Wake up!

Time to rant...

I made a post here about a pep-talk I gave to people at my karate dojo. I'm torn between trying another one or working on a way to deliver the message into a super-compressed form (like a slap upside the head...)

My neck was really stiff the other night and so I didn't work out with the group; I watched instead. What stood out was watching the advanced belts and how they just went through the motions.

We do a 5-10 minute warm-up in class, so they're ready to go when we start working out, but somehow, somewhere, they've conditioned themselves to either pace their workout or just aren't able to envision what they're doing without a partner in front of them. Ironically, later on when there were drills with a partner barreling down at them, they were very much alive and awake. So it's really a mindset that needs to change; it's not about age or ability!

I want them all to ask themselves two questions - the first to be asked everytime they leave the dojo: "Did I push myself as hard as I could tonight?" I'd bet nine times out of ten, the answer is going to be no. Then the second question, "what is it I am here for?"

I expect more from them but I know I cannot *make* them get better. I can physically shape someone and make them look picture-perfect, but I cannot make them move faster, try harder, or make them want to improve. I'm not accusing them of not giving a damn, because I truly believe they aren't aware that they are self-sabotaging.

I think it's partially an unconscious decision to pace themselves in order to not get too tired. Pacing like that is one of the worst things you can do. If you ever need to defend yourself, you don't get to pace your opponents out. If you're going for a belt test, we don't let you pace yourself out. In an art like taiko, if you pace yourself out during a song, you'll be the "dead spot" on stage where the energy lacks. And the audience tends to notice that you're the distraction on stage. So there's never a good reason to hold back. Push hard from the get-go and when you get tired, you push some more. That's how you build endurance. That's how you get better. There are times to pace - when you're injured, when you're working on a specific comment, when you're learning a new sequence - but it should never be your default. Otherwise, why bother?

It's easy to get people revved up and watch them "bring it" for a practice. But the practice after that? And the week after that? And the month after that? It's like a light switch gets turned off and it takes someone else to turn it on for them.

Why wait for someone else to turn your switch on?