moto ichi do
I stood outside for a moment and oriented myself. The waxing moon ahead to my left, the big dipper ahead to my right. It's clear and cold down below here. Nothing happening down below here will make any difference to the moon or the big dipper.
We are four days away from our Nidan test. Tonight i worked with my uke. Uke is a word that in a way means "partner"; it's someone who takes the brunt of all your brilliantly executed techniques during your test. In fact, the work "uke" means "to receive"; as in, they must receive the brunt of all your techniques, brilliantly executed or not. Tonight my uke "received" a rattan stick to her upper lip. She graciously and courageously toughed through that (with my apologies), and continued to work with me. That's what makes an uke more than a "partner": understanding and accepting that she was working toward my goal, not her own...my test. It's no small task. My uke is my 13-year old daughter. And I'm learning as much from her as she is from me.
I actually have two ukes for my test, and I have to attest to the selflessness that both of them have shown me. Come to think of it, i technically have three that I'll work with...and all three of them are responsible for any amount of shining i can hope to do on this test. How can i ever thank them?
We've worked together very, very hard over a long period of time to make sure everything goes perfectly. The fact is, the world is an imperfect place and nothing can hope to go perfectly. But, we can do the best we can; we can try our hardest; we can hope for the best; and we can realize that we are forever students, that we will always be learning how to improve ourselves. A white belt is a beginner; a black belt is a serious beginner. I like to think a Nidan is a committed beginner.
Rank is not a goal reached by passing a test, it is an acknowledgement of the journey leading up to that point.
The moon will be nearly full when we test, and the big dipper will still look the same. Hopefully, we'll be a little different down below here.
We are four days away from our Nidan test. Tonight i worked with my uke. Uke is a word that in a way means "partner"; it's someone who takes the brunt of all your brilliantly executed techniques during your test. In fact, the work "uke" means "to receive"; as in, they must receive the brunt of all your techniques, brilliantly executed or not. Tonight my uke "received" a rattan stick to her upper lip. She graciously and courageously toughed through that (with my apologies), and continued to work with me. That's what makes an uke more than a "partner": understanding and accepting that she was working toward my goal, not her own...my test. It's no small task. My uke is my 13-year old daughter. And I'm learning as much from her as she is from me.
I actually have two ukes for my test, and I have to attest to the selflessness that both of them have shown me. Come to think of it, i technically have three that I'll work with...and all three of them are responsible for any amount of shining i can hope to do on this test. How can i ever thank them?
We've worked together very, very hard over a long period of time to make sure everything goes perfectly. The fact is, the world is an imperfect place and nothing can hope to go perfectly. But, we can do the best we can; we can try our hardest; we can hope for the best; and we can realize that we are forever students, that we will always be learning how to improve ourselves. A white belt is a beginner; a black belt is a serious beginner. I like to think a Nidan is a committed beginner.
Rank is not a goal reached by passing a test, it is an acknowledgement of the journey leading up to that point.
The moon will be nearly full when we test, and the big dipper will still look the same. Hopefully, we'll be a little different down below here.
posted by greg at
11:34 PM
1 Comments:
I'm listening to Crowded house/Finn Brothers from E. It's raining, but thats ok, cuz I got laundry to do today any way.
How was your test?
Do you still drink Genny???
Mares
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