Walk the path
I don’t know how many times I have heard parents of newer students look out at the floor, see the instructors or the black belt kids class and say, “I wish my kid(s) tried that hard and looked more like that!” I have even heard parents say “I wish my son was as focused as that little instructor over there.” I totally understand this. Isn’t it every parent’s desire to have a child that has pushed themselves to be something special and unique? What many parents fail to remember when they see those high level instructors and students is that they didn’t start that way. Every instructor and black belt at this school stumbled, fell, didn’t listen, went the wrong way, started goofing off when it was time to be serious, kicked with their hands down, couldn’t do a proper stance or push up to save their lives, and messed up more stuff than I can remember. During that time, their parents would get on them, criticize them or ask me to be tougher on them. Or better yet, they would come to me and tell me all this stuff their kid “couldn’t” do. Every time I heard any of this stuff, I looked at them like they were crazy and told them to chill out. Their kid was doing fine. They thought I was full of it because all they saw was today and the mistakes.
What I saw was something different entirely. I saw potential. Yes, I saw they messed up their form, but I also saw they were trying hard and improving every time they did it. Yes, I saw they kicked with their hands down, but I also saw the kick itself was good and the knee position was flawless. Yeah, I saw they didn’t chamber their sidekick, but I also saw they pivoted their base foot. Yes, I saw them goof off at the end of the rail when they shouldn’t have, but I also saw for the other 35 minutes they tried hard. No matter what flaws they may have had, they always did more right than wrong.
As they went from the kid’s classes, to the teen class and now the adult class, they did the most important thing of all. They kept training. They refined their skill and pushed themselves to new heights. By emphasizing the positive, it allowed them to take on what they needed to do in order to improve. Even now, they are far from “done” as they challenge themselves to be better. But in the early days, they were just as awkward, just as awful and just as AWESOME as your kid is today. I know. I was there. I taught all of their first classes as well. I told them the same things I am telling your children today. They can do it with a little positive attitude and some positive effort. They will get there, I promise. We all do. It is as certain as the sun rising in the morning. We just need the time and patience to walk the path.
