Do you know how many people skipped this week's training based on an assumption they probably make every day about their ability to perform...
...because of either their time in training or their belt rank?
Not sure if you caught this or not, but...
The topic of this week's episode of Warrior's Whiteboard Wednesday was on 3 training priorities that beginners MUST get down FIRST before they worry about kata, weapons, or any of the other aspects of the art and training (including sanshin or kihon
happo). I know... (gasp!), HOW DARE I... THAT'S BLASPHEMY!
But, If you've ready my book, "The Karate-Myth," you know what I'm talking about.
Only, instead of the all-to-common myth in the martial arts world that says that just because someone has a Black Belt, then they're automatically "qualified" to teach...
...this one points to another myth that makes someone believe that just because they've
been in the martial arts for a while, or because of the color of their belt or cool, fancy, unreadable Japanese license certificate hanging on the wall... that they are, by default, able to protect themselves against a brutal attacker (not an uke or sparring partner) who's actually trying to beat, break, or kill them.
As I discussed during the training, when I say "beginner" or use the Japanese word: Shoshinsha... I mean
someone new to the concept of being able to survive the initial onslaught - the assailant's attacks that we have to survive BEFORE we can do our "cool moves." And, unfortunately... and I'm sorry to be the messenger who's about to be shot for saying it...
...if you don't survive the first part... you won't get the benefit of doing the second part! So, what this means is that...
...just because a practitioner isn't a
beginner in time and rank, doesn't mean that they've mastered the same stuff a beginning student needs to learn first (unless of course they're really not training for "self-defense" as much as rank and ego-gratification. 🙋♂️ "Woo-hoo... look at me, mom... I got a XX belt!" 🥳)
If you missed this week's training episode, here's the link to catch
If you're interested, we're going to take this further during this week's Ninjutsu Virtual Masterclass... broadcast live via Zoom from my dojo at 6pm eastern, this evening where we'll be diving into just one of those 3 priorities / beginner skill sets - 'being difficult to hold onto,' the concept of hodoki ('escaping') in
Japanese... and 3 ways to do that based on 3 primary approaches to this 'problem' in a life-threatening self-defense encounter.
Click HERE or on the pic below to get details about what you'll be learning, and register now before all the spots are gone (limited to the first 20 students!):
So, if you want to take your skill proficiency with this aspect of your training further... then be sure to register for this week's Virtual Class before the 4:30pm deadline the day of the class. (Due
to the class schedule at the dojo, it's necessary to close the doors on registration 90 minutes before class start!)
I look forward to training with you very soon!
