Expectations

If perception is reality, do you know how much your expectations shape your perceptions?

This past weekend, my dojo held its annual tournament. One thing we told the beginning and intermediate belts several times in preparation for this weekend was that doing tournament kata was like putting on a performance. The judges are evaluating you as soon as you stand up, before you even enter the ring, let alone as you come up to the beginning mark and begin your form.

• How does the competitor acknowledge when their name is called?
  
• Are the bows at the edge and mark done well or sloppily?
• Is the competitor confident? Nervous?
• Do they announce their form in a loud speaking voice or a shout?
  
• Do they look the head judge in the eye when they announce their form, or do they avoid eye contact?
• Do they pause after their last move or rush to be done?

The really interesting thing to all of the above is that none of those factors will cause you to earn or lose a point, but they can directly affect your score. How is that possible you ask? Judges are making assumptions about what kind of performance you're going to give them with every move you make (or don't make).

If you look like you're going to be nervous and awkward, they're going to expect a poor performance and look for reasons to justify that impression. You've given them a reason to look for the negative aspects of your performance. But if you look like you are more than ready to rock, they're at least going to be ready for an average run, and try to find what you're doing well.

So let's take this into taiko, shall we?

Imagine you're about to watch a new taiko group play that you've never seen before. Here they come on stage; there are ten middle-aged Caucasian men, and let's say they're in really tacky outfits that don't look alike. By the time you've finished that last sentence, you've already made an expectation about what they'll be like, haven't you? I'd bet good money on it. The interesting question now is will you be looking for reasons to justify your opinion? Or will you easily admit (even if just to yourself) if you were wrong in your initial presumptions?

Ok, so instead of those 10 White guys in garish outfits, you have 10 Asian women in identical happi coats. Where are your expectations now? Are they the same? Lower? Higher? I'd also bet money that a lot of people would have a higher expectation of this second group; I won't pretend I wouldn't!

The point of this post is two-fold. One, I want people to realize they impose expectations on every person they see, every group they see playing taiko. It's not going to go away, but if you can lessen the impact it has on your perception, you start taking control back over your reality! Two, it's worth taking a look at what the audience sees; thinking about things from their perspective. What would you think if you saw you performing?