Changing the way I think

This entry is as a response to one of my master's blogs.

I was surprised to actually see this blog entry, because I initially thought of this as a relatively insignificant event. However, the more I think about it, the more significant it becomes. It is a very good example of something I've noticed regularly in classes lately.

When I first started training TKD, I thought of it as a rigid concept with exact patterns and established applications. Therefore, I’ve never allowed myself to look beyond the specific application I’ve been taught. But now that I see others going through the same learning process this is changing. Incidents such as the one described by my master, where other students learn a slightly different variation of an application of a technique, made me think that maybe our style isn’t as rigid as I originally thought.

When we train applications of a technique in class these days, I catch myself more and more often trying out my own variations. This includes looking at different angles of entry, following up a block or evasive manoeuvre with different counter attacks, etc. I wouldn’t go as far as doing this with techniques I’ve just learned, but more with those I’ve been taught a while back and am more comfortable at performing. As I stated above, I’ve “caught” myself doing this, i.e. I’ve not consciously tried to come up with a variation to an application, hence these variations are minor. I think however that in time (and with a lot more practice and experience), I might become a bit more adventurous. For now though, I’ll keep “my” variations to little things, but perhaps with a more conscious approach, incorporating thoughts as to how I could make a technique work better for my own needs/abilities.

The main thing to take from this for me is that I should no longer look at our style as rigid, but rather as fluid and constantly adapting to the situation. For my study of applications this will perhaps take the focus from the “how is it done” (which is still the main focus when practicing specific techniques, particularly with new ones) to “what is it trying to achieve”.