Many times when we are looking to gain insight or at the very least get the ball rolling in our own train of thought, we think revelations or thought provoking questions will come from the masters. While, yes, we would hope that we would gain insight from the masters of our art it is sometimes surprisingly our students that make us think the most.
Picture the eager orange belt in your head. No filter. Doesn’t understand protocol to the fullest extent yet, and is full of energy. This student is ready to go!
This student is the one that will help you develop yourself not only through testing your patience as an instructor, but also through cultivating your own thoughts as a student.
This student will ask you why this? And why that? As an instructor it is our job to provide an assertive answer to these questions but that doesn’t mean that our opinion doesn’t change or can’t change as we think through these challenging questions ourselves.
I was having lunch with one of our friends and greatest supporters, Yoshi Ota, and his fortune cookie once read, “If you cannot change your mind, then why have one?” As instructors, we must continue to be students: Sometimes like a “wild” orange belt at times. We must be excited to pick up new skills and be unafraid to be wrong!
Sometimes we forget to be vulnerable as black belts. We skip out on opportunities because we don’t want to look stupid. Take that risk. It is the only way you can improve. When it comes to forms, I tell my students at times, “it’s ok if you lose your balance between motions, I want you to go for it with full intent, speed and power”. Take the opportunity to strive for things that may seem out of reach. As an orange belt, isn’t a black belt out of reach? It can seem like it, but with hard work and vulnerability, anything is achievable.
