The Tap Yoda

In Japan, there is a tradition of designating human beings who are very skillful at a traditional art to be a living national treasure.  It is an unusual practice, but it makes a lot of sense.  A great nation deserves great art, and great art needs to be preserved and perpetuated by great artists.  Unfortunately, we do not have the same respect for traditional arts in America.  It is very hard to support oneself as an artist.

At my first student tap dance performance about ten years ago, I spotted a man with purple tap shoes.  "That is Baakari.  He is a senior teacher.  Baakari is something else.  Everything he does is different.  He is awesome!" my teacher, Jeffrey, told me.  Indeed, Baakari was amazing.  He and his advanced students danced a number that he choreographed.  It totally blew me away.

At another student showcase, I hid at a corner to do a last-minute practice of the number my class was going to perform.  I was still struggling with certain steps.  Mr Baakari was sitting nearby with his baby boy.  I summoned my courage to ask him for help.

Baakari's dead-panned face and low-key response made me really nervous.  "Can you watch this?  Is it better now?" I eagerly asked, as I whipped out my best moves.

He closed his eyes slowly, turned his head, and then reopened his eyes to look at me, as if he was super slo-mo blinking.  "I am sorry.  You have to understand: when you keep working at something, you are bound to improve.  There is no other way." Baakari said to me in a very calm, slow voice.  This man makes it seem like nothing warrants haste.  Put it more figuratively, in his presence, somehow, time slows down to a mere trickle . . .

Mr Baakari says that he is fascinated by martial arts, although he has never found time to try it.  I told him that I would love to be there if he ever chooses to try Aikido because he is one of those students who makes the teacher better.  

Despite the fact that he is my tap dance teacher, Mr B has helped me improve in Aikido tremendously.  After all, tap dance and Aikido share a strong focus on the awareness and control of one's weight.  We even share very similar views on the training process.  Mr Baakari once said to me,

"It is very important to train good basics from the very start.  If you do not have solid basics, it is very hard to go back to plug those holes later."

"I generally do not want students to join a more advanced class than they can handle because I do not want them to develop bad habits or not complete their steps for the sake of the speed."

Be it tap dance, Aikido or whatever other activity that you do, listen to the Tap Yoda.  Trust his wisdom.  He cannot be wrong.