Thought for the Week (July 16th, 2001)
Sensei Chris Barnes
San Dan/Shihan
Bushi Dojo, Los Angeles, CA
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"Repetition"; There are no shortcuts!

The ability to perform in the clutch (heat of the moment) comes
from having the confidence to know that you can. Where does that confidence
come from? You just do something repetitively, until it works consistently.
..from Michael Jordan ,ESPN Magazine, Jordan is writing about Tiger Woods
and the "Killer Instincts". Jordan continues:...The key to hitting a golf
ball is the same as for shooting a jump shot. Just you and a Technique.
Very comparable. You're doing something you've done a million times before.
But you have to block everybody and everything from your mind. If you let
yourself think "What if?" as your doing it, you won't.
I know Kyoshi often uses comparisons like the above, but when I read it was
Michael Jordan on the topic of Tiger Woods, well I think you get the
picture.

Yabu Kentsu, (your Shihan can point him out on your Shinden wall) was quoted
as saying that students should do 10,000 kata a year. Joseph Svinth).
Dave Lowry of Black Belt Magazine cites an unnamed witness as saying Yabu's
version of Gojushiho was " nothing at all like a dance, more like the motion
of the surf, soft, soft, soft, as it comes in, then smash-hard like a rock.
A fundamental precept of kata is that they demonstrate a harmony between
"ijiki" and "soyora". The former means "spirited" or "full power" and the
latter means "softly" or "gently". A common complaint of the older Okinawan
masters regarding kata today- especially the kata performed by Japanese
practitioners- is that there is too much "IJIKI" and not enough "SOYORA".

Back to Michael Jordan; What happens to clutch guys in big moments is that
everything slows down. You have time to evaluate the situation, and you can
clearly see every move you need to make. You're in the moment, in complete
control. You just do the technique repetitively, There are no shortcuts.

Repetition, There are no shortcuts.
Arigato, Barnes Sensei.
Bushi Dojo, Los Angeles.