Doing the Work

Last week, I emailed my students to say that some of them were close to being ready for promotion to the next rank. I said that I was planning to schedule two promotion tests, one very soon and one at the end of the summer, and was trying to figure out who to test when. I asked who felt ready to put in some extra work right now, and who wanted a little more time.

One of our newest students replied “I am always ready to put in extra work!” and asked what specifically she should be working on. She is very new indeed, only training in Eizan Ryu for ten weeks or so, so she is not quite ready for a test yet. But with that answer -- and her time with us thus far shows that she is sincere in that willingness -- she demonstrated that she will be ready, and that she has the potential to become good at this stuff. Her willingness to put in the work is the single quality most indicative of a good student.

Sometimes we get a new student who is clearly athletically gifted. They might be very strong for their size, or very quick, or have unusually good balance or flexibility. That is always fun, because those qualities make some things in Eizan Ryu easier to do – at least at first. And when a new student has some kind of movement training in their background, whether it be sports or yoga or dance, they are often quicker at learning new ways of moving, so they, too, will start to feel comfortable in the training relatively early.

We also get a number of students with significant martial arts training – some having trained in another style previously, and others looking to cross train in Eizan Ryu. Just this year, we have had people with experience in various styles of karate, BJJ, judo, aikido, boxing, and MMA training with us. As long as they approach our classes with an open mind, willing to try new ways of doing things, it is interesting to teach them, as they are able to make connections that a complete beginner would not see.

But while all of those folks have some advantages when they start training with us, the quality that makes the biggest difference in how someone progresses is whether they are “ready to put in extra work.” You can be physically gifted, very fit, a high school basketball star, a marathoner, or you can be completely new to the martial arts, not very athletic, somewhat out of shape; either way, you will be welcome and we will help you learn and progress. But that is all that we can do : HELP you learn and progress. We will teach you techniques and give you feedback, but making the training a part of you is your job.

It is being willing to do the work – getting to class as often as you can, staying focused in class, pushing yourself, challenging yourself, asking questions, practicing on your own – that will help you in the early days of your training, and that will serve you best throughout your journey. So be ready to put in the work.