New beginnings and the art of humble pie.

[MaineDolFan]

Most of you know ~ well some of you know ~ I've studied martial arts for most of my life.  I'll be 42 later this month, my journey began on my 4th birthday in one of the only dojos in Oakland, California which would accept not only a white student, but a four year old student.  I was a student of the "Oakland JKD"(schools founded by Bruce Lee and James Lee, although neither were affiliated with the school by 1974).  One of my first instructors was Professor Gary Dill, who did learn directly from Bruce Lee.  So I guess that is pretty cool!  Anyway, I digress.

In the 70's, at least in my school, students under the age of 16 were not awarded black belts.  I earned my 2nd degree brown belt, with black stripe, at age 11.  This is where I stayed until my 16th birthday.  I tested for my black belt on my 16th birthday.  Over nine hours later, I was awarded my first black belt in Jeet Kune Do, which is a Chinese form of the arts.  I made some friends in the community and started cross training in Jujutsu (Japanese).  I had earned my second degree in Jeet Kune Do right before I had to move to Maine.  My instructors made some calls, fearing I would let me training slip away (16 year old moving across the country) and had a new dojo set up for me when I arrived in Maine.  I started training Shotokan / Jiujutsu.  I stayed at that dojo for almost 20 years with additional cross training, earning a 4th degree black belt in Shotokan, 2nd degree in American Kenpo and another black belt in Shito Ryu.  I was also doing a ton of MMA cross over training ~ and this is where I ran into problems.  Three concussions and damaged spinal cord later and I'm shut down.

As you might imagine, the arts are a topic discussed often in my home.  My daughter has grown up watching daddy at tourneys - sometimes kumite (only point fighting, never MMA), kata, weapons.  She has grown up with it a little.  It was only a matter of time before she asked "when do I get to learn?"  People asked "why don't you teach her?"  How many of you remember growing up and learning to drive with mom or dad next to them in the car, bickering?  Sometimes it's best to turn certain lessons over to someone else.  I had the luxury of knowing a lot about the community; I knew the person who I would entrust this training to.  I signed Abby up and she immediately excelled.  The head of the school, Doshu, teaches the children himself.  One night after class he pulled me aside.

"When are going back to your training?"

Simple question.  I don't know if I am.  Was it the concussions?  The injuries?  Maybe all of the above.  I kind of felt like Rocky, of Rocky III fame.  "Want to break me down, want to hear me say it? I'm scared."  Of course I didn't say that, but it's kind of how I felt. 

"I think you should train here."  Those words hung in the air a little and they were words I agreed with, instantly.  We talked a little more about me possibly coming into his dojo and restarting my journey with his school (it's a blended art: Karate, Kung Fu, Aikido, and Judo).  He hits me with one parting shot:

"We have one rule when people from other styles come in you should know.  You start from the beginning.  A clean slate. You wear a white Gi, a white belt and you start from the bottom and earn your way.  We are not a black belt factory.  We do not test quickly or lightly.  A lot of people have walked in these doors thinking they can handle these requirements only to learn they can't.  I'll understand either way."

So I signed up.  Took him my plain white Gi with my plain white belt.  I was very excited and thought "this isn't going to bother me at all, I have never cared about what is around my waist."  I walked in for my first class, maybe :15 before it started.  As soon as I walked in the building, the self doubt crept in.  The white belt around my waist felt like it was burning.  I don't know any other way to explain it.  One of the instructors came over to say "hello" and gave me the "we have all started where you are" speech.  My ego was screaming!  I'm not just starting, I wanted to yell.  I've been doing this for 35 years!  I'm this! I'm that!

...and then Doshu's words started creeping in.  "People think they can handle these requirements and can't."

How could I possibly learn if all I could think was what I already knew? 

