“It is easier to write on a clean sheet of paper than one that someone has already scribbled all over” It’s a bit like singing in the choir with one chorister horribly out of tune, as the class glided nimbly across the Dojo floor into Neko Ashi Hanmi with an almost imperceptible ripple of power through each body manifesting itself like a whip into a powerful Shuto Uke, there was one klutz among us spoiling the harmony…… Thud!  As his foot stomped down on the floor in an unnaturally elongated stance, you could light a fag in between the timing … Continue reading Beginner’s Mind

“Hey!”  It was Manfred, we hadn’t seen him for ages, he passed Shodan several years ago and had trained only sporadically since, but he was a happy guy and it was always pleasant to see him. “How’s it going?”  I asked. “Not bad, fathered another rugrat since I saw you last, got promoted at work and been working out in the garage when I had the time, how’s things with you?” “Yeah, OK…..”  I hadn’t the time or the heart to even begin to tell him how much study and change he had missed. “Thought I’d get back to it … Continue reading Arrogance At Black Belt

Another visitor to the Dojo, as we were changing, the visitor explained that he had trained with all the “best” instructors for over 15 years and liked to “travel” around to see what each Sensei had…… He had heard of our Sensei “on the grapevine” and wanted to check him out.  He then went on to pull each senior Sensei to pieces and thought that the majority of them were overrated.  As he put on his somewhat “designer scruffy” (and smelly) Karategi we could see that it had “designer” blood stains strategically placed to impress….. He obviously did a lot … Continue reading Soft And Slow Or Efficient…