tired and at times even discouraged, and grew shorter and shorter, are suddenly full of life again.

After 3 months of squeezing things inside of me so tightly that my spiritual knuckles were white with the effort, I can let go -- and I did. I let go of it all. I don't have to hold myself back from showing fear or anger or sorrow, I don't have to hide from other people to avoid their well-meaning sympathy (or worse, pity), I don't have to be strong no matter what and I don't have to try to suppress all those emotions which would make me weak.

Monday I stayed home from work, running a fever and with muscles too weak to even support my weight. Monday night, knowing Dad's treatment was complete, I cried for about 3 hours straight. Happy tears, cleansing tears, tears of sheer relief. I did not make it to karate that night, that night was about being at home and being weak and small and exhausted. Karate is a priority in my life this year; my father is more important.

Last night, still feeling a bit weak, I did go to training. Sensei is working on our foundation right now: Deep stances, hips tucked in, concentrating on proper hip motion and proper focus. We did the 15 main kata that way, then our test kata, then Heian Shodan again. Done properly, this is no small feat, and I was physically exhausted by the end of class. Some people were not, but then, they weren't working as hard either. Of course, I had also come early and gone through the Heian katas and then the Tekki katas before class, so it could be argued I was a bit tired before we started (although I prefer "warmed up"!). Either way, I did 25 katas at full focus and power, in deep stance, in just about an hour and a half.

Today I hit snooze on my alarm and woke up 1-1/2 hours later, so I was late to work. My muscles are exhausted -- they're not even sore yet, they're still tired! I'm still several days behind in my workload. One of our clients is being a real jerk, and has half the office really upset over his behavior. Tomorrow, I have heating and air guys coming to my house to tear out the old furnace and swamp cooler and put in a new furnace, new air conditioner, and a filter system -- my house is NOT clean, I've got some work to do on it. I will also have to work from home at least part of the day tomorrow because of the workmen. I'm tired. My boyfriend has finals this week and is busy and stressed.

Am I stressed? No, I am not.

My dad completed his last cancer treatment, and things look good. My house could burn down around my ears, and right now, I wouldn't care. My life is in perspective, and I know what counts the most.

Karate, Culture, and Tradition

With the death of 24 Fighting Chickens, I have the opportunity to review the various impressions that site made on me over the years. They've ranged from the purely positive to the purely negative to places in between, depending on what I was reading, how much "tone" I found in it, and, yes, how closely it agreed with my approach to karate. After all, I have found beauty and joy in the Japanese culture and traditions, and prefer to celebrate rather than bury them, so I wasn't going to agree with all the people who said they were irrelevant, meaningless, or just plain stupid, and should be thrown out.

But that also gets me to thinking: Why do karate discussions end up embroiled in all these questions about tradition and philosophy? Other sports do not suffer from this hobble, other sports don't seem to have nearly as much history of schisms and politics. Perhaps that's because, strictly speaking, karate is not a "sport"? Oh but wait, the arguments that rage, frequently do so over just that issue. Is karate a sport, or a martial art? Or both? Can it be both? Are there truly the in-between shades? Or are all of us just fooling ourselves, and karate is something totally else?

I do think that to some degree, karate is both all things to all people, and then again purely what you make it. Karate has such a long history, and yes, that history is steeped in many traditions, rituals, and cultural influences. Do you need to understand and appreciate them all in order to learn the physical movements? No, of course not. Someone can teach you the mechanics of a proper punch or kick whether you have any interest in Japanese or Okinawan history, or not.

The question of whether or not they are relevant is much harder to answer, and in my opinion, it's highly personal. For me, the Eastern philosophy has been an adventure, one that I feel has greatly enriched me. I know people who have done karate purely as a physical workout, neither asking nor gaining anything more, and I could not say that they enjoy it less than me. They just enjoy it differently. They won't get out of it what I do, but then, they aren't looking for that either. The same can be said for the influence of Japanese culture. Once I gained more understanding of the cultural background where many of the dojo traditions were born, they seemed perfectly appropriate for the setting, although I have no intention of bowing to someone on the street, just because many Japanese do. I'll settle for handshakes or a simple nod of the head. You can appreciate something without trying to mimic it, and without getting carried away.

