There is a wonderful book entitled Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment by George Leonard. In it he describes the journey he took as a 47 year old beginner in the martial art of Aikido. This is a fantastic book that every martial artist should read.

 


 

We live in a culture that stresses immediate gratification and instant perfection. Yet, the pursuit of martial arts is a long process, a journey that will wind its way slowly through one’s life. There is no immediacy. As we travel this long slow journey, we will often encounter plateaus. Yes, the dreaded “P” Word. No one likes to hear it and we enjoy them less when we experience it. This is the place; however, we will spend most of our life as a martial artist in pursuit of “mastery”. So, we have to ask as Leonard proposes in his book, “Where in our upbringing, our schooling, our career are we explicitly taught to value, to enjoy, even to love the “plateau”, the long stretch of diligent effort with no seeming progress?”

Many keys to mastery exist and Leonard explains them in detail but the first is to recognize the type of person you are; Dabbler, Obsessive, or Hacker.

The Dabbler

dabbler-300x68

The Dabbler tries many things but is never satisfied with any of them, none of them “fit” her style.

The Obsessive

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The Obsessive goes all out, 110% into the pursuit and exceeds everyone’s expectations for a short time, then comes against a wall and flails about for some time until he completely stops trying and moves on to the next obsession.

The Hacker

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The Hacker enjoys the activity and progresses to a medium level of competency but does not get any better, he is satisfied with mediocrity. None of these profiles will give you feelings of satisfaction or accomplishment.

If you recognize yourself in any of these profiles, do not fear there is a fourth type: ∫.

The Master

In George Leonard’s book, this is what he says about mastery:

 

Learning any new skill involves relatively brief spurts of progress, each of which is followed by a slight decline to a plateau somewhat higher in most cases the than which preceded it. The curve (below) is necessarily idealized.  In the actual learning experience, progress is less regular; the upward spurts vary; the plateaus have their own dips and rises along the way.  But the general progression is almost always the same.   To take the masters journey, you have to practice diligently, striving to hone your skills, to attain new levels of competence.  But while doing so – and this is the inexorable fact of the journey – you also have to be willing to spend most of your time on a plateau, to keep practicing even when you seem to be getting nowhere. (p14-15)

mastery-curve

The Master realizes there will be a slow climb to the top and they will hit many plateaus along the way. You will eventually break through those plateaus with prolonged practice and determination but will also perceive a decline in abilities. Yes, it will feel like your skills have gone down for a time. If we were to graph the Master’s Journey, it would look like the picture below. This should not be discouraging as you will see that you are still progressing upward. It is slow and methodical, and yes, sometimes boring but you are making progress.

This is the journey to Mastery in anything we participate in, especially martial arts because of the intrinsic nature of the arts. The Black Belt Champion (Attitude) and a spirit of perseverance (that Indomitable Spirit) will help immensely along the way by providing focus and discipline.

David Campbell said, “Discipline is remembering what you want.”

Have the discipline to know that the Master’s Journey is rewarding and the end result will be far greater than anything you can currently perceive.

Parents – if you’ve ever considered enrolling your children in the martial arts for self defence, here’s a great example of exactly why you should!

Original article published in The Metro – Thursday 9 Oct 2014

Attacker, 35, beaten up by girl, 14, when he grabbed her in a park

A would-be attacker was left battered, bruised and embarrassed after picking on the wrong person – a 14-year-old female martial artist.
The schoolgirl was walking home alone through a park near her home when the 35-year-old man came up behind her and grabbed her arms.
He soon realised his mistake when the young teen, who has studied martial arts for several years, broke free from his hold and started raining punches and kicks on him – despite being less than half his age.
Sussex Police arrested the man – described as being ‘very thin’ and around 5ft 7ins – shortly after his attempted assault in Tilgate Park, Crawley and are appealing for any witnesses to the Saturday morning incident to come forward.
‘Although we have made an arrest, we need to speak to anyone who was in Tilgate Park on Saturday morning and saw what happened,’ said Detective Inspector Andy Bennett.
‘We need to find people who may have seen a man acting suspiciously in or around the park on Saturday or on other occasions.’

