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the logbook is full! And now, Team FMA presents Kickin'!
Young Maria was ambitious, right from the start. On her
first day training at our dojang, she proclaimed, “Master
Ana, I don’t want to just get my Black Belt. I want to be the
national champion!”
It’s wonderful to have a student with such drive, but
Maria came with a lot of baggage she had to drop.
She’d transferred to our studio from a nearby club and
she housed numerous old habits that were best left
behind. Her walking stances were way too small, for
example, and instead of keeping her shoulders and hips
straight in her forward stances, she angled them
instead. None of her turns were correct, either. In
short, the path ahead of her was going to be a
difficult one.
But Maria had the right attitude and soon things began to
turn her way. She came to class three to four times per week
and worked very hard to bypass the habits from her old
club. She quickly met our requirements for the rank
she’d previously attained and, not wanting to be left
behind, refused to take the mid-class water break over by
the benches. No sitting or resting for her…
instead, Maria stayed on the mats and practiced her stances until
she had straightened them out and had her shoulders and hips
squared forward.
By this time, the fall tournament season had started and, after
the first two events, I could tell Maria pined to
compete; she did not want to be left off the next tournament
team. After class one evening, I called her over to the
benches and said, “Maria, I’d be lion if
I said you were ready to spar at the next competition. But…
you’re on the right track with your forms and
you’ve continued forward with your techniques,
so let’s get you signed up for the tournament
that’s just ahead.”
There was no fence that could hold back Maria’s
enthusiasm and dedication after that. She turned her full
attention towards martial arts and, although the path
ahead was at times slippery, Maria trained harder than ever
before to keep progressing forward. Board breaking
soon became a walk in the park for Maria, and her forms
showed excellent technique, power, and fluidity. Sparring, however,
took some work, and Maria often became upset with herself,
walking back and forth between the benches to work
off her frustration. Her emotions affected her matches. Maria
sparred as if she were surrounded by tall grasses she had to
fight her way through instead of following her coach’s
straightforward advice. After each sparring session, Maria
would ignore the benches, choosing instead to work her
aggressions out on a standing bag.
Soon, however, Maria began to see the clearing through the
trees. One afternoon, less than a week before the tournament,
Maria approached me before class. “Master Ana, I think I get
it now,” she said with a smile. “Sparring isn’t
about fighting through to the end of your match. It’s about
strategy, timing, and technique.”
“Go on, Maria,” I encouraged.
“Well,” she said, “my opponents are like
trees. Some will fall easily, some will fight like
they’ve lost their heads, and others will
stand tall and strong. I need to choose the right
approach for each individual I face instead of using the same
strategy each time if I want to win.”
Maria was right and, as a result, her sparring improved
dramatically. At the tournament, she walked away with
a board-breaking gold and a gold in forms. And sparring? Well, just
because Maria had improved didn’t mean I was going to allow
her to spar competitively just yet. Maria didn’t let this
bog her down. She understood that her time would
come. She sat down on a bench, cheered on her fellow
tournament team members, and relaxed, knowing that in order to
reach her goal of being a national champion, she just had to keep
on kickin’.
Congratulations to
HelloLola, FTF, and D.A.D.D., STF!