Tiger Challenge

Martial arts tournaments can be a mixed bag for an instructor. Competing in a tournament has the potential to break a student’s spirit or inspire them to new heights. The real value in the competition is found in the preparation. A pending tournament competition gives a student a sense of purpose in their training. Priorities shift to meet their goal and nothing narrows focus like a looming deadline. The possible downside to tournament competition is found in the event itself. All the preparation in the world cannot help you control the intangibles that come into play when you have different interpretations of the rules and standards while success or failure is based upon qualitative judgement as opposed to quantitative analysis.

SRKF’s intra-school Tiger Challenge tournament was a great success yesterday. Everyone had a great time and thanks to the efforts of my black belts, I believe it was a positive experience for everyone who competed. Sifus Playter, Rybak, and Vantuil were tireless leaders of their respective rings and they got all the competitors through their competitions quickly and safely. Sifu Csillag’s organizational skills made this year’s Tiger Challenge our best yet as he was prepared for everything and kept us on track. We all can also thank Sifu Langner and Mr. Repay for getting things started off the right foot with a strong lion dance - their first ever.

The big highlight for me this year was the strong sense of community that continues to prevail in our school. We all shared the day together as family and we raised almost $2000 for charity. It was a good day, a very good day.

“Without a sense of caring, there can be no sense of community.” - Anthony J. D’Angelo

Mediocrity

I have always had very strong opinions about mediocrity. I can understand laziness, and even apathy to a large degree, but I cannot accept mediocrity. Mediocrity implies effort with indifference. I can’t think of a more disrespectful attitude or a bigger waste of time. If something was worth doing, then it was worth doing right. Period.

“The height of mediocrity is still low.” - Vanna Bonta (1958 - 2014)

Thanksgiving

A friend of mine who trains under Shihan Nishiuchi shared this anecdote. Shihan Nishiuchi asked - “Who are the most unhappy people?” The students did their best to answer until Shihan answered it himself - “The people who have no appreciation.” What a wonderful, simple observation.

My life is blessed. It is filled with positive, compassionate people who make me want to improve myself every day. I am grateful for the teachers in my life whose priceless lessons have brought me to where I am - here, now, happy.

“The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common.” ―Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882)

Staying the Course

My I Ho Chuan team had great discussion yesterday about the difficulties one experiences in trying to stay on the path to mastery. We agreed that there is a lot of faith that goes into staying the course until you have at least one success under your belt. Until that first success, we need to recognize what tools we have in front of us to keep on the path. We already know the path, we just need to stay on it.

A lot has to happen before an abstract dream becomes a tangible goal. Inspiration sparks the dream into existence and continues to sustain it while it remains in the periphery, just out of focus. When motivation and, above all, courage are in sufficient quantity, a plan begins to emerge, bringing the dream into focus with a clarity of purpose. The abstract dream is now a tangible goal.

There is not much that can compare to the excitement that is generated by a goal’s clarity of purpose. The path to success is no longer obscured and there is a direct, clear line connecting where you are to where you want to be. Stay on the path and achieving the goal is a certainty.

Enter life. Plans and goals are irrelevant to life. Inevitable crisis will emerge and priorities will shift in response. It does not take much to knock you off your path, no matter how well you have planned. The longer you stay off the path, the more obscure the end goal becomes. Spend enough time off the path and your goal becomes impossible to envision and devolves into nothing more than an abstract dream. You are back to square one.

Staying the course is not easy. It is human nature to seek the path of least resistance but the easy path is rarely the right path.

• Define your goal. Clarity of purpose is everything. Your path becomes clear when your goal is clear.
• Where am I? What am I doing? It is impossible to stay on the path to mastery if you do not even realize you are off the path. Daily, even hourly assessments will ensure you know exactly where you are and empower you to adjust your path if needed.
• Don't just look where you are going but also remind yourself of where you have been. The path to mastery is long and arduous. Motivation becomes a challenge if you do not acknowledge your progress.
• Be adaptable. The value is in the goal and the path is your way of achieving your goal. Adjust the path to serve the goal.
• Do not lose sight of your goal. There is a reason why you challenged the goal in the first place. Recognize when you are sacrificing the goal to serve your path. The path serves the goal, not the other way around.

“I find it fascinating that most people plan their vacation with better care than they do their lives.Perhaps that is because escape is easier than change.” - Jim Rohn (1930 - 2009)