Wax on, Wax off!
There is not a single person on this earth who would not have heard the famous cliche, Wax on, Wax off – straight out of the original Karate Kid movie. It got me thinking in class yesterday whilst teaching Richard Norton’s Black Belt Complexes to my students. I passed a comment that the moves might not make much sense or be useful to them at this stage. One student drew an analogy and said, ‘this is a bit like wax on, wax off.’ The Karate Kid had no idea what and why he was waxing cars and whether he was going to learn martial arts at all but, at long last (as the movie goes), he knew enough, just in time, to beat up the bad guys at the tournament.
The Black Belt Complexes need persistence and commitment and, within time, students will understand them and they will become useful. These techniques look impressive and there are many Black Belts who are willing to try them but none that I have seen, have made the committment They can be ‘painful’ and complex (pardon the pun) but once you are over the 50 per cent mark, they are really gratifying which will take you to another level in the martial arts. It is even better when you finish them!
I get a natural ‘high’ moving at speed with those moves. It has certainly changed the way I train and think in the martial arts. When others make the decision not to do them because they are too hard to learn only makes me feel more determined. There is something easier for those who don't like to indulge – take your jacket off, hang it up, put it on the ground and then pick it up. Enjoy!
GA