2024-09-23

Teaching my regular classes at the Ross Farnsworth - East Valley YMCA.

Last night’s classes were relatively small, and both ended up with a sit-down “Storytime with Sensei” where I answered questions about karate and talked a bit more about the karate’s “thinking side.”

In the youth and family class, we talked about the importance of wearing your uniform in class. I’ve got one student who tends not to bring his uniform at all, and another who tends to remember the pants, but not the jacket or belt.

The word “uniform”, literally, means “one form”, which implies that everyone’s is the same.

• Wearing the uniform teaches us that we leave behind all the things that make us unequal outside the dojo.
• Remembering your uniform is part of cultivating responsibility. If you habitually forget, then you’re not learning from your mistakes.
• Avoiding wearing your uniform implies that you think your reasons for doing so outweigh the value of the two previous points.

To be clear, I’m not talking about beginners, or situations where a student can’t afford a uniform. Indeed, I don’t require students to wear a uniform until after they earn their first belt, but most do. Regardless, I expect my continuing students to show a bit of commitment and set an example for others.

In the adult class, we talked about “flipping the monster switch”, which is my term for the ability to switch on your fighting sprit at a moment’s notice. Training to perfect our technique so we’re able to defend ourselves is useless if we’re not also willing to do so when necessary. Unfortunately, this is very difficult to teach.