When The Time Is Right
Most Aikido students have had the nerve-wrecking experience of being watched by teachers at practice. The feeling of being assessed plus the natural desire to impress the teachers drive people's anxiety level through the roof. Everything is just fine until the teacher comes over. The moment the teacher lays his eyes on them, everything crumbles to the ground. People kick themselves for looking so bad in front of their teachers.
It gets worse if the teacher offers to practice with them. It is like all the Aikido inside of them instantaneously vaporizes into thin air. Suddenly, they cannot do a thing!
I have experienced this many times. This phenomenon is not limited to Aikido practice. It can be a dance class, drawing class, . . . or even at work. The emotions people experience are similar. We all do it. The questions is: Does it have to be this way?
Our dojo is blessed with very dedicated and self-driven students. Their youthful enthusiasm, however, sometimes does not work in their favor. Feeling too frustrated, some students cry on the mat. Some become so furiously angry that you can almost smell their hair burning. I am glad that they are eager to learn and improve, but the responses they choose are definitely counterproductive.
Robert Nadeau Sensei says, "Everybody is doing the perfect Aikido at their level." If you are already doing your best, it would be unreasonable for anybody -- including yourself -- to ask more from you. Remember? It is a process. "When the time is right, the flowers will blossom," my mother likes to say. You just need to be patient and keep going at it.
I tease students about their response when they fail to throw me like they do with other students. "Your partner is a fellow student. I am your instructor who has a little more experience and more control over her body. Wouldn't it be weird if I fall over just as easily as your classmates?" They usually laugh upon hearing my question.
I see corrections by teachers as opportunities to improve. "Someone has just identified for you what you can change so as to become better. Shouldn't you be overjoyed? Or would you rather be told that you are as good as you can ever get and there is nothing more for you to change??" I really hope students take corrections in a positive light and take advantage of every opportunity. Progress only comes about when one is willing to challenge the status quo. Isn't it why self affirmation and self improvement are opposites?
Sometimes when instructors come over to give corrections and advice, they tell us things we do not understand at the moment. It happened to me -- both as a student and an instructor -- many times. As a student, I believe my teachers were aware when I could not understand what they were talking about, but they gave their advice to me anyways. At the time, not only did the advice fail to help me, but it also made me even more confused.
Rocky Izumi Sensei used to console me by saying, "I know you don't understand what I am saying now. It's okay. Just remember it. Nothing is ever wasted. One day when you are ready, at the right time, it will come back to you, and it will become useful." He was absolutely right. Many things he said pop into my mind just when I need it -- including this very advice.
It gets worse if the teacher offers to practice with them. It is like all the Aikido inside of them instantaneously vaporizes into thin air. Suddenly, they cannot do a thing!
I have experienced this many times. This phenomenon is not limited to Aikido practice. It can be a dance class, drawing class, . . . or even at work. The emotions people experience are similar. We all do it. The questions is: Does it have to be this way?
Our dojo is blessed with very dedicated and self-driven students. Their youthful enthusiasm, however, sometimes does not work in their favor. Feeling too frustrated, some students cry on the mat. Some become so furiously angry that you can almost smell their hair burning. I am glad that they are eager to learn and improve, but the responses they choose are definitely counterproductive.
Robert Nadeau Sensei says, "Everybody is doing the perfect Aikido at their level." If you are already doing your best, it would be unreasonable for anybody -- including yourself -- to ask more from you. Remember? It is a process. "When the time is right, the flowers will blossom," my mother likes to say. You just need to be patient and keep going at it.
I tease students about their response when they fail to throw me like they do with other students. "Your partner is a fellow student. I am your instructor who has a little more experience and more control over her body. Wouldn't it be weird if I fall over just as easily as your classmates?" They usually laugh upon hearing my question.
I see corrections by teachers as opportunities to improve. "Someone has just identified for you what you can change so as to become better. Shouldn't you be overjoyed? Or would you rather be told that you are as good as you can ever get and there is nothing more for you to change??" I really hope students take corrections in a positive light and take advantage of every opportunity. Progress only comes about when one is willing to challenge the status quo. Isn't it why self affirmation and self improvement are opposites?
Sometimes when instructors come over to give corrections and advice, they tell us things we do not understand at the moment. It happened to me -- both as a student and an instructor -- many times. As a student, I believe my teachers were aware when I could not understand what they were talking about, but they gave their advice to me anyways. At the time, not only did the advice fail to help me, but it also made me even more confused.
Rocky Izumi Sensei used to console me by saying, "I know you don't understand what I am saying now. It's okay. Just remember it. Nothing is ever wasted. One day when you are ready, at the right time, it will come back to you, and it will become useful." He was absolutely right. Many things he said pop into my mind just when I need it -- including this very advice.
I have always thought of these lessons like seeds that the instructor plants for the student. Nothing is obvious at first, and the lesson's true meaning is hidden, but if the student diligently waters and weeds through training, these seeds will sprout later. A good instructor plants many different seeds to see what will grow in the soil of the student's life.
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