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November 26, 2008
Get Rich with Karate
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Get Rich with Karate
November 26, 2008 | Author: Matthew | Filed under: Martial Arts, Philisophical, karate, mindset
Marge Simpson: “Homer, is this another one of your get rich quick schemes?”
Homer Simpson: “No, no…this scheme is SURE to make us rich. And quick!”
One of two things is going to happen in this post - either I’m going to reveal some fantastic money making secrets, or I’m going to use ‘getting rich’ as an analogy for training. You take a guess.
***
There are all kinds of ‘brilliant’ ideas people create to get rich quick. The most famous is the pyramid scheme. These ill-conceived concepts crop up because it can be very arduous building up money. Heck, I know if I could get $100,000 tomorrow I’d look into it. It’s also the reason why we play the lottery (and ignore the mathematical improbability of winning).
Sadly, the same is true when it comes to martial arts. Instead of financial pyramid schemes we see promotional pyramid schemes, where groups of ‘experts’ get together and promote themselves to extremely high ranks. I’m still waiting to hear about the world’s first 20th dan…it’s bound to happen. More harmful are the schemes where instructors ripoff their student body through inflated monthly fees, testing fees, belt fees, etc etc.
But lets focus more on the training side of things.
At home I’ve got this gigantic glass jar where I keep all of my loose change. You’ve probably got something similar, yes?
I’ve put a ton of coins in there and have been storing up for years and years. Despite that, the damn jar looks virtually empty!
Also, the bb gun hole wasn’t my fault.
It was a great day when I first realized I could no longer see the glass bottom of the jar because I had saved up enough change. But since then, I’ve gone on autopilot. I no longer really watch the level of the coins rise because it’s such slow progress. I know I’m putting money in, but to constantly fret over how much (or how little) is in there would be wasted energy.
Martial arts training can be very similar. How many workout sessions can you think of where you really thought to yourself, “man - I’ve improved by leaps and bounds today!” If you’re anything like me, those occasions are few and far between. Most of the time training seems like a struggle against futility, improving skills so slowly that it barely seems like any progress is being made at all.
At first, I watched my progress in karate like a hawk. I was really pleased about things I could do and opined about things I couldn’t. But since then, I’ve gone on autopilot. I’ve simply done my best when either stepping onto the dojo floor or exploring martial arts on my own. The journey in itself is becoming more and more the goal.
So to you I say keep dropping that change in the jar! I know it doesn’t seem like a lot. Whether you’re in top form and toss in fifty cents each time, or if you’re struggling and only have five cents, remember - you’re building the total and one day you’ll take a peek at the jar and wonder where all that money came from!
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11 people have left comments
You need a smaller jar
Oh you are sooo right!! It’s hard to see the changes unless it’s something very drastic. You’re right about going on autopilot–you just get used to doing things and the little tweaks and changes aren’t always noticeable. All you can do is just do your best.
I love Greg’s comment “You need a smaller jar”! Very witty - wish I’d thought of that first! : )
I may have some pennies to spare. I’m so anxious to get back, but I imagine my progress will be slower than most as I relearn stances all over again. Thanks for this post-good inspiration to return.
I second Greg’s comment. I am looking at that jar right now and thinking….no one will even be able to lift that thing when its full.
I think one of the most exciting things for me about starting something new is the leaps and bounds you make initially. You can’t make that kind of progress forever, but its kind of a high when you are making so much progress so fast. Its when you plateau that you see if you have the….guts, i guess?..to stick with it.
haha, thanks Greg, I award you full points for that one. Although I would like to say that that is one thing that keeps me intrigued with traditional martial arts - the jar is SO big that there doesn’t seem to be an end to the learning.
BBM: Don’t worry, we’ll get you throwing some pennies in there soon enough.
Very good post. Keep them coming.
I think William Chow of kenpo fame claimed to be a 15th dan. Self-promoted, no less. Interestingly he lived in poverty most of his life, he could’ve used that coin jar! Nice post.
Great post! My grandfather had a jar just like yours (minus the hole…)and filled it with pennies. Yes, pennies. He managed to count them one day and he had $400! Just think, ten years from now you may have more! Ha! It’s so true about the first years of training and how exciting they can be. I’m at the place you are, where sometimes it can be a struggle and I question where I’m actually going. But it’s about the journey indeed. Wonderful!
Ironic.
I believe our “coin jars” (budo training) are much bigger… and have far less in them at any one time.
That why even masters with a half century of training still train hard to forge out their imperfections. They still see their jars only 75% full.
Also, I feel like any sort of training is more of a water glass than a water jug like such. It gets bigger at the top than it is at the bottom, which is why we see more progress at first. The higher you fill it, the more it takes to see a difference… right?
Karrie - I hope so! I wonder what will finally trigger me to count it all.
Branden - I didn’t have a really big water glass around. Can we just go with the jug!? Geez.
Haha, just joking - very nice thoughts and I think you made some good points there.