Where the wind blows?
Yesterday, Sunday, was a mixed day for me, flicking between feeling sick to my stomach, angry at chances lost, quiet, melancholic, happy for others, and more darkly somewhat self-pitying.
…and I hate myself for that.
I’ve been reading Gichin Funakoshi’s books lately; namely ‘The essence of karate’ and ‘The twenty guiding principles of karate’ and have found myself wanting. I think I’ve been so focused, recently, on the next grade that I’ve forgotten what it entails.
The colour of your belt is not a right based on how long you’ve been practising the art, but the culmination and growth of understanding of the principles underpinning it. This has been proved by a colleague who has just reached that next level and his karate, which is far better than mine, proves the point.
Time is not the measure, understanding and application is.
I think it’s time to get back to basics for me. This isn’t a throwing-dummies-out-the-proverbial-pram moment, the karate training will go on. However I think I need to stop chasing the next belt for the next few years and practise on becoming a black belt rather than just wearing one.
Sometimes having the wind taken from your sails, metaphorically at least, is the best thing if not a little hard on you at the time…. time, at least, will tell if that’s true or not.
