Funakoshi Sensei said, “Karate is like boiling water. If you do not heat it constantly, it will cool.”
Comment: Although, for his time this may have had a meaning that today does not quite fit because to keep a pot of water on a rolling boil will simply evaporate in time and I don’t think that was his meaning, at all. If we keep at a certain level of effort our skills will improve so tending to that effort is similar to tending to one’s garden. All flora, trees and other plantings if continually tended to with watering, plant foods and removing all the weeds tends to help them grow and flower over time. Even this has its limitations but will not diminish its flowering until its natural end of life much later as any good Gardner already knows.
Mass Oyama Sensei said, “One becomes a beginner after 1,000 days of training. One becomes a master after 10,000 days of practice.”
Comment: In its day it assumes, as it would even today, that one knows that there is much, much, much more to it than simply training and practicing any number of days. A beginner actually begins the day they walk through the dojo doorway. The beginner begins to build on that by what they do, how they do it and how they participate, listen and understand that which is being trained and taught by he or she who comes before, as in experience, etc., i.e., sensei and/or senpai. To master any skill is not just about repetitive practices over a certain time span because some can master a skill in a period of time much less that that which would accumulate days up to and surpassing 10,000 days. Here again, what is being practiced matters more than merely passing the days in some form of practice that can be repeating a move vs. repeating, learning, understanding and practical application of said methods over time. Then how many hours in a day, how many days a week and how many weeks per year also matter because to embed such things in the mind also require certain concepts and skills to make them work vs. simply dancing to the tune of the sensei and dojo. Think about this.
In closing, in lieu of keeping the water to a boil, I would rather the student keep the water at a low simmer, not to hot and not cold, so as to allow it to flourish over time much like the gardener tilling the soil and tending the plantings.
As to those days, dedication of any number of days with the natural void or empty space in between tends to build a stronger foundation than putting in the same amount of energy and effort and expending both daily for such long periods of time. Like music if you don’t allow space, void, between the notes you will find the music disappears and all you get is noise. Build those skills, etc., over proper time and tending to the flames to keep a steady simmer rather than a boil. It matters.
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