2025-11-03

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

As you probably know, on Monday nights I teach in the childcare room of my YMCA. That means showing up a bit early, moving all of the furniture and carpeting out of the way, and then sweeping and mopping the heck out of the floor. Last night the floor was particularly icky. There were sticky patches everywhere, some of which survived the first round of mopping and (this is a new one) there were googly eyes everywhere. My guess is that the childcare had a craft activity involving googly eyes … with predictable results. I could complain about this, sure … but why not turn it into a learning opportunity instead?

Everyone likes a clean, orderly dojo, with a smooth, level floor, devoid of obstacles, but - if you ever have to use karate “for real” - it’s likely to be in loud, messy, disorderly surroundings. So while the youth class practiced, I encouraged them not to stop and make a face every time they stepped on a sticky spot. Instead, I asked them to keep their cool, keep going, and then - when we’re done - let me know so I could spot-mop it. The goal, of course, is to avoid mental lapses. You can’t allow yourself to drop your guard and yell “Ew, what’s that” just because you stepped on a raisin in your bare feet. Allowing yourself to avoid distraction is a skill that needs to be practiced like any other.