It wasn't my plan, but here I am, exhausted and grateful

[Shizentai]

I set two goals for myself this year:

1. get a tenure track position at a university

2. work on getting instructor certification

My plan is to ultimately start my own university club once these two stepping stones are in place, especially once my career trajectory is less fluid.

So en route to these goals I've been applying for jobs like mad, but I've also been attending a lot of camps and seminars and judging/examiner/instructor trainings the first half of this year. This has been my karate focus lately, transitioning from ranking up and competition to take more of a leadership role.

Anyway, one of the camps I attended recently was the JKA WF America camp, which featured guest instruction from Master Ueki, Chief instructor of the JKA, from headquarters in Tokyo. I assumed because I can speak a little bit of Japanese, I got some nice critique and attention from Master Ueki. It is much appreciated! I also did better in the in-camp tournament than I expected. Maybe it was random chance, maybe because it wasn't my focus this time around, and so I had few nerves about it. It's hard to say --but here's the catch-- this camp's in-camp tournament was also the National Championship for the JKA WF America.

... and so at the end of the camp (mind you, this is still less than a month ago), my name gets called and I'm supposed to run up to the front of the gym. I was in a line of others who similarly didn't know why they were summoned. Then the announcement comes in "Give a round of applause for your qualifying US team pool." I think my jaw nearly fell through the floor. I tried and failed to make the US team in the past, when competition was more of a focus. When I spent so much time and effort trying, I was unsuccessful. Is it really possible that I managed to accidentally do it this year??? To make a long story short, yes. I am on the team. We will be competing in the Pan American games next month, and the training in the meantime is fairly intense. I have bruises on every limb. We'll see how this goes. Hopefully they didn't make a mistake. Hopefully I can be of service.

More to the point of this thread though, I think there is something I do when I want a specific outcome too badly (i.e. when I want to win). I think I lose sight of the waza, and maybe even the love I have for what I do. I want to take this revelation and bottle it, to carry it forward with me as I mature.

[Chunmonchek]

Shizentai,

Congratulations!!!

It sounds like you have a lot of opportunities opening up for you in the arts. I'm sure you will make the most of them.

All the best,

Chris

[bushido_man96]

Congrats on the National Team selection! I believe that you will provide quality representation on the team! It appears that you have taken another step in your journey, and it's opened your eyes in regards to how you approach your training. Perhaps by not pressuring yourself in training with a competition focus, you've opened yourself up to really getting better without realizing it!

Again, congratulations!

[JR 137]

Congratulations, Shizentai! I wish you luck. Sometimes, the best things in life aren’t planned and take us by surprise.

Please keep us up to date with everything that’s going on. I’d love to follow your journey.

[sensei8]

WOW!! If if was me, I'd be walking/running into walls because my head would be spinning with jubilation in the Nth degree. Super congrats, Shizentai, on being selected on the JKA National Team; an honor, for sure!! The JKA doesn't just make those type of appointments as a whim, but of strict requirements being made by the appointee. A feather in your cap, for sure!!

This selection brings you even that much closer in obtaining your goals. After all, it will look solid across the board on a resume of any type, especially within the MA world, and more specifically, within the JKA network!!

So, seems to be that your attending THAT particular camp, at that particular time and date, was not fortuitous, by any means; things like this are never by happenstance, but by efforts made that exceed any known expectations.

What you do with this will have immediate and/or future consequences, either good or bad. However, of what I know about you, I foresee nothing but good consequences in your horizon.

Train hard, and train well!! Remember, proof is on the floor!!

[DWx]

Congrats Shinzentai! That's great news.

[Shizentai]

Thank you for your kind words all! 🙏

The first couple weeks of team training was a bit rough. It was an adjustment going from being in the dojo 3 nights a week to now 5 or 6. There's also the added bonus of everyone suddenly hitting faster and harder. Now I think I've settled into a normal routine with it all though. I'm seldom the strongest on the floor, but I do tend to have better endurance than the average person, so it helps me get more training in.

[Patrick]

Belated congrats, Shizentai.

Patrick