Aha! Moments

[Spartacus Maximus]

Sooner or later there must be a point in one's training where one finally starts to understand an important aspect of the system one has been training in. What was your first "aha!" moment and what was your rank at the time if applicable? What was the object of your realization?

[JR 137]

I think I passed my first a-ha moment onto a kid I was helping teach yesterday...

I was going over kata with him (he's around 12 years old). I was trying to emphasize setting his hands, looking in the next direction, stepping strong, then twisting his hips and torso with the turn while timing the block with the turn, with the block and turn ending at the same (180 degree turn into low block in Taikyoka 1).

It didn't mean much to him until I demonstrated the bunkai on him - arm lock into a throw. The light bulb lit up pretty brightly. His father who was watching and studied Uechi Ryu for quite some time smiled and nodded. After class, his father said to me "finally someone got through to help."

My teacher gave me that same exact a-ha moment when I was starting out. I thought Taikyoka 1 was a worthless and unrealistic way of defending against multiple attackers until my Sensei showed me that bunkai and said we'd get into a lot more bunkai after I polish up the kata a bit more. Without bunkai beyond block, punch, kick, kata is a pretty much worthless dance.

[CTTKDKing]

I've been training for about 12 years and I still have these all the time when learning new concepts. Prior to the school in which I'm currently training, I practised WTF TKD. We had a fairly balanced school but a lot of the combinations we regularly practised were for sparring/tournament format. So switching to a school that was more self defence oriented and based in Kenpo, had to get me used to new concepts the biggest probably being close range movements where each movement sets the stage for the next movement. Now you always want your movements to flow nicely together, but Kenpo really puts an emphasis on this. If you're practising a self defence technique that say starts with a block and then a strike to the head, are you really taking into account, that the head of the person you just struck is going to be reacting a certain way, as will the torso it's attached to? The aha moment here came when I understood that you have to factor in full body reactions to each technique you execute. I spent a lot of time in TKD doing the same thing with my feet but had a harder time with my hands in the new dojo because targeting with your hands has to be so much more precise to yield the response you want. This is very far from my first aha moment (might have been my first when i switched styles as it was about a week in in the newer dojo), and i'm sure is far from my last.

[sensei8]

When did I NOT have an "Aha" moment?!? 51 years in the MA and I STILL have "Aha" moments. Having said that, my first "Aha" moment is as vivid as it was the day it happened.

I was 10 years old! I was a 6th Kyu/Green Belt! Even though I was 6th Kyu, I've always had problems with my Tai Sabaki work, more particularly, my turns weren't locked and solid, often times, they were the bane of my MA existence.

Sensei, as nurturing as he always was, I was thick headed beyond all belief. He's say turn right, and I'd turn left, and vice versa. Never once did he raise his voice or say anything negative; he defined patience to the Nth degree.

Silly or dumb as this might sound, and what Sensei did eventually with me, still, brings tears in my eyes. He tried everything to help me break the barrier...to help me see day instead of night...to break free of where I was then, to where I needed to be.

He called my mom, and spoke with her on the phone briefly before we headed to class for that night. Just before we headed out the front door, she told me to get into the car while she ran back into the house to retrieve something.

We went to class. Sensei greeted my mom and asked her...

"You bring it?"

"Yes...it's right here." mom says as she's reaching into her purse.

When I saw what it was, I was so embarrassed. She hands it to my Sensei, and he instructs me to line up. All of this time, I'm thinking at warp speed a billion things at about this time. What's going on?!?

After warm-ups and up-and-down drills, Sensei breaks us into tiny groups having us work on this and that. Sensei has one of our Sempai's bring me over to where he was standing. He invites me to sit down with him...and this thing in his hand...and I'm wanting to become invisible...NOW!!

He moves the thing in his hand here and there on the floor. I thought he lost him mind...especially at his age. Sensei's moving this thing around while he's making him points and showing me some unforeseen nuances. Nuances that I've never noticed before. Still, my face, from time to time, was buried in my hands out of shame. Fellow students couldn't help themselves, but they were all laughing at me, this added to my shame.

"Yame" he barked to the room.

"Stop...you pay what I doing now...no more puff" He gently commands me with an understanding tone in his voice.

Then, right then as he continues to explain with this thing in his hand...I finally went...AHA...it started to click. Sensei must've saw the brightness of my stare and the big smile on my face, because, he has me stand up and and starts drilling me in my turns...the big turn, that's what I call the 270 degree turn...is quite troublesome for me. But, that thing in his hand brought his teaching to life...where I could see what I couldn't see before.

Ever since that "Aha moment", I've understood, and had no problems with my turns...ever again. Just think, with the assistance of that thing in his hand, he was able to help me break free of that which was holding me back. I never looked at that thing the same way...again!

So, that's my first "Aha" moment.

Thanks for allowing me to share this with you all.

Oh yeah, btw, that thing...you might be asking yourself, just what was it that he had in his hand...what was that thing that helped me with my very first "Aha" moment...just what was it...

My most favorite of all things...A GI JOE!! Yeppers, it took a GI Joe to help me reach my very first "Aha" moment. Played with that GI Joe, but now when I did, not only did I lose my imagination in the world of playing, I had a new training partner at home...my GI Joe. And yes, I enlisted every army man and whomever else from my toy box to help me train in the many nuances of the MA.

Thanks GI JOE!!

[Spartacus Maximus]

So far only one moment worth mentioning. All it took was switching from one school to another and starting over from zero in the same system, but with a different instructor. Going from being sandan back to novice was and still is an eye opener. It is very difficult to not feel regret about not having known sooner about how much the original training was lacking.

[Montana]

I've had many AHA monents in my MA life, but I think the first, and biggest one was when body shifting/change of body finally started clicking for me in the middle of a class I was teaching at the local high school.

I don't know why, but suddenly it all made sense and started working. My mind opened up to it and I saw all sorts of possabilities and uses for it.

I was a Shodan/1st dan at the time with about 9 years in the arts. I had been on my own without a sensei for around 6 years at the time, and had some videos that were given to me by Sensei Ron Lindsey from Texas that helped me TREMENDOUSLY to advance my training.

[lowereastside]

Sensei8 says --

"When did I NOT have an "Aha" moment?!? 51 years in the MA and I STILL have "Aha" moments."

LOL - Very well said.

[Spartacus Maximus]

The most significant aha moment yet besides realizing how much was lacking is one that is quite recent. It happened no more than a month ago before being evaluated to shodan. The essential point was how much distance plays an important part in wether or not a technique will be effective, and that karate is meant to function from very close distances.