Putting Out Fires
"The measure of success is not whether you have a tough problem to deal with, but whether it is the same problem you had last year. " -- John Foster Dulles
What Ive learned this pass month and what I recommend is the following to reduce the amount of problems we're faced with regularly:“The first task here is to identify the time-wasters which follow from lack of system or foresight. The symptom to look for is the recurrent “crisis,” the crisis that comes back year after year. A CRISIS THAT RECURS A SECOND TIME IS A CRISIS THAT MUST NOT OCCUR AGAIN.”Your emotional drainers and non-understanding in the way of the philosophy of Karate are your worst arsonists, you know. They're your crisis people. Setting fires deliberately.But the real key to handling those flare-ups at the dojo is prevention. It takes somebody smart enough to anticipate the problem. Avoid it. Get ahead of it.How much time do you spend trying to put out fires at the dojo?Sorry ... smoke inhalation ... get down on the floor ...We have good days and bad.Ive finally become fireproof here, thank you very much.That's a combustible situation. A fire waiting to happen. Easily prevented.In Karate, I've found that there's such a thing as the overly ego-centric student. You may have to consider letting go of such a student because there's such a high level of anxiety involved, fire after fire, crisis after crisis. You simply may not be able to satisfy anyone like this.Panic this is all panic that sucks up a lot of the energy you could be using to continue your personal path to higher lever thinking.
But elsewhere in society, we tend to think we can "wing it." We love to think no preparation is needed for anything. What happens? -- havoc happens. And guess what: You pay a premium to fix it, too, because things are falling apart at the last minute.For fires at the dojo, those things you're so used to putting out all the time, think firewalls. Stop the spread. Condos and computers have firewalls. Put them into place in your dojo. You might even want to assign one person in your operation the job of contingency planning, thinking ahead: your fire extinguisher.In the process of choosing somebody to be your firefighter, think about what sets your operation up for these incidents. Your leadership structure? Your staffing levels? You may just have to bite the bullet if not, because these shortages throw off sparks, and keep throwing them off.
Quality not Quantity
Further conclusion
"Karate is for everyone, but not everyone is for Karate."
Karate Concepts advocates karate training as a 'way of life'. The new mission is to offer a curriculum of education whose philosophies, practices, and methods, promotes strong minds, healthy bodies, and ethical spirits.Not all Karate schools are alike. True freedom is the ability to choose. Determine your training goals, choose carefully, & enjoy the benefits karate training brings.Self-Defense skills are not always meant for use against others. The discipline that dedicated training brings also defends us against "ourselves." The purpose of repetition is to turn training into reflex. This includes learning to make good choices, and the conviction to say 'no' when offered bad ones.While casual students are accepted, it would be well to note our Karate do is not a fad. Hopefuls seeking 'instant gratification' or those looking to add 'flash for cash' should continue looking elsewhere.