I do karate as an American who has lived and traveled extensively overseas, and tends to find other cultures both intriguing and beautiful. Chadie, in Sweden, does karate as a Swedish woman with 2 sons, whose entire family is involved in Asian martial arts. My boyfriend does karate as someone who started when he was just 7 years old, and calls the dojo a second home. Other friends do karate as a workout, others do it socially, others do it in an aggressively "Western" way, rejecting everything Eastern about their art of choice.

The truth is, you're fooling yourself if you think you can remove the cultural influences, either from yourself, or from karate. I look at the world as an American woman -- I have no choice about that. My background is what it is. My Japanese friends who live here live in an American setting and do many "American" things, but they live still as Japanese, in many ways; not in pagodas or practicing tea ceremonies, but as products of the culture they were raised in. Traditional karate comes burdened with a long history of influences, as impossible to eradicate as my being an American and a Caucasian and a woman. To remove any of these things makes me something other than what I am.

Not only do I get tired of the infighting that sometimes seems to plague my martial art, but honestly, it seems so pointless. What are we fighting over? Are we fighting over where karate came from? Are we fighting over who we are, and how we approach our karate? You can't change things that are. You can have an opinion on them, but no matter how hard you try, you can't change karate from an Asian martial art into a Western martial art. You can't change yourself from being who you are, and appreciating (or not appreciating) the things you do. All you can do is try to merge and adapt as needed to find a happy harmony of form and function, where worlds do not so much collide as meet and intersect. And you need to understand that your intersection will not be like anyone else's. My intersection found me sitting over near the Eastern edge of philosophy, someone else's will be on the extreme Western side (which is to say, they will probably disclaim any philosophy whatsoever).

My vision for the future of karate would be one that had room for ALL viewpoints and ALL backgrounds, with no more finger pointing, no more attitudes of superiority. I would envision a karate community where people could respect those with different approaches, backgrounds and philosophies, from the purely physical to the nearly spiritual, whether you agree or not. A community that supported itself instead of attacking from within.

After all, lest we forget: We're all doing karate!

The 24 Chickens Are Gone for Good

There is a new note on 24 Fighting Chickens today, and it seems it truly is gone for good:

As of April 19, 2004, I have shut down 24fightingchickens.com permanently. I am retiring from online karate discussion, and will not be participating in any future efforts regarding this topic. I've done my part. I'm done.

Some of the fans of this web site have regrouped at a different location:

http://www.oberonstudios.com/karateunderground/index.php

I will have no involvement there. I wish them well.

-Rob

This seems to me a bit abrupt, but I wish Rob well. I haven't checked out the new site yet, but I'm told it's a bit vague but still fun. I'm sure that many of the old 24FC regulars will be found there.

Elite Competition and What It Costs

As I have stated before, karate is many things to many people, and seems to adapt itself remarkably well to differences in physical ability, age, gender, and approach (provided you are training in a good dojo). For old and young, from recreation to fitness to competition, karate spans a wide array of physical realms.

One which I have talked about on a philosophical level is tournament, but I haven't really dealt with some of the practical aspects. I think no one would question that an expert martial artist, of the sort who could win a national title, would be an amazing physical performer, just as any other elite athlete, from any sport, would be. We expect all of these people to be extremely physically fit, healthy, and determined mentally and physically. They are tenacious in the face of adversity, and thrive on challenges.

Ideally.

But is it that way in practice? And at what cost? What price is paid to perform on the elite stage, and what does it entail? Are they really those idealized athletic performers, the healthiest and strongest of us all? Or are those rumors true, do football players use steroids, do gymnasts have eating disorders?

What is the reality of the competition athlete?

First, there are injuries. Injuries from accidents, injuries from misuse, injuries from overuse. Some injuries are common across many sports, some plague a few sports in particular. For example, football players and ski racers both suffer a high rate of knee injuries, especially torn ACL's. Gymnasts and distance runners both seem to end up with a lot of stress fractures. Hockey players, of course, seem to lose teeth! The common denominator is, most elite athletes live with some degree of pain, part or all of the time. And not resting those injuries and letting them heal can lead to life-long trouble. One Super Bowl champion quarterback blew out both knees during his career. Now, in his retirement, he awakens so stiff he hobbles like an old man, and practically lives on ibuprofen. He's in his early 40's and walks like he's 80.

