Why when I tried to test out your theories and ideas they didn’t work, Wassup with that?

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I get this all the time and I have my answer, it may not be an answer you like but it is valid. I ask them, when you first stepped into the dojo were you able to do basics, kata and drills? They would say, no, not right away. Then I asked, “When you decided to play football did you just put on a uniform and join the lineup to play? They would say, no, not right away. 

Listen, like karate; like martial arts; like football and like just about any discipline you decide you want to do there is always going to be a learning curve where you will be awkward, clumsy and forgetful until you get some … wait for it … PRACTICE under your belt. Even a proficient karateka and martial artist when taking up a new idea, theory or activity has to “make it work on the dojo floor.” 

But, here is what happens especially if the theory or idea doesn’t fit their perceptions and perspective as to karate or martial art, the go out on the dojo floor to tray it a couple of times and if it doesn’t work right away they say, “This is no good, it doesn’t work.” It is this same mind-set that often causes a person to doubt themselves and their training when it fails to work in a self-defense situation. It is also seen by more modern martial artists who claim kata has no value when they don’t even practice it and have not tried to learn, know and understand it. 

This is also what makes learning, practicing and applying such a discipline so hard, you have to take it out for a while to learn it as if it is brand new (it is new), you have to practice it to make sure you are doing it right and then you have to practice it in a way that will allow it to either work for you or not and that takes time, effort, effort, and lots of sweat equity. 

Every time I try something new in my practice and I have practiced karate for about forty years, I have to slow down and work it out and practice it for a while before I even consider “testing it out to see if it works.” This includes testing it in an adrenal stress-conditioned reality based way because when I need it to work the most is when I am in that state facing grave bodily harm or even death. 

If you can just step on the dojo floor and apply your craft without all this practice and training then we all would be masters of our craft. Repetition brings progress and our efforts will tell us in time if something works. Try it, you’ll like it!

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