Words echo in my head as I listen to our tae kwon do instructor, Master Hubbard,
impressing on the class to make their best effort on every move. It
was a zen lesson I’d read many years ago, the actual story lost over the years,
but the meaning stuck
What does this mean? To me, it conveys an idea that your art
is defined by your weakest link. That your real character is revealed by your
lowest point, not your highest.
That probably sounds rather harsh. But read it again – how you
do anything is how you do everything.
It doesn’t say you have to do everything perfectly. It doesn’t
say you’re expected to hit the center of the target with every attempt. It does
say, though, that you should approach every attempt with the intention of doing
so.
When it comes to an art, applying yourself to the form is the
goal. I’m reminded of a show I watched many years ago that was featuring the
Japanese art of equestrian archery – yabusame. The targets for this art are
quite small. But the part that struck me was when the narrator emphasized that
the goal was not whether the archer hit the center of the target, but rather
how the shot was made.
In weight lifting, form is everything. It’s what protects
the lifter from (sometimes very serious) injury. Especially to a beginning
lifter, form is WAY more important that how much weight is lifted. Develop the
form with low resistance, make it as natural as blinking your eyes, and the
weight will come.
In swimming, most speed issues are really form issues. One
can grind out endless slow laps, but all that does is ingrain bad swim form and
make the bad habits harder to break. I’ve been there. I spent several years in
triathlon doing fairly well but playing a lot of catch-up once I got out of the
water. I was “okay” at swimming, but not really good. I’d never been a competitive
swimmer outside of triathlon. No one every took me aside to point out what I
was doing wrong. I made an epiphany one day about my swim form, and my speed
increased immediately. I was faster with less effort.
But the meaning spreads into life outside of any athletic
endeavor. How do you approach your job? How do you interact with people? How do
you drive?
In the more recent rendition of the movie The Karate Kid,
Jackie Chan has an excellent line when finally revealing why he’s been having
Jaden Smith pick up his jacket, hang it up, and then throw it back on the
ground continuously for several days: Kung fu is in everything you do, and
everything you do is kung fu.
The lesson in the tae kwon do class was this: Doing it
correctly is more important than doing it quickly. Quickness will come.
