The Magic is in the First Few Punches
When we first start karate every part can be new and exciting.
Each time we advance we are introduced to new techniques
and new kata.
Having reached Purple belt, no new techniques or kata are
introduced. Of course there is still a mountain of new principles
to learn and much to refine, but without the fresh new batch of techniques to start working on, students may find their enthusiasm
to get themselves to class is not always there.
“The magic is in the stances,” is something Sensei Willie often
talks about. What he means by this is that we all have those days where we don’t physically or mentally feel
like putting on our gi and going to training.
It’s during these times we need to remind ourselves, “the magic is in the first few punches and stances”. By
getting stern with ourselves and forcing ourselves to get to training, we suddenly find that once we start, and
have thrown those first few punches, we suddenly feel completely motivated to train.
We suddenly feel alert and start training harder. It’s at this stage our body starts to perform and soon the brain becomes completely engaged in the training. This works every time, provided we start pushing the stances and technique that little bit extra, and as we improve our competence so does our confidence improve.
Competence = Confidence!
By the end of the class we are feeling great and we’re glad we went. So when you’re feeling sluggish just remind yourself, “the magic in the first few punches”.
Each time we advance we are introduced to new techniques
and new kata.
Having reached Purple belt, no new techniques or kata are
introduced. Of course there is still a mountain of new principles
to learn and much to refine, but without the fresh new batch of techniques to start working on, students may find their enthusiasm
to get themselves to class is not always there.
“The magic is in the stances,” is something Sensei Willie often
talks about. What he means by this is that we all have those days where we don’t physically or mentally feel
like putting on our gi and going to training.
It’s during these times we need to remind ourselves, “the magic is in the first few punches and stances”. By
getting stern with ourselves and forcing ourselves to get to training, we suddenly find that once we start, and
have thrown those first few punches, we suddenly feel completely motivated to train.
We suddenly feel alert and start training harder. It’s at this stage our body starts to perform and soon the brain becomes completely engaged in the training. This works every time, provided we start pushing the stances and technique that little bit extra, and as we improve our competence so does our confidence improve.
Competence = Confidence!
By the end of the class we are feeling great and we’re glad we went. So when you’re feeling sluggish just remind yourself, “the magic in the first few punches”.