 

If you’d like to learn more about our martial arts and self defence programmes for any age group, get in touch today and we’d invite you to try 30-days FREE membership as our guests so see the benefits for yourself.

 

Hows this for some SERIOUS self defence skills?

This is Roy Elghanayan. He’s a former Israeli Armed Forces veteran who now runs a Krav Maga school in Los Angeles.

We can’t promise you’ll get this good overnight, but if you’re interested in learning some practical self defence then check out our next Adults Introduction to Personal Safety course, starting next week

Confident Child in Martial Arts UniformHere are the senses people, especially children and teens, need in order to nourish their self-esteem:

A Sense of Security

Pediatricians reason that a child secure in her ability to face the future, near-term and long-term, has the necessary foundation for high self-esteem. A child, teen, even an adult, that practices a martial art learns new skills. When they see their own progress, that powers belief in one’s own ability to handle new challenges.

A Sense of Belonging

It starts in the family, but Pediatricians say kids need another group to belong to as well. Connecting with other people at school, church, or some organization where members share a common interest further shores up a sense that they belong. In martial arts, people of all ages connect over their shared goal of improving their health and well-being…and having fun while doing it. It’s easy to make friends this way, and looking around in class one sees it happening.

A Sense of Purpose

Purpose channels energy in a meaningful direction. Most importantly, it’s got to be a direction and purpose that the child cares about, rather than one someone else forces upon them. When forced, we resent. And with no purpose, one becomes bored and aimless, which pediatricians claim can lead to trouble.

Martial arts has a road of achievement built into it. A child or teen that starts down this path can see measurable targets to aim for in their progress. Each belt earned means one has been tested and measured by someone else, an experienced instructor. Martial arts creates a testing system that most kids want to take. That’s a sure sign of self-esteem, when one happily looks forward to another chance to test their progress.

A Sense of Personal Competence and Pride

Who doesn’t want one more place in the world where we can hear the words, “Good job”? Instructors float through the class, watching student technique. Hard work pays off with these verbal pats on the back. It feels good to know someone’s judging you, and approving.

A Sense of Trust

A children need to trust their parents and themselves. Martial artists consider integrity as part of their black belt lifestyle. Students help each other in class, and that gives them more opportunities to trust, and to be trusted.

A Sense of Responsibility

Advancing up through the belt ranks means more responsibility:

  • responsible for welcoming new students,
  • responsible for assisting classmates with their technique, and motivating them through physically demanding drills,
  • responsible for setting a tone and culture of humility, respect, and positivity.

A Sense of Contribution

Instructors have students aid in class instruction by demonstrating techniques in front of their peers. Contributing to class progress builds self-esteem.

A Sense of Making Real Choices and Real Decisions

Allowing the child or teen to decide to stay with their martial arts training gives them practice to make other decisions about which direction to take their life.

A Sense of Self-Discipline and Self-Control

The American Academy of Pediatricians say this one is critical.  The good news? Martial arts hits this one on the bullseye.

The doctors argue that children need expectations, guidelines, and opportunities to test themselves. This is the foundation of martial arts classes.

A Sense of Encouragement, Support, and Reward

This comes from instructors and classmates. Lots of encouragement, coaching, and of course rewards ranging from the verbal, “Nice job” to the tangible, a new belt earned.

A Sense of Accepting Mistakes and Failure

Look, some aspects of martial arts can be difficult. And that’s a good thing. It makes the progress all the sweeter. But along the way, students stumble. And this also is good. It’s an opportunity to learn how to face challenge in the eye, and keep applying effort when something doesn’t come easy.

Martial arts instructors pride themselves on corrective coaching until a student finally masters a technique.

A Sense of Family Self-Esteem

Last but not least, youth self-esteem begins within the family. Affection, pride, and the self-esteem of family members all impact a child’s self-esteem development. Imagine the momentum and lift a family would experience if multiple members all enjoyed the above benefits from martial arts.

  “My best friend is the one who brings out the best in me.”
—Henry Ford


Original post by Brian Carmody at ‘A Krav Maga Life’


We’ve seen some amazing changes in our own students. Check out these other posts with some junior success stories from the Ilyokwan Black Belt Academy

 

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