Second, there is the issue of diet. Many elite athletes watch their diet more closely than a teenage girl before prom. They count every calorie and weigh every portion to make sure that they are getting very precise amounts of the right nutrients required to keep their bodies working under such a heavy demand. They take vitamin supplements, drink suspicious-looking green pulpy drinks, and make sure they get enough protein, carbohydrates, and, yes, fat in their diet. These build and maintain muscles, and keep them moving under stress. Unfortunately, many athletes do NOT take this kind of care, instead going on fad diets to gain or lose weight, depriving themselves of crucial nutrients in an effort to make weight. Permanent damage is often done to the bones, joints, and organs in the process, not to mention the distinct possibility of developing an eating disorder.

Third, there is the problem of time. You don't get or stay in elite shape by training a couple of days a week and breaking a light sweat. You do it by training 5 or 6 days a week, several hours at a time, pushing yourself to the brink of exhaustion in many cases. When you're pushing yourself that hard, you also need to make darn sure you are getting enough sleep. If you have a job and a family, you can bet that one of those areas of your life is going to get short shrift. There just aren't enough hours in the day.

Our regional women's team is going to compete at Shoto Cup this fall, and we are all so proud of them. In a way, though, they've sold their souls to karate for the next few months. These women are currently training 7 days a week, and all of them have full-time jobs and families. Fortunately, all of the men involved are extremely supportive and proud, but it's not always easy. Their other commitments make it harder for them to monitor their diet and to get enough rest. One of them is planning her wedding, just over a month away now. Another one bought a new home and had to move during the past month. All three of them are looking tired to me right now. Very, very tired. I know that these are all intelligent women, driven but possessing a great deal of common sense. I'm sure they're doing their very best to keep themselves as healthy as possible. I know that they are cross-training, doing karate one day, running the next, etc., to minimize stress and burnout. But still, they look awfully tired to me. I'm worried that they will return from Shoto Cup and then disappear for awhile, needing that time to recover.

I will not be the one to question their regimen -- after all, it has brought them to this point. However, I remember something that Sensei Yaguchi told me several months ago, when I had to pull out of tournament with a sore foot: "There are many ways of training. You train by doing, but you also learn by watching, and by listening. If you can't compete, then watch what the others do, and pay attention."

For those who are considering engaging in competition-level martial arts, proper physical conditioning is essential. But don't try to attain that overnight and end up with an injury that could sideline you for weeks or months. Build up to it, and when you have, be smart about maintaining your fitness. Don't end up overtired, injured, or burned out. Maybe spend one less day in the dojo, and use it instead to watch karate videos or read a martial arts text of some kind while you do long, slow stretches on your tired muscles. Don't deprive yourself of the food and drink that you need to keep your body performing, and stop worrying about calories unless you're concerned that you aren't eating enough! Eat good food instead of junk, drink water instead of soda, and you'll feel better, train better, and sleep better. Speaking of sleep, make sure you get to bed at a reasonable time. Also realize that you will reach peaks and then fall from them. Try to time it so that you will peak, physically and mentally, for the biggest competition of the year, but don't demand the same degree of perfection from yourself all year long. If you do, you'll burn yourself out, just about the same time that you drive yourself crazy.

There is no magic trick to being an elite athlete, it's mostly pure hard work and dedication, in karate or any other physical endeavor. But if you don't approach it with common sense, you could find yourself in a lot of trouble.

24 Fighting Chickens: A Permanent Death?

If you've tried to visit 24 Fighting Chickens today, then you have seen the following:

http://www.24fightingchickens.com

1995-2004

I watch a bird fly toward heaven
I marvel at its beauty
I mourn my loss

-Rob Redmond

This was one of the most popular martial arts websites I've ever known, and while I won't pretend that I always agreed with the author (I'm sort of a karate traditionalist, while he is emphatically opposed to many of those same traditions), it was usually entertaining, frequently thought-provoking, and a worthy place to re-examine your own thoughts and get a perspective check. After all, there is no harm in disagreeing with someone, as long as you understand why you disagree, and it is your own voice speaking from the heart.

In recent months, I did feel the tone of some of his articles had changed. Although still definitely not supporting the traditionalists or the fuzzy-minded karate idealists, he seemed softer in approach, more philosophical. In times past I have sometimes felt that some things I held dear were under attack, almost to the point of wondering if he was deliberately provoking a fight; lately I felt that although he did not have the same perspective I did about Shotokan or our organizations, he was more interested in discussion and less in fighting.

