That was a quote from the creator of the art Kyukoshinkai Karate-Do. I kinda like it, not really workable in today's pace of life, but wouldn't it be great?
I am a BIG believer in dedicated self-improvement. Like I tell the guys who train with me: "It's in class that you learn and on your own that you get Good." Therefore I think that a personÂ’s progress lies a great deal in his or her own personal dedication to daily hard work. Nothing replaces good hard work.
IF someone does their 'homework' it REALLY shows a great deal!
What I like to do is to cycle my workouts according to different rank level curriculums. Each night begins with going through the forms, and then sets then the yellow belt material followed by the level IÂ’m concentrating on that evening.
1. Forms, sets then Yellow and Orange.
2. Forms, sets then Yellow and Purple.
3. Forms, sets then Yellow and BlueÂ…etc. etcÂ…
By keeping yellow at the beginning of each evening I keep the basics firmly in ‘first place’, as they should be. If time is an issue on a particular day I might cut out the yellow belt material, but I like to keep it in place.
I like this set up. After I get up to my current rank I do two consecutive nights there and then the last night of the cycle I work the material that I am currently learning for the next belt rank.
This cycle would take 10-11 days before it repeats (for a 1st degree black belt that is).
By doing it this way I can go through the entire curriculum 2-3 times each month w/out skipping a thing. Only thing I canÂ’t do are the several drills in the AKKI that require a 2nd person. These I get to with the guys who train with me. At lower ranks a person could go through their entire store of knowledge w/in a week easilyÂ… really accelerating their growth.
As far as other supplementary work, I do ride my exercise bike, lift weights and do yoga. But I separate these things from my Kenpo workouts. As IÂ’ve always said: the best way to get better at doing Kenpo is to do more Kenpo. Supplemental work is great; as long as what it is doing is supplementing an already significant amount of work in the basics of your artÂ…otherwise all you are doing is trying to make up for what you should be doing in Kenpo. ((Hope IÂ’m making sense to you, sometimes IÂ’m wordy))
As far as a classroom setting, thatÂ’s up to the instructor. How do I conduct my classes that I lead????
Trade secretÂ…

Your Brother
John