Back in a post here I talked about SJT’s concept of
“Beginner’s Mind.” I’ve thought a lot
about this concept and how it applies to our learning process.
Beginner’s Mind is an easy
concept: no matter how many times you’ve played a drill or a song, you always
want to approach it as if you can learn something new. But what if you really look at this concept
for all its potential?
- It applies to when you are practicing.
This is the basic, surface-level message. If you think you “know” a drill or song when
you’re practicing it, you’re not letting yourself improve as much as you could
if you are thinking that you still have progress to make. Are you striking in the same place every
time? Is your face showing the right
mood? Could you be kiai-ing more? If someone took a picture during a big
motion, would you be happy with the results?
These are just a sample of a long list of questions you could be asking
yourself when you play.
- It applies to when you are being taught.
It’s really easy to think you know
something and tune someone out who’s teaching it, whether to you or the rest of
the class. I find that hearing how
someone teaches something I’m familiar with helps me when I have to teach it
later. I also like hearing different
people explain the same thing in different ways. You never know when someone will explain a
concept in a way that just totally clicks for you.
- It applies to when you are observing.
You may have watched people play a
song 1,000 times, but I bet there’s something to discover in the 1,001st. What sticks out? Is everyone’s energy “on”? How’s the group tempo; where does it
fluctuate? What would you do
differently? These are questions that
you can ask by looking at the group, let alone each person individually. Even if you don’t/won’t make those comments
later, by looking for things in this way, you are still learning.
- It applies outside of the dojo.
It’s not something you only want
during practice, but also at performances.
What can you learn from how things are set up, both from your group’s
side as well as the stage crew’s/presenter’s side? Even the little things like setting up stands
and getting the drums out are activities you can look at anew, either in terms
of efficiency or thinking how you would teach someone to do it.
- It applies outside of taiko/art
-
Someone who isn’t able to find
Beginner’s Mind in taiko probably has trouble doing it in their life as
well. While it is true that familiarity
breeds contempt as it were, and over the years it can be hard to keep looking
for new things to learn, the general mindset is either there or it’s not. It’s quite fair to not be interested in
something, but is your attitude towards daily things “what can I learn from
this?” or more “I already know how to do that.”?
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Whether it shows in their
behavior, comments, or general vibe, a person with a Beginner’s Mind will invite
people to want to teach them. A person
who lacks it tends to get fewer comments and eventually it leads to a vicious
cycle of not wanting help and not getting it.
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