Page 31 - Beyond Basics_Neat

BEYOND BASICS

get under 200 pounds by August 1, 2 months away! … the loser
had to compete at a tournament being held on August 1 … and
buy dinner!

August 1 came around and Fred showed up with a scale under his
arm! He made weight, I didn’t! Which meant I had to compete!
Now I hadn’t actively sparred since 1994 at my 5 Degree test!
Saying that I was rusty was a huge understatement.

Long story short, I took the Kata Grand Championship and lost by
1 point for the Sparring Grand Championship! Oh, I forgot to
mention that I was 57 at the time and both of my Grand Champion
opponents were 19!

So how could a 57-year-old man, with 2 recent hip replacements

A System should be easy to understand,
follow, and implement.

still perform at a highly competitive level after 14 years of
inactivity? Concepts!

As a perpetual student of the martial arts. Training was mainly with
other martial artists and through seminars. I quickly realized that
I wasn’t remembering any of the “techniques” taught at those
seminars. I also realized that some of those “techniques” may or
may not work for me.
This realization led me to seek out the idea or concept of the
technique. The Why! Discovering the “Why”, caused growth to
follow because the “Why” allowed me to create or modify my
techniques to fit the “Why”! The adage, “Can’t see the forest for
the trees” perfectly illustrates Techniques Vs Concepts! One tree

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