Reuben
Minton
Sandan, 3rd degree
Training since 1998
"Keep your balance. Beyond the obvious meaning of that statement, sometimes you'll have good days and sometimes you'll have bad days. Sometimes everything you do is great and sometimes you'll just suck. Either way, laugh it off, adapt and keep training!
Keep stretching - in every way. This was one of the lessons taught to me (without a word being said) when I received my 9th kyu and I've never forgotten it. It has helped me expand every aspect of my training.
Keep refining. Explore your movement, alignment, angles, distancing, timing, breathing etc... Shodan does not mean you have 'mastered' anything - it is only a beginning. The moment you think you "know" is the moment you stop learning. From what I can see, there is no end to this art, just an infinite road of beginnings.
Keep
going. Those two little words have meant more and more to me as I keep training.
They will find their own meaning for you the longer you train.
Let go. Leave your ego 'at the door' and laugh a lot. Do not equate laughing
with weakness, that is a foolish assumption.
In our daily lives we are surrounded by hardships, sorrows and tragedies. Sometimes these affect us directly, sometimes not. Amidst the chaos that surrounds you, do your best to enjoy this life as much as you can...it's the only chance you'll get."
Gondan, 5th degree
Training since 1998
"Flowing, adapting to change, yet remaining
centered allows for free movement—of body and mind—within
the environment that surrounds you.
Training never ceases; don't assume that it does."