Therefore I'm shocked to see this message, and it's not just one page down; every link I checked redirected to this page. I'm also disappointed because the articles and forums did offer a great chance to interact, read, learn, debate, and occasionally get all riled up about karate.

If anyone is reading this, do you know the fate of the 24 Fighting Chickens?

A Hiccup on the Path

It's been over a week since I made a post, which may be a new record for me on this blog. Normally I have so much karate to talk about! However, this week, karate has been just a minor background noise, as other areas of my life took center stage, and all of my time and attention.

One week ago, I learned that I would have to go testify against the former VP of our company. Two days ago, I did so. This was phenomenally stressful for me; much as I disapprove of the actions which led to a hearing, much as I feel he was fired with cause, much as I know that I told the simple truth, the fact remains that I liked the man. I really did. He's not a bad guy, usually. Unfortunately, he hated his job and didn't do it well, and thus was fired. After being fired, he told lie after lie, one dishonest and harassing act piling on top of another. They infuriated me, they caused damage to my company, my boss, and everyone in here. Still, odd though it might seem, at the bottom I still liked him, and somehow hoped desperately that it wouldn't come down to this.

It did though. Two days ago, I sat in a hearing room with my boss, an attorney, our former VP, and a magistrate who was acting as mediator, and gave specific examples of him being a poor employee and a poor supervisor. When I was done, he was given the opportunity to directly cross-examine me, so I got to reiterate this to his face. And now, he will hate me forever, for what I said against him. He will hate me more because somewhere deep inside, he knows that it was true.

From the time I was asked to appear at the hearing until after it was over, I think I slept a collective total of about 10 hours, and what sleep I had was plagued by nightmares. Saturday morning I went to training and pushed myself as hard as I could, an attempt to physically eradicate my mental demons. I was dangerously overtired, and at the end of class, I almost blacked out doing my last kata and had to be excused. Monday night, strung tightly, I went to training and discovered that I had no energy to offer the dojo, since I was even more tired than I had been on Saturday. I got through it somehow but my legs were weak and wobbly, and my heart wasn't in it.

Tuesday night I actually did sleep for almost 7 hours, and no nightmares this time, but woke yesterday saddened and weighed down by the events of the day before. As the day went on, my mood slowly lightened, as I came to terms with things on some deeper level. However, as my mind cleared, I realized I was practically vibrating with exhaustion. The end result was that I did not train last night. After two weak trainings, I owed it to myself and sensei to be realistic about what I could accomplish, and the flat truth is, I might not have even made it through class. A few more days of rest lie between me and Saturday's training, and Sunday's tournament; I hope that by then my life will have balance again.

Although these experiences hurt my karate training, there is no question that karate-do helped me through them. The control and strength I have learned got me through the terrible waiting period ahead of time, and enabled me to be calm and focused when I had to testify. We had to wait for an hour and a half before we were called in, and I was the last witness called so I had another half hour. I practiced all the control techniques I have learned at tournaments, to calm myself and not use up all my energy in fretting. When my name was called, I didn't walk into a hearing chamber -- I walked into a tournament ring. I stood straight and tall, I walked strongly and confidently into the room. I met the eyes of the attorney and the magistrate calmly, and when it came time for my former supervisor to cross-examine me, I met his eyes squarely also. My voice did not shake. I am very, very proud of these things, and I am told that I was a strong witness. I did not like what I had to do, but I had to do it, so I did the best I could.

For karate, not a strong week. I have not made any posts because I had nothing to discuss from karate that I could be proud of, or that could interest me enough to remove me from the hearing.

For karate-do, a triumphant week. After all, karate-do is not just about karate.

Karate Growth

One of the problems we've had over the past year or two in our dojo has been a reluctance on the part of students to move up from the beginner/intermediate class to the advanced class. This has led to a slowing of growth once they hit brown belt, because they've hit a comfort zone, and aren't being "pushed" any longer.

When I was moving up through the ranks, it didn't work that way. The advanced class actually started at green belt, and I well remember the shock of getting my green belt and suddenly being flung into training with brown and black belts, who moved so much faster then me and were so much stronger and had so much more energy. I also know that in my first month or two in that class, I experienced a phenomenal jump in my karate, simply because of having to keep up.

