Over the past two and a half years my daughters and I have been training in karate (Okinawan Shorin Ru). Tonight is our black belt test – you can pray for us 🙂 Believe it or not in this quick time frame I’ve put in nearly 500 hours at the dojo plus additional time practicing on my own. As part of our test we were asked by our Sensei to write about our journey in karate and how the principles we have learned can be transferred into everyday life. So here is my attempt at that. The areas in which I have been impacted the greatest are: the value of routine & repetition, the necessity for humility and the impact of knowing oneself. 

#1 Routine & Repetition.

Routine.  

Every class in the dojo we follow a standard sequence from the very beginning to the very end: The students all line up facing the wall and wait until the leader of the class says, “What is self discipline?” We reply, “Doing the things I know I should do whether I want to or not.” Then the leader follows up with, “What are the three steps?” and we reply, “Focus your eyes. Focus your mind. Focus your body.” From there we bow and pay respect. We then go through the same exact warm-up/stretching routine followed up with running laps around the dojo (5 on 5). Then we take a quick water break. Then we split into small groups to practice the individual things we’re currently working on. Then we come back together if anyone needs to have a test or do a performance of some kind. Then we “play,” meaning we do some kind of group game. Then we all reconvene for the conclusion of the class, most of the time by reciting our school’s motto.  

Everything is very structured and rote. It reminds me of the order of service in a liturgical church – same structure, just different songs and scriptures. I know many people in the East do view their involvement in their dojo as worship, and I can see why. What is the value of rote routines and drills? The only way we can really grow is in concentrated, focused faithfulness over a particular thing over a long period of time. A healthy body has a consistent, unbroken breathing rhythm and regular sleep patterns. Our lives are structured for strength and discipline when our weeks, days, hours, and even minutes are filled with routine things. Routines are proven to help people be healthier and happier, especially in children. Knowing what comes next allows you to focus on what is now. I am a person who has a natural bend towards spontaneity, changing things up and being flexible. This is good at times, but I think having strong routines in life forces you to challenge yourself in a unique way. I appreciate how karate has helped me in this way.    

Repetition.

Another thought closely related is in repetition . . . In our time so far in karate we have only been taught a handful of strikes, kicks, and blocks and only about 20 drills and katas, but even then they are simply variations of the same basic strikes, kicks and blocks. How many times do you have to practice the same punch or the same kata to master it!? It is said that it generally takes 10,000 hours to truly master a skill. Even though we are testing for a black belt, by this measure it would still mean that I am only 5% down the road of mastering these skills. Haha. This makes sense, because I still feel like a novice when it comes to the punch, or the sidekick, or the katas.   

As I said before, I tend to be the kind of person who likes to do new things: I like to explore new areas of life, new places, try new foods, study new areas of knowledge, etc. I like to travel. I like to change things up. I tend to not prefer the status quo, but see how I can improve something – even if it doesn’t really need improvement. So to experience our karate program as a whole, with all of its monotony – and seemingly no desire to change it – is really impressive to me. What is the lesson? In order to become a master you have to focus on one thing and make it a lifelong pursuit. Whether it be the dojo, the church, the studio, the gym, the shop: you have to be there – every time you’re supposed to be, for the rest of your life. Many times it’s not the environment or program that needs to change, it’s me that needs to change. This change only happens through concentrated, detailed, faithful, repetitive application of oneself to a particular program. How many times do I face the same problems in life in regards to my relationships or bad habits before I get it right? How many times do I have to try to be patient with someone before I get it right? The answer is, “Probably many more times.” If you’re not willing to face the same problem over and over again and focus on handling it right until you master it, it’s not going to happen.  

#2 Humility 

I think most people tend to assume they know something well just because they learned it, but there is a huge difference between being taught a skill and mastering it. It takes humility to accept the fact that I am really not that good – at karate or at life. I’m thankful that we have Sensei’s who rebuke us and will tell us the hard truth. Many of Sensei Colton’s phrases sum it up well: “weak,” “terrible,” “That’s not going to do anything,” “spaghetti arms,” “you have the reflexes of a dead cat,” “I’m offended,” “I’m louder than all of you and I’m not even doing it.”

I am truly unimpressed with how quickly I run out of breath, or how quickly my legs buckle in a good kibadachi stance. 

