Inspired by a video shared by one of our students, last night's class followed the premise of earning "XP" during different drills in the class (calisthenics, stretching, proper technique, mistake free forms and board breaking). Bonus "XP" could be earned for certain challenges (like breaking a board during a form without losing concentration and finishing strong). We discussed how a character in a video game evolves and related it to the process of becoming more powerful and skilled as an individual. Leveling up in the game is like earning a new belt. "Prestige" is the act of starting over, just as in some games (like COD), which is similar to earning the cho dan rank. Now, last night was really more like a tutorial in a game and each student kept track of their own XP. Students seemed to enjoy and were motivated by the idea, even tracking and sharing their XP results at the end of class with fellow students.

Inspiration can come from just about anywhere...even video games. :)

New Year's Eve has always been a time for looking back to the past, and more importantly, forward to the coming year. It's a time to reflect on the changes we want (or need) to make and resolve to follow through on those changes. How many times have you made a promise to yourself at New Years only to see that promise broken in a few months, weeks, or dare I even say...

Days.

And your promise quickly becomes a re-solution the following year. But it doesn't have to be this way. Sometimes we bite of more than we can chew. So the trick is to take smaller bites, even if it takes twice as many  bites to finish.

Or even more, a lot more. (You may find that it tastes much better too.)

So how can we put this idea to work for us? Bruce Lee is famous for not just his martial arts but for his take on life too. He noted famously that

There is one thing nearly all modern Americans have in common: we sit all the time. Though our great shift towards computer-based work has done great things for productivity, it has, unfortunately, done terrible things for our health. From increased risk of heart disease and obesity in the long term, to sharply hampered cholesterol maintenance in the short term, the negative health effects of sitting are starting to weigh heavily against the benefits.

We often hear that black belt isn't an end goal, but instead a point where true learning can begin. We all generally accept this as sage wisdom even though it can be difficult to understand such an esoteric concept at first. After all, how can learning BEGIN at black belt?

Sometimes we rationalize the idea intellectually by observing highly skilled individuals and comparing our meager skills against them. But still we have a hard time grasping that we haven't really learned anything after four or five years of diligent study. Only a few monk-like individuals are so devoid of ego that they truly believe they know nothing when going for shodan.

So how does one explain this mystery, especially to those students who are brimming with "self confidence" and don't want to hear that their studies are only beginning?