Just Kick

Just Kick

Everyone has a reason as to why they struggle with something. Everyone has an excuse as to why something is hard. As my instructor always said, “excuses are like armpits. Everyone has them, most of them stink.” 

But in general, making reasons for why you can’t do something only shows that you are self-conscious about your training, your techniques, and your ability. Excuses are a reason for you to validate why you’re struggling. And while it may not seem like a big deal, when someone gives you a correction or a critique, making an excuse as to why it was done differently is disrespectful. Think about it like someone told you to clean your room. And after an hour, they came in and gave you things that still needed to be done, but instead of saying “okay”, or “yes sir/ma’am”, you told them you couldn’t clean that up because something else was in the way. Would they accept that answer?

When you are working out, try just kicking. Or just doing your pattern. Or just sparring. Whatever drill we are doing, try to just do that the best you can. And when one of the Instructors, STORM Team members, or Black Belts give you advice or a correction, try to actually hear where they’re coming from and fix it. Some people think that corrections are a bad thing. Corrections will get you where you want to go, as long as you make them. And the pickier the corrections are, that means that the instructors don’t have any issues with the major techniques, and are just giving you things to improve upon. Every time I do my pattern I expect to get a correction. Whether it’s that I need to bend my knees more, or that I went too fast. Corrections give me ways to get better, and if I took them personally, or made excuses, I would never improve.