A Pilgrim's Progress....

Occasionally Miyazato sensei would ask...."Show me what you know!"

You hear the word 'journey' being used a lot in relation to karate, but I sometimes wonder where folk expect their karate 'journey' to take them? Are you going far, or aiming deep? You see, although your destination may never be reached, it's no less important to know 'what' that destination looks like. If you don't, then how do you know which direction to travel in? Where do you point your efforts, and how do you gauge your progress if you have no clue where you're headed?

Ideally the example set by your sensei will provide you with a sense of direction, but their karate should never be your destination...you should be aiming to go much further. Not only that, but your teacher should be making this clear to you from the very beginning. There is no place in karate for leaders and followers, only fellow pilgrims, some of whom have made a little more progress than others. If you consider karate to be a personal journey then you can't rely on others to provide signposts, nor can you travel in groups.

To walk you need two legs and two feet; but you also need your mind to direct them. In karate, people forget the role their mind plays in walking, they just lean forward and move their legs quickly enough to stop themselves from falling flat on their face. It looks like walking, but it's not, it's just keeping your mind out of the dirt. There is no control to moving this way, and few options open to you once you start. Sure, you can cover a lot of ground, quickly too, but is that the same thing as progress?

Before you start moving, it's always best to know where you going, and how you're going to get there.

Author : Unknown

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