When it's easy, you're doing it wrong.

But isn't that counter-intuitive? Well, yes. That's why I'm blogging about it!

Just this past Monday, I helped out at a kids taiko class then went to karate. In both classes, I saw at least one student who could have been doing more but was content to do "just enough".

In the first case, it was playing a straight beat (RLRLRL...), and although I knew this one kid was a Western drummer, he hit the taiko only *just* enough to make a sound on it. I and the rest of his row was playing at a pretty decent volume, but it seemed to bore him. (I'm not going to pick on him since he's a kid, just using him as an example.)

In the second case, we have a student at the dojo who also does kickboxing and is either incapable of adjusting or (more likely) just uninterested in doing so. I know he has the flexibility to get into a lower stance during drills, but he chooses not to. I called him and another advanced belt out for having the energy to spar during a water break once, because it meant they didn't push themselves hard enough (and had misplaced pride about not being tired like the rest of us).

In both cases, these two are doing the right "moves", but without applying themselves. It's a weird catch-22 situation in which it seems so easy to them that they wonder "why even bother?" but don't realize that getting deeper/bigger/louder means things get a lot harder. What they also don't realize is that holding back like that makes it really hard should they ever have/want to change later on.

I want people to understand that there's a difference between "easier" and "easy." We all want techniques to get easier, right? No one wants to have something remain difficult long-term. But when it eventually gets to the point where you don't think about it anymore, when it takes hardly any effort or energy to do well, that's time to ask yourself, can you do it better?

Yes you can!