Sweet, humbling Ju Jitsu!

Today I managed to do a Katana nage which was clearly well beyond my usual reach. The footwork was smooth and in its place, I had good posture, my hands were soft and I was moving from my hips. Sensei Maria happened to be watching and congratulated me on my work. Shortly after I did Katana Nage again... If you're imagining the exact opposite, then you'd be right. My footwork was all over, I was tense, I hunched forward to get power and it was an overall unstructured and ugly maneuver.

I was embarrased until I realized the real mistake. I wasn't wrong to be happy about my success. I work as hard as anybody else, and if I don't let it bring me joy, then why would I even do it? My mistake was that I didn't understand that everything has a time and place and by focusing excessively on my success; I pretty much assured that I wouldn't have any further success to celebrate. Since I regularly praise Ju Jitsu for providing a platform to teach me life lessons on a foam mat; it's not hard to see why this blogpost means more to me than Katana Nage.

Bask in your success when you can and focus on your challenges when you must. It's simple advice that we can all easily understand and agree with. But only through many little moments like this does it become more than something I say and part of who I am.