Japanese Karate-Do

It was a relaxing, sunny summer weekend, one that Jason didn't want to end. And here he was; Monday afternoon struggling to focus on work. The anticipation of karate class was constantly on his mind. He had been practicing on his own, so that he could go into karate class having a better idea of the techniques that he needed to know.

Little did he realize that when he was practicing on his own, he wasn't practicing with integrity. He wasn't fully engaged in his practice. So later, when he arrived at the dojo that evening, he mistakenly thought he was ready.

Right out of the gate, he was corrected on his form. What had happened?

In short, Jason's lack of integrity in his individual practice was coming out in his group practice. Muscle memory was inhibiting the proper execution of his forms despite his mental commitment to executing the proper form. A concept that's constantly taught was now being played out – Practicing a technique one thousand times incorrectly is not as good as practicing a technique one hundred times correctly.

And so it was, Jason's lack of full engagement was conditioning his muscle memory to execute his techniques incorrectly, even though, mentally he wanted to execute the techniques perfectly. The lack of integrity had to be corrected so that his muscles would do what he intended them to do, properly.

So what does Jason have to do?

Jason has to practice with integrity. And, while there are several aspects to practicing with integrity, three points that will help Jason include:

• Being in the moment. When Jason is training, his mind has to be on training. He can't be thinking about what happened before training nor can he be thinking about what he has to do after training.
  
  

• Fully focusing on the technique. He must focus on: 1). The correct placement of each part of his body – stance; balance and alignment. 2). The muscles used in the technique – relaxation and tension. 3). Proper breathing – control and timing. 4). Application of the technique – full intensity, full range of motion and full commitment
  

• Having a beginner's mind. He must approach practice with the attitude that he is there to learn. He can't have attitude that he already knows all that needs to be learned, regardless of the level he's at.

Don't sabotage your training by practicing without integrity. Your muscle memory depends on it.