If someone asks me "who are you?"  My answers would include father, family man...and martial artist would be in there somewhere.  It's part of my identity.  I never truly understood how much of "who are you" was also what I perceived I have "earned" (ranks).  There are things which should be in your heart, your soul, your being ~ these things shouldn't exist on levels like achievement.  It is crazy how even now, almost three months in, this piece of humble pie is still sometimes bitter to chew into from time to time.

I am as stubborn as they come, folks.  Full of pride.  If I can do this "starting over" - which has to be one of the most difficult things I've ever done in my life - any one of you can do any thing you set your mind to.

My six year old has been promoted to first degree white belt.  I haven't yet.  She thinks it's great...I would have to agree.  I earned my first black belt at 16.  At this rate I will be very, very lucky to earn another before I'm 50.
 

Folks, whatever it is holding you back from getting out and doing...whatever...stop.  Let me be your cautionary tale.  Go getcha some.

[Brian Fein]

Love the story.  Thanks for sharing.  I love the message and can relate (not to the martial arts part, but symbolically). 

[CF DolFan]

Maine ... I'm glad you are back to working out but I don't quite understand how this works.  I completely get the mental aspect of humility but are you really being trained the same as someone just learning to do a front punch?

[bsfins]

+1 to Brian's post...but  now I have to go on my own humble journey...I wont stop thinking about this....



I think it's cool,and look up at you for your willingness to start over....

[MaineDolFan]

A lot of the arts are the same across the board, but each will have their own "way of doing things."  Each style will have their own fighting stance, even their own way of making a fist or striking positions.

Along with mechanical / technical differences (something as small as where to chamber a punch or chop). 

Stances are a large obstacle for me right now.  I'm used to doing almost everything out of the front stance.  The front stance is used in some of the blocks in this form (SOME), but this form uses a t-stance as a primary stance.  Re-training the mind.  Think about something you do as easy as breathing, literally.  Now imagine having to learn how to breathe a different way.

The styles are very different as well.  From a distance one might think "karate is karate is karate."  Think of karate as a language.  Each form is a language of it's own, with some similarities (of course like Spanish and French), and some vast differences. 

Example:  I will use the art of Jujitsu to explain.  Japanese Jujitsu (the form I studied) is manipulation of your opponent's force.  Holds, locks, traps, joint locks.  My teaching did not involve weapons.  It is a descendant of Judo.

I am now studying an art which incorporates Aikido.  Aikido is similar to Jujitsu, however the ultimate goal of Aikido is to defend yourself while incapacitating your attacker all while not injuring the attacker.  It's very close combat with joints and locks.  Similar in ways to Jujitsu but, ultimately, as different as the English language is to Russian.

I've also never studied straight up Judo before, which is very powerful.  Of course the "strains" of martial arts all have forms ingrained of Judo, but not a pure form of it.  Nor a pure form of Kung Fu, for that matter.  When you say "karate" or "kung fu" it's like saying "go buy a car."  Jeet Kune Do certainly has strains of kung fu, however was a hybrid marital art and was not a pure kung fu.  The kung fu I am learning right now is probably closest to Wing Chun.  So, again, using my language analogy:  I know English (Jeet Kune Do).  Language wise, Wing Chun would be Greek.  Of the four styles blended together now, the karate is an Okinawan based karate, similar to Shotokan.  However, my Doshu has a very rich back ground and also ingrains Uechi-Ryu (which is Chinese).  The strike positions are completely different.

Learning new styles isn't anything new, however I have never done it from such a dramatic "jumping point."  I have always continued to study my base while slowly working into something else.  Here I have morphed into a whole new world.  The rolls are different.  The way we fight with a staff is different.  I have never fought with a kama before.  Not only am I expected to learn how in this dojo, there is a kata for the kama.  I also have to learn a sword kata, although I do have a lot of experience there.  It's simply learning new "moves."  It's a lot to take in!

Knowing one form of martial arts doesn't make you a master of all!  The ability to learn and re-learn is limitless.  Not all dojos would make you start fresh, this one does.