A short post today, as I am preparing to hit the road for six hours to a Kyokushin tournament in Quebec. I’m not competing, but I wanted to go, so that I could cheer my team on, as well as watch and write about the event.
Wednesday’s class was pure conditioning and it was hard! Without getting into all the details of the class, the major theme was perseverance. Repetitive and exhausting, pushing you to your limits. Or at least what you thought your limits were.
Sensei’s message that night, through his physical training and words, was to not give up. Ever. Under no circumstance. It didn’t matter if you were keeping up with everyone else, or keeping your speed. Just that you kept trying when you thought you had nothing left to give.
It was a great lesson that transfers so easily to outside of the dojo. We all have something going on in our lives. That’s just life. From work stress to personal issues. Sometimes we all feel like giving up, without even knowing what that means. What Kyokushin Karate teaches is that we must persevere. Show our true spirit and fight on. Eventually we come out the other side, and we can do so being proud of ourselves for giving it our all.
Osu!