I taught a private class today to an older gentleman, and we were doing a stick drill called sumbrada. He got so frustrated even though he wasn’t doing bad at all. He finally threw his stick down and asked, “Do you really think I have a chance at getting any good at this?”
I asked him, “Why are you so frustrated?” His reply was, “You are just so freaking fluid and fast, I feel like a clumsy retard!”
I get this from new students all the time. They all want to get to be Bruce Lee overnight. They want to be great at martial arts with no investment of time and effort. In a way it can be insulting. I persevered through a down right abusive instructor, and a lot of blood sweat and tears to get as good as I am today. It cost me a lot of pain and suffering, and very, very hard work. There is not a job in this world as hard or fulfilling as the path of the warrior.
I told him that the answer to his question relies on his investment and effort. Only he can decide whether he will be any good. Age is just an excuse. I have trained guys in their sixties and watched them grow substantially through martial art. I can guide him but I can’t make him work to reach his goals.
What sucks is that a true warrior will feel like him regardless of how good they may be. There is always room to grow and improve, no matter how much you have already grown. I always feel like I suck! However that feeling fuels the wish for continuous improvement. You just have to persevere, and work through it. That is why this art is not for everybody. Many times people burn out emotionally before they do physically. I am always testing the limitations of the student, so that they can recognize them and demolish them.
As I was learning JKD I watched students come and go. After 13 years there are only 3 of us that persevered. Anyway, this gave me some encouragement because it reminded me that I am the one in control of my destiny. I can choose how much I grow as a Jedi and if I don’t grow, I have no one to blame but myself. There are no teammates to blame, I can’t blame the referee. And that is why I have always cherished the solitary path of the warrior. My fate is in my hands and the more I sweat and hurt in training, the less I will bleed on the battlefield.
- Syris
