CONGRATULATIONS SHODAN
Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2015 4:41 pm
You passed your test and you are now a shodan. That's great. You can now wrap that black belt around you. It feels terrific. OK!! Now you can begin to learn. "What!!!! I'm a black belt man. What do you mean, now I can begin to learn? You remember all those basics that we went over about a million times? Well, that's just the tip of the ice burg. They were not really basics, they were the main course. There is nothing in your training that is actually basic. There's no such thing. Everything needed for that shodan rank will be worked as long as you train. That step, that turn, that thrust, that block, that punch, that front kick, you get the picture? All those goodies will have to be worked a lot longer. Everything now needs major work to reach another level. You slipped by with what you showed us for the shodan test. That has to be tuned up a bit for your next test, and so on. On and on through each dan rank. That difference between a shodan's performance, and a sandans performance has to be much different. It's all those basics(So called basics) that have to improve as you go along through the ranks. Maybe you've heard about Grand Masters that only work certain things. These things happen to be what you consider basic. Have you taken the time to wonder why? The answer is that what is stressed most by those that have trained the longest, is the most important. Take care of the engine that runs the machine. That engine happens to be sanchin and everything coming from sanchin. I'll teach everything involved in Uechi Ryu. However, my personnel workout are the three main kata's, and heavy bag work. I'll spend a great deal of time on sanchin before going into anything else. What does that tell you shodan? Does that mean I'm too old or lazy to do everything else? If you think that, maybe we'll get to do dan kumite, or some conditioning some day. I'm not hard to find. So, once again, congrats shodan and welcome to the show. -----Happy Trails -----Art