Last week I and a few of my students did a short karate demonstration at a local elementary school. The demonstration was nothing out of the ordinary: a group of students performing karate basics, dynamic striking drills, forms, and weapons in front of a noisy crowd of strangers, followed by some board breaking, Q&A, and flyer distribution.
I've done events like this one a thousand times, so when we began the demonstration I was able to exude some enthusiasm, even though I was fairly sound asleep on the inside. My students, however, showed their nervousness, and that's what woke me up: I realized that this was their very FIRST public karate demonstration!
I began to watch and run the event with curiosity and fresh eyes, and I observed more closely how my students handled the performance anxiety, the reaction of the crowd, and – of course – the little mistakes that are a part of any karate demonstration. And instead of sleepwalking through the event, I began to enjoy it vicariously through the others!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment