So we have arrived into May. May offers a lot here, we get antsy and involved in summer activities and get outside on occasion…
So as we finished up April I was reflecting back on the Gasshuku to give an update and congratulations to all who attended. Several who were unable to attend were missed but several students attended this year who had not before. It was my thought that they would be hit hard and fast with new information. My concern was that it would overwhelming. It was so great to see new students to this level step up and go through this amount and intensity of training. As an instructor I tend to get evaluated by the students performance, not just in how they preform techniques new and old, but how they behave in the dojo etc. It was very uplifting to see them do so well and to have the head instructor and several seniors pull me aside and comment on the students. Now this is not new that the quality of students here has been complimented but it always feels good and it keeps me from having to do remediation… The first year we hosted something like this I got the call out for a dinner, not uncommon, but the debriefing was new. I was instructed on areas that were lacking in the student population. Rather uncomfortable but these were the corrections I needed at the time. Fortunately we plugged the gaps noted at that time and have moved forward. Now there are always things that I am learning about how we can improve, things get pointed out all the time but now they are technique and less procedural. Congratulations to all who survived and thank you for making me look good.
One big note for in this last gathering we had a mother son student paring (other than Mrs. Young and myself). Now there have been many other family parings over the years but this is a special month with mothers day coming up next weekend to note this. We remarked at how special that is. Even suggesting they look around and ask how many other parent child combinations do you see? With 4 female participants at this event and in many dojos women seem to be the minority so, how many Moms…? What other activity can parents and children participate in together? Yes there are some but it is special to the martial arts practice. Having shared 34 years of participation with my own mother I may be coming from a perspective. She has demonstrated herself to be one of the toughest people I know. She has overcome mental blockages and significant physical pain to rise to the level she has achieved. I have written about this before but it bears repeating, she has been the driving force that has helped me get to where I am, supporting me at every grading. Her support has kept this dojo going. Her ability and attitude has been the inspiration for me and many of our students, perhaps this is why we have many women young girls and even moms that participate.
So for May we will be working on partner drills… The reason to attend classes. We will do Kakie, Bunkai (kihon and Rensoku) and Sandan Gi. Buckle up for a fun month of partner training….