Now, the advanced class is for brown and black belts. We had to adjust the balance so that the higher belts were able to do the sorts of advanced combinations and drills necessary for their growth, to keep up with the fact that suddenly, we had second and third degree black belts for the first time. They needed to be pushed harder. Brown belts who advance from the other class are initially as overwhelmed as I was at green belt, but experience a similar jump in their technique as they are pushed to perform to the full level of their ability. Therefore, it has disturbed me to see so many brown belts staying with the first class, going through the routine basics and quite secure at the head of the class. Reviewing basics is essential, but so is pushing yourself to get better.

Last night, we had 2 new brown belts in our class, people who have finally moved up from the first class. A couple of months ago we had a mass exodus from the first class to the advanced class, when Sensei told the 1st kyus that they couldn't test for Shodan unless they started training at an advanced level. One of the people who has moved up is an older woman, stiff and self-conscious, who has struggled a lot with her karate. For a long time, I felt that she would be one who was just going to have limitations, but in recent months as I've worked with her, I've been able to see the potential for much more. She has many bad habits to break, not the least among them the simple fact that she has been regarded as older and perhaps less capable, and therefore allowed to perform at a lower level. Her presence in the 2nd class is a great sign of her personal growth, to not be intimidated by training with the other brown and black belts. I am hopeful that it will lead to a corresponding growth in her karate, so that I will see her consistently doing things I've been able to coax out of her at isolated times.

Saturday morning, we were pushed to our limits. Monday and Wednesday nights, we try to push the brown belts to their limits. If you don't hit your limit, you never know where it is. And then, you can never move past it.

Practice What You Preach

Instructor Training has entered a new phase this year. As Sensei Yaguchi said, we spent last year doing a lot of listening, some talking, a lot of studying and learning. Hopefully, we have learned what we were meant to. I know that I personally feel I have learned a great deal, and that my karate as a whole has really benefitted.

Now, he says, it is time to make sure that what we do is up to the level of what we say. We must make sure that the karate we are demonstrating matches what we are telling people to do. In other words, time to make sure that we practice what we preach!

To that end, we did a lot of stance and shifting training on Saturday, with strict instructions at each stage. We held stances for a long time, deep stances. We did interesting and unique combinations to move from stance to stance, many times. We did much punching practice, many katas.

This was one of the hardest karate trainings I've had in years, for all that it did not go at a very fast pace, nor were we forced to do anything out of the ordinary. It was the way in which things were done that made all the difference. Stances were corrected, then corrected again. Targeting was corrected. Power was corrected. Shifting was corrected. Combinations were done slowly, then all at one count, then full speed. I did not break a sweat really, but I did run out of breath. And my muscles, oh my muscles! Top to bottom, I hurt that night. Every last muscle group. My arms are the best off by far; they're just a little bit tired. My back is a solid mass of soreness, and everything from the hip down is bound and tight.

The good news about all this is that the muscles which are tired are the muscles which SHOULD be tired. My back is tired because I was supporting my punches correctly -- can't complain about that. My calves are tired because I kept myself in a deep cat stance for a long time, with no wobbles -- no complaints there either. Every ache is linked to some greater good.

Trainings like this are a test of how hard you are willing to work, how far you are willing to go, especially when you start getting tired and sore. As an instructor, you cannot ask more from your students than you are willing to give. If they get tired in class, you must lead by example. They must see you continually trying harder, harder, even when you are visibly tired. Instructors should also be practicing karate at a relatively high level, which means that it should be more and more instinctive. Even when you are tired, or startled, or injured or ill, you should do your karate properly. It is something that you don't think about, you just do. If you have enough energy to think about being tired, he said, you aren't really tired yet.

By the end of Instructor Training and the hour of regular training which followed, I was tired. Trust me. My muscles are still stiff, and tonight, they will resist doing what I ask of them. It's a good feeling, though, one that came from pushing myself past my own limitations.

It's also good because it brings you back down to earth about yourself and your abilities. We have Godans in our class, and they too were subject to the same corrections as the rest of us. You are never beyond learning or growing. You are never "too good" to go back and revisit your basics.

And if you're still thinking about your karate, then you haven't trained enough!