Honesty

At the (karate) dojo tonight, we had to give the news to three intermediate students that they didn't pass their belt test and would be held back. The main element they lacked was spirit/ki. I want to touch on that in a future post, but for this post, I want to talk about something I spoke about in a post here about self-observation.

One thing I told the group tonight to try was to start using videotape, so they could truly see themselves as we (the judges) did. It doesn't always sink in when someone tells you what to change; if you can't see for yourself what needs to change *and* remember to change it over time, it's not going to have an effect.

Over the years, in both taiko and karate, I see people watching themselves in the mirror. And why not; that's what it's there for! But what are they seeing? Too often, it's an illusion of what they want to see, not the truth of what is. I see advanced karateka punching towards the mirror watching their technique, but missing basic fundamentals that should be glaringly obvious. I see taiko players watching themselves solo but abandoning basic form.

Sure, the argument is usually "well I was focusing on this specific arm" or "I want to make sure I'm hiting certain angles" but usually it's easy to tell when that's true and when that's an excuse. And that's where honesty comes in.

It's sometimes very hard for someone to see through the illusion of "what I want to see" and "what is really there". I've mentioned the concept of "beginner's mind" in an earlier post, about trying to learn something new or make something better every time you practice, and without that, all watching does is serve as self-admiration.

Seeing oneself on tape is a humbling experience. I highly recommend it no matter what art you might practice. The only factor that can nullify that experience is honesty (or lack thereof)! If there are errors, missteps, or bad habits that you don't see, is that on purpose? It's easy to dismiss those as flukes or not important, but to really be honest, to really make progress is to confront those issues without assuming anything one way or the other.

Honesty is neutral. It is neither positive nor negative. As such, someone who constantly sees the bad in their technique should also step back and see the truth in things. It can lead to a boost in confidence and rise in overall progress!

Honesty in this way is about looking past the illusion, the "veneer of the convenient", chipping away at misplaced ego and unnecessary demons, to reveal the artist underneath. All that baggage weighs us down and keeps us from attaining our full potential!