Today Shihan made us go over the kata forms, meaning we had to practice on certain formal techniques necessary for passing on to the next belt. He stressed the importance of grounding oneself in the basics, following through on every movement, investing oneself in the appreciation of the art as a whole, not just as a means to an end. To illustrate, he told us a story.
A traveler walked down the road, and he came across a man who was hacking away at a rock.
"What are you doing?" asked the traveler.
"I'm cutting stone," said the man.
So the traveler nodded and continued along the way, only to come across another man cutting stone.
"What are you doing?" asked the traveler.
"I'm building a cathedral," said the man.
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2 comments:
Aaaaah. I love that little story. I just got little chills. ^^ From now on if someone asks me what I'm going, I'm always going to say, "Building a cathedral."
aaaand by "going" i mean "doing."
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