Black Belt Instructor was Mr.
Flynn, IV Dan from Rock Springs. He taught a great class, working
on everything from patterns to step-sparring, and he had some sage
advice on the mental side of our training, just how powerful it is...how
even a small amount of contact with a student can leave a lasting
effect.
Mr. Flynn spoke on the tenets,
asking students to define each one, then noted that even as we work
on the most basic of techniques or patterns, they should always be
executed to the best of our abilities.
We played a little 'foot tag', knowing ahead of time that the losing
team would be doing pushups. When all was said and done, Mr. Flynn
reminded us of something the General said - that in battle one person
lives and one dies; there are no winners. In that spirit everyone
did pushups.
He also talked about the fact
that how we react to any given situation is our choice, no one else's.
While you might be unhappy about something somebody else did or said,
no one can make you mad...your
reaction to the situation is entirely up to you.
Mr Flynn had the Black Belts doing
some dallyon drills as well. He spoke of the need for forging and
how important it is to do some dallyon training every day. It's not
something that can be 'made up' at a later date. While forging will
strengthen the surface of your tools, direct pressure will build up
the structure behind the tool, also very important.
Wyoming Black Belt Class, December 2, 2007
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