Training with Heart
A new student shared this story with me last week:
In a Japanese hospital in a small village, one old lady used to chant hymns for speedy recovery of patients. She used to sit near every patient and chant. Patient's used to actually recover faster. One day a scholar visited the hospital. He realized that what she was chanting had incorrect pronunciations and some incorrect words. He told her to correct herself. She corrected herself but soon they realized that patient's were not recovering like earlier. She forgot about the scholar’s advice and started chanting her usual way once again. The moral of the story was: When you do something with complete heart, mind and honesty, it works.
You know, I talk to Master Chang a lot about student’s progression. He asks me about certain students – particularly those at Black Belt level or close to Black Belt testing. He has NEVER asked me, “Is their side kick any good?” or “How is their number 3 skill?”
The most common question he has asked me is, “Justin….does he do his best?”
To me, this is a little similar to the story above. I don’t mean to imply that physical proficiency is not important; but how much we invest, how much heart or ki we put in to our training is equally, or even perhaps more important. This attitude tells much more about the individual and how they approach the rest of their life.
In a Japanese hospital in a small village, one old lady used to chant hymns for speedy recovery of patients. She used to sit near every patient and chant. Patient's used to actually recover faster. One day a scholar visited the hospital. He realized that what she was chanting had incorrect pronunciations and some incorrect words. He told her to correct herself. She corrected herself but soon they realized that patient's were not recovering like earlier. She forgot about the scholar’s advice and started chanting her usual way once again. The moral of the story was: When you do something with complete heart, mind and honesty, it works.
You know, I talk to Master Chang a lot about student’s progression. He asks me about certain students – particularly those at Black Belt level or close to Black Belt testing. He has NEVER asked me, “Is their side kick any good?” or “How is their number 3 skill?”
The most common question he has asked me is, “Justin….does he do his best?”
To me, this is a little similar to the story above. I don’t mean to imply that physical proficiency is not important; but how much we invest, how much heart or ki we put in to our training is equally, or even perhaps more important. This attitude tells much more about the individual and how they approach the rest of their life.
posted by Tammy Parlour at 9:48 AM
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