Campus pool

Little Black Belt

I am a black belt and as part of that accomplishment I am expected to be ready to help the other students with whatever they are working on. The students that tend to need the most help are the ones that are preparing to take their test to achieve their own black belt. At this stage a student is trying to perfect the 15 techniques each for defense against kicking, punching, knife attack, and the 15 for hand to hand throws against a neutral opponent. Add to these 60 maneuvers the various kicks while standing moving and spinning that you need to have mastered. This is a serious work load and a serious commitment and so our Master has a special Friday night class for the black belts and the almost black belts to train up for the test.

I had an interesting experience at the dojo last night at the black belt prep class. I was holding a spin-kick pad for some recommended black belts and helping them refine their kicks. It is sometimes difficult to get the younger students to commit to the art, and you have to gauge your instruction against the desire of the student to learn and their ability (some students are just going through the motions and some are farther along then others). I had two young recommended black belts to help that night. I am going to refer to these kids as A and B. First A stepped up and delivered his kicks swiftly and almost without effectiveness. He ran through the four kicks (180, 360, jump 180, jump 360) quickly. I tried to get him to slow down and aim better. I showed him how to angle his body to strike with the heel (instead of the side of the foot that will leave you with a broken foot) but in the end the lack of eye contact and slack posture defeated me and I sent him on to his next step (low kicks).

Kid B came up and I was immediately worried about his lack of eye contact.  I started him out on his 180 spin kick and there was an immediate problem. His turn was jearky, his kick was very low and his balance was very weak. I lowered the pad and had him kick a few more times to no better effect. At this point I stopped and asked him if he was struggling with anything. He told me through a stutter that he has minor cerebral palsy. I have no experience with cerebral palsy and had no idea where his limits were so I just took it slowly and tried to help him at his level. I could tell, by the fact that he had come up to me, that he was ready to learn so I gave him what advice that I could. He needed to break the movement down and build muscle memory of the movement. I had him repeat the movement and tried to work at his level with the goal of improvement and not mastery. We did the 180 and 360 degree kicks but skipped the ones with jumps. I don't know if he will ever be able to do the kicks properly but he will be able to improve.

This moment really resonated with me. Here were two students, one with the will and one with the physical ability. It was nothing short of tragic that kid A was apathetic and kid B was physically disabled. When it comes down to a decision, I would rather work with kid B than kid A. I want to be there for someone who wants to learn, not talking to a kid who is just waiting for when they can go home. It just makes me so sad to know that kid B is fully aware (his father described him as freaky-smart) but is stuck inside a body that won't respond properly to his mind.

This really reminds me about how fortunate I am to be strong and healthy. Count your blessings sweet reader, and never take life for granted.

Guts and Art

There is an artist called Mr. Brainwash. Anyone who has seen the movie "Exit Through Gift Shop" will be familiar with his story but for those who are not, here is a brief summary. One day a man with a camera obsession found his way into the world of street art (some would say graffiti) and met a bunch of influential street artists (some wold say vandals). He eventually met one of the most influential artists, a man who calls himself Banksy. This video enthusiast convinced Banksy and a bunch of the others to let him film their work. Finally he became so interested that they convinced him to make a movie with his tapes. He did. It stank. Banksy then told the man that he would re-edit the movie and that the man should go pursue other interests. This is when Mr. Brainwash was born. The videographer became a street artist (some would say copycat) and started working on his own art. This culminated in a huge art show in 2008 that cemented Mr. Brainwash as an artist and a public figure.

Today I watched an interesting show called "A Day In The Life." This episode focused on Mr. Brainwash and was an interesting update to his story. Some people think he is an amazing artist and some think he is a hopelessly derivative poser. I am not sure what to think. If he is anything, he is an art director as he relies heavily on others to bring his visions to life. This begs the question: how is this any less valid than a film director.