Most of the time in the dojo we are facing a mirror. If you actually focus and watch yourself in the mirror you don’t look as flawless as you feel like you do when you’re not looking in the mirror. Most people don’t want to see themselves in a picture or listen to a recording of themselves given a speech. We tend to think of ourselves more highly than we ought to.

In life we tend to think that just because we have heard the truth and understand it, that it means that we’re also practicing it. Jesus instructed us to love God and one another. Easy enough, right? Easy enough to understand, but how little do I actually practice this? If we have to go over the basics of simple stances and punches literally thousands of times, how much more – if we’re honest – do we have to go over much deeper issues of life, such as love, respect, forgiveness, generosity, kindness, etc. How often, if I could actually step back and watch myself live do I handle conversations and situations with love instead of selfishness, with grace instead of harshness, with joy instead of complaining, with hope instead of discouragement? I need to learn to be humble enough to accept the reality that I live in mediocrity most of the time. God is gracious and merciful and we must ultimately rest in his power to help us to be like him, but it starts with acknowledging that our weaknesses exist and that they still need attention. 

The Bible is our mirror for life. Christ is our mirror. This is why it is important to know the Scriptures well and be reminded of them regularly. If we live our life with spiritual blinders on we will think we are good, but if we constantly compare ourselves to Christ we will see how far short we fall of living up to the good standard we were created to live by.   

#3 Knowing Oneself

It’s funny – our style of karate is pretty basic as far as the system goes, but the way it manifests itself in every person is very different. Every person has a unique stance and posture. Every person has a unique struggle in the dojo – physically, mentally, emotionally or spiritually. It is really interesting to hear how different people kiai. If we truly go deep down and bring out our true roar with real passion and no embarrassment, the sound that will come out of each person will be very distinct. Most people in their everyday lives do not utter a deep shout out of themselves. Karate is good for this. I think most often we don’t realize what is inside of us until we are faced with some kind of crisis. Being trained regularly for a crisis I think can somewhat help with that. 

I remember one time trying to help a young, very quiet kid who had a visible sense of shame and lack of confidence. He would barely talk and when he did it was very quiet and he wouldn’t look you in the eye. The thought just came to me to take him outside by the woods and just ask him to yell as loud as he possibly could. He looked puzzled and ashamed to do so, but after some prodding he finally did it. He probably thought the whole situation was weird, but I could see something in his eyes – the real him – even for that split second – that I hadn’t usually seen. Karate on the surface is about self defense, but deeper down it is more about self awareness. I don’t know if I have found my deepest “kiai” yet, but even trying is liberating. 

Finding Oneself

Having spent the last few years in regular contact with Sensei Borbon in and out of the dojo, I see a man who has truly found his passion in life and his whole heart and life is in it. He truly believes in the program and is persuaded that it has the power to transform people’s lives, because it transformed his. He is not in it for the money, but is very generous and selfless in the whole enterprise. This is an encouragement to me to continue to press open my heart, see where my true passion is, to receive that calling (and be content with it) and live it with joy, so I become a blessing to everyone around me. For some reason I am attracted to so many different things throughout my life. I have been in pursuit to be a master or professional at many different things, but the reality is, that you can probably only be a master of one thing, or very few things. I think my generation as a whole struggles with identity issues. I am encouraged though to see in Sensei someone who knows who he is and what he is to do.   

It amazes me to see someone who has just a few verses from the Bible that stand as pillars upon which he strives to live. It is better to strive to truly live by a few, unchanging principles than to know hundreds and fully be faithful to none. It is a challenge to me to drill down in my life and find those basic life principles which I live by (or should live by) and to make them my life principles and to strive to conform to them as much as possible, and in the end to be a blessing to those people around me. 

The Journey Continues . . . 

There is much more that can be said about our journey in karate, but these things stand as the main things. Karate has been a great addition to my life and the life of my family. I am grateful for our dojo and Sensei’s, the honor given to Jesus and the Bible, the commitment to challenge and stretch the students, but also to meet them where they are. May the Lord be pleased to give each and every one of us the desire to grow in discovering oneself and putting in the effort to change ourselves to become a black belt in life and to be more like Christ – The Grand Master.