I Saw Her Standing There
A while ago, one of my favorite actors, Bill Hader, was interviewed by Terry Gross of NPR. He recounted a story from when he was auditioning for Saturday Night Live.
He got to the studio and ran into Andy Samberg in the elevator. The two men did not know each other then. Since they both were hoping to get a job on SNL, they viewed each other as competitors.
In the elevator, the two men started checking each other out. Bill Hader noticed that Andy Samberg brought a bunch of things to use as props. "Oh, my God. Look at him: He is so well prepared! He brought so many props with him for his performance. I have nothing!" He could not help feeling a little discouraged.
At the end, these talented men both made it to being cast members for the show. They worked closely together and became friends. One day, they talked about their first encounter with each other. Bill Hader confessed about how defeated he felt by the sight of Andy Samberg and his props. To his surprise, Andy Samberg responded, "No way, Bill! When I saw you, I thought to myself, "Oh, my God! Look at him: He must be very good. He does not need any props at all!""
It is interesting how the grass always looks greener on the other side. What is a strength? What is a weakness? It is really hard to say at times.
We have some Aikido students who are very good at memorizing and following sequences. When they learn a technique, they can methodically repeat the movements one by one from start to finish. We also have a few students who have a hard time capturing what is being shown, not to mention remembering the sequence. The moment they get up, they have no recollection of what has been shown. In order to continue with practice, they just do whatever comes to mind to move along with their partners.
It can be extremely difficult to train the second type of students the basic forms because they seem to move so randomly. No two repetitions are the same. They don't recall what they have done. Before they can move consistently, it is hard to help them make changes. However, because this kind of people are so used to improvising their way out of situations, they almost always finds a patch when they are in some kind of situation. To the contrary, the ones who are very diligent in sticking to a set pattern may be at a loss if they miss one single step. They may not be creative enough to figure out alternatives when reality turns out to be different from their expectations, and end up just standing there.
Random movements with no structure do not have much value. Standing still in deep thoughts is not a good way to survive either. The Chinese saying goes, "The needle cannot be pointy at both ends". I guess its western counterpart is "the double-edged sword". Whether you have a needle or a sword, learn your strength and know your shortcomings. You never know when your strength can become a burden; or when your weakness is actually a blessing.
He got to the studio and ran into Andy Samberg in the elevator. The two men did not know each other then. Since they both were hoping to get a job on SNL, they viewed each other as competitors.
In the elevator, the two men started checking each other out. Bill Hader noticed that Andy Samberg brought a bunch of things to use as props. "Oh, my God. Look at him: He is so well prepared! He brought so many props with him for his performance. I have nothing!" He could not help feeling a little discouraged.
At the end, these talented men both made it to being cast members for the show. They worked closely together and became friends. One day, they talked about their first encounter with each other. Bill Hader confessed about how defeated he felt by the sight of Andy Samberg and his props. To his surprise, Andy Samberg responded, "No way, Bill! When I saw you, I thought to myself, "Oh, my God! Look at him: He must be very good. He does not need any props at all!""
It is interesting how the grass always looks greener on the other side. What is a strength? What is a weakness? It is really hard to say at times.
We have some Aikido students who are very good at memorizing and following sequences. When they learn a technique, they can methodically repeat the movements one by one from start to finish. We also have a few students who have a hard time capturing what is being shown, not to mention remembering the sequence. The moment they get up, they have no recollection of what has been shown. In order to continue with practice, they just do whatever comes to mind to move along with their partners.
It can be extremely difficult to train the second type of students the basic forms because they seem to move so randomly. No two repetitions are the same. They don't recall what they have done. Before they can move consistently, it is hard to help them make changes. However, because this kind of people are so used to improvising their way out of situations, they almost always finds a patch when they are in some kind of situation. To the contrary, the ones who are very diligent in sticking to a set pattern may be at a loss if they miss one single step. They may not be creative enough to figure out alternatives when reality turns out to be different from their expectations, and end up just standing there.
Random movements with no structure do not have much value. Standing still in deep thoughts is not a good way to survive either. The Chinese saying goes, "The needle cannot be pointy at both ends". I guess its western counterpart is "the double-edged sword". Whether you have a needle or a sword, learn your strength and know your shortcomings. You never know when your strength can become a burden; or when your weakness is actually a blessing.
Comments
Post a Comment