Play

There are a lot of times when I catch myself teaching my perverted version of what I think we are learning in class to my training partners. A lot of the times I am almost too willing to share my “gross amount” of knowledge to help them out. There’s a burning sensation that wants me to get them to the point where they “get it” and then I overwhelm them with information and I give them too many little things to help with the big thing. I have found that when I do this, the person is tied up within the kata,(which is a nice variation) and they’re not getting any lessons for themselves. One great thing about this art is that we all have our own pieces that we get to see. By shoving my sight, my experience might feel like the right thing to do, in ways it is not. I have found that playing, and giving responses as the aggressor, will give my training partner an experience that is personal, and fitting to them and maybe raise a question for a teacher to answer. I have also found that my training partners have gotten more from our interactions when we play together.

(I have also found that everything changes so what I learned one year ago is not what I’m learning right now because the wheel is traveling down the road…)

Just my two cents on playing.

Joe Burleigh
SMAC Student