WIKF Texas Proud
March 2018
Consistency & Work
We are now entering into the third month of our competitive season and training. This is the time where our commitment matters; vacations will come up, other sports have events, and multiple other items are pulling for our time. The self-discipline to prioritize time to your goal is really tested now. Consistency & effort will beat talent every day.
Will Smith succinctly summed up his secret to success: the only thing that is distinctively different is that he will not be outworked. He gave his 'Die on a Treadmill' analogy in this interview.
Many high level and elite athletes have given their credit to extreme levels of Hard Work:
'Its not the will to win that matters - everyone has that. Its the will to prepare to win that matters" - Paul Bryant
'If you can't outplay them, outwork them' - Ben Hogan
'Most people never run far enough on their first wind to find out they have second' - William James
'If you train hard, you'll not only be hard, but you'll be hard to beat' - Herschel Walker
'Excellence is the gradual result of always striving to do better' - Pat Riley
'A champion is someone who gets up when he can't' - Jack Dempsey
Onward
Go Rin No Sho - Book of Five Rings
A famous swordsmen, Miyamoto Musashi, wrote Go Rin No Sho (Book of Five Rings) almost 400 years ago. At first thought, what possibly could a text 400 years old give to me that is meaningful?? As an easy answer and a rhetorical response ... why is this text still continued to be sold at Barnes and Noble and Amazon?
The Book of Five Rings appeals to the martial artists, but is also studied in business schools and leadership courses. It encompasses the use of strategy, tactics, and many other areas. In summary, the book is not long and is broken up into 5 areas: Book of Earth, Book of Water, Book of Fire, Book of Wind, Book of Void.
The Book of Earth (Ground Book) is now more of my focus. However, when I first read Go Rin No Sho I was more aligned to the Book of Fire. The Book of Earth has some powerful insights into what we do in our competition. For this communication, we will focus upon two of those points.
Know the smallest things and the biggest things, the shallowest things and the deepest things. From one thing, know ten thousand things. You must study hard.
From this concept, it applies directly to our study of the Rules (ROOTS). We have two major criteria for Kata Decisions - Technical Performance and Athletic Performance. Within Technical Performance there are 8 sub-criteria and 4 sub-critiera in Athletic Performance. As athletes, we should know and utilize these 12 criteria to hone our kata training.
Within Kumite, this concept applies to knowing all 6 criteria to score and all 7 targets they can be applied to. This also is applicable to knowing how fouls are given in kumite.
A similar question - how can we know '10,000 things' from just knowing one?
In matches, if your opponent is given a 'holding call' and there is 14 seconds left - knowing the Category 2 Foul rules will give MANY options of how to proceed. If you are losing 4-5 and your opponent has Senshu, then you score as your opponent goes out of bounds with 1 second left ... knowing the rules gives your many options.
When you are training Kata on your own and are not sure how to spend the next 30 minutes - knowing the specific criteria for decision will guide your time.
From One Thing know Ten Thousand Things.
Strategy is the craft of the warrior. Commanders must enact the craft, and troopers should know this Way.
As athletes, you might encounter opponents that are taller than you, or faster, or stronger - the use and understanding of Strategy is imperative. If someone is faster, athletes have a choice of offensive punching, timing, or block and counter punching. Understanding the benefits of each of these choices and when they should be used is STRATEGY.
Strategy is also used when attacking; should the attack be a single offensive movement, a timing punch, or a blitz attack followed by an angle change and kick. These situations are determined by the athlete, the situation, time left, who has Senshu, and the physical conditioning of the athlete.
If our attacks are intentional then we are using Strategy. If they are blindly thrown without thought, then training in the craft is needed.
March Schedule
March 24 - Combined Team Practice starting at 11:30 due Jr. Rank Exam
March 31 - USA Open, Las Vegas; Optional Tournament
Communication Info:
Remind 101 - send message to '81010' , with the message '@2018wikfTX'
(number and message excluding quotation marks)
Upcoming Events
April 14 - Coffee with Coach @ Noon
April 21 - Miya-Kalai Cup
April 28 - Junior Rank Exam, Combined Training starting at 11:30
May 5 - Colorado Tournament
May 12 - Texas State Championships, Houston
May 19 - South Carolina Open & WIKF USA Team Training
May 26 - Combined Training starting at 11:30
Constant Team Support
First, great job Patrick Peoples!! The scoreboard is showing 6 to 1 with 15 seconds left, and he is still going strong. He is giving pressure as you notice where they are at in the ring.
But more importantly, look at his teammates seen watching him. Mrs. Herschel, Merrill family, Senpai Scott, and Senpai Hintzel all watching and supporting Patrick.
This picture shows what being on WIKF is all about.