In Korean martial arts there is a philosophy known as Ryu Pa. Ryu Pa, the theory of streams diverging from the main branch of the river that eventually become their own waterway. This can be seen in adding different variations to a specific form or technique, and it can even be seen when making changes to a whole martial arts system.
At the onset, these minuscule changes seem very meaningless, but over time, these changes accumulate and end up making a big difference. We need to inspect our own training, and see what changes we are making to our arts and how they affect them. Are these changes supplementary or are they distracting?
We see the same thing in the workplace, where it is known as “scope creep”. When defining the scope of the project, we need to understand the requirements of what is needed and the Human Resources needed to complete them. Sometimes small things are added to the scope of the project. Initially these changes are okay, but over time they add up and human and financial resources cannot support the project. Oftentimes we question if this is even the project we sought out to accomplish.
Preventing ryu pa and scope creep is important for the integrity of our work and our martial arts. Sometimes we need to learn to set boundaries with the changes we allow or the changes we try to make if we are a project manager or an instructor.
While scope creep will always be a present nuisance in the workplace, we can eliminate it in the martial arts studio to help keep our arts the way they were specified and preserve standards!
