On growth, weaknesses, and sticking your neck out

Some big changes in the dojo lately: New students, new flooring (OUCH! — $$$), a revised curriculum, and — hot button — a new ranking system.

In the process of "professionalizing" the dojo, I've expanded our ranking system to include one additional kyu rank at the intermediate stage. The Green Belt stage has traditionally been a marathon stage, where a lot of material is taught, and a lot of time elapses between belt tests. It's a gut-check. But I decided to add a new belt rank to break down the intermediate Green Belt stage into more digestible chunks so that the material will be more thoroughly practiced, mastered, and retained.

At the same time, I'm trying something new: I've modified the belt colors we use in the dojo over the last four years. I've done this for a number of reasons, but especially to give clearer indications of student progress as the dojo grows. I believe that making the change in the belt colors is the right thing to do for where the dojo is headed in terms of organization and professionalism, and I believe the change will help with student retention. The amount of time, effort, and technical knowledge that's required to earn a Black Belt in our dojo remains the same, but even so, the change in belt colors brought out a fair amount of confusion and resistance in my students.

Aha! ATTACHMENT has reared its ugly head — what an opportunity for GROWTH! In the middle of all of this, I asked myself, how attached am I to MY belt color? How can I reinforce in my students that all of our training is not about the BELT at all? Our training is about LIFE, the curve balls that life will throw you, and what we do with them. It's about trying new things. It's about gaining the confidence to run screaming away from the "comfortable" and the "familiar." Live to dare and to take risks — and to accept (with grace, gratitude, and humility) both the "awards" and "lumps" that come from risking.

Communicating this — LIVING THIS — is where my "karate" training lies. In part, anyway. I'm still learning I guess.

Striving to be free of what I wear around my waist, my "black" belt test is today.

And tomorrow.

I did one other thing, too — I'm still not sure if it was foolish or inspired. But at the end of class I asked my students what MY weaknesses were. Man, if you really want to grow, you should try this some time!

I'm still reeling from the punches.

Not too shabby for an old(er) guy!

Quick journal entry today — just got back from competing at an international karate tournament in Niagara Falls, Canada. Overall, I'm very happy with my performance in a tough division, especially since I haven't really competed — or trained for competition — since 1996 or so. Of course, there's still lots of room for improvement!!!

In the "nidan and up" empty-hand forms division, I tied for third place, but then lost the tiebreaker. I also placed second in the "nidan and up" weapons forms division. I'm still too young for the "senior" division, but many of my competitors were more than 10 years my junior. (Hey, am I already making excuses for my performance?)

A BIG thanks to Coach Tom for inspiring all the kata practice. Three times a day every day makes a big difference, and I was glad just to keep pace with the more serious competitors. (Did I mention they were younger, too? — ha ha !)

Some big lessons to take home with me, too: Being "in shape" and being "in sparring condition" are two very different things. I was soundly defeated in the sparring division by some highly-skilled folks. A great learning experience overall. More polishing and training ahead for me... I had 4 of my students with me, and it was their first tournament — a big one! They all did very well, too.

Attended a short seminar with Master Hidy Ochiai over the weekend. Wow. He's 68 years young and still AMAZING! An inspiring martial artist, and I was in awe just to be on the training floor with him. I'll remember this one for some time to come! And yes, Master Ochiai totally destroys my "age as an excuse" cop out... I guess I just need to train harder and smarter, and continue to improve, inch by inch! There are no shortcuts!

Making improvements -- everywhere!

Coach Tom has been challenging us to improve the quality of the people we hang out with. This week, I was fortunate enough to spend some time with Andy Mandell, a.k.a., "Mr. Diabetes." What a remarkable man! A diabetic, Andy is on the final legs of his perimeter walk of the United States. The focus of Andy's walk (The "Wake Up and Walk") tour is to raise awareness of diabetes, a terrible, but 100% PREVENTABLE disease that affects millions in our country alone. I'm happy to know Andy, and also to call him "teammate", as he has joined UBBT 5. Be sure to check out his website: www.defeatdiabetes.org.

In other news, I'm heading to Canada next week for a vacation and karate tournament. I'm looking forward to the time away with my family (balance!), but also to competing for the first time in YEARS. Win or lose, it'll be a great experience. I've been working on my kata and I'm ready to perform.

Beyond all the training, I've been working on the dojo, with a concerted effort to "professionalize" things with better systems, better processes, better equipment… better EVERYTHING. We've had six new students sign up for lessons, which is GREAT! I'll be introducing a revised curriculum and belt ranking system next month, and replacing the dojo flooring in December. Things are looking good!