What does Hawaii Shotokan Karate mean to me? By Reyna Iwamoto
For me, the meaning and purpose of karate is evolving.
When I first stepped into the dojo (February 2013),
I had little to no intention of participating in karate myself.
I envisioned being a mere spectator, to support my
daughter as she explored another extra-curricular activity.
Thankfully, during the first beginner’s
class, I was encouraged to participate and I was delighted and excited to be
able to do something along side my daughter; hoping to simply get a bit of
exercise as well.
A few classes later, Sensei announced,
“Karate
is going to be one of the hardest things you’ll
ever do in your life!”
My feelings of delight and excitement quickly turned into
trepidation and fear.
I’ve
never done much of anything before, let alone anything
“difficult”.
As a child, I didn’t
participate in anything physically, mentally or emotionally challenging.
So at the age of 40, being presented with an
opportunity to do one of the hardest things I’ll
ever do in my life was down right daunting!!!
Thankfully, the nurturing and benevolent spirit that Hawaii Shotokan
Karate (HSK) embodies helped quiet my fears.
Sensei’s
compassion, patience and humor quickly embraced me.
I recall being warmly welcomed at each training.
Sensei knew all of our names after the first class,
never having to refer to a roster of students, ever!
That sense of community, humanity and goodwill is
exactly what most other sports or activities lack.
I knew this was going to be a great experience for
not only my daughter, but for myself as well.
In these past two years, karate has grown from just another
extra-curricular activity for my daughter to a venue for personal and family
growth. Karate has taught us about perseverance.
I’ve
never really started anything, thus I’ve
never really had to stick something out.
Although I’ve
always thought karate was an individual sport, at HSK, I think the synergy,
teamwork and virtue plays a big part in our success and the longevity of the
dojo.
It’s
that spirit and motivation from others that enables me to push myself harder
than I’ve
ever pushed myself before.
I never imagined I’d
make it this far!
Karate has given me the opportunity to be a role
model for my daughter; to have her witness me pushing the limitations
(emotionally, mentally and physically) that I place upon myself.
A lesson that I can’t
imagine I’d
ever be able to emulate in any other circumstance.
Karate has also taught me resilience.
I’m
not athletic nor am I coordinated, thus most techniques take me longer to
grasp than most people.
I’m
a creature of habit, thus a change in routine can often throw a curve in my
learning process.
But learning karate from multiple teachers has
taught me that not everything is always presented in the same manner and one
must adapt accordingly.
I
think that I’ve
also been able to incorporate that flexibility in my personal and
professional life as well.
I’m
been doing essentially the same thing (career-wise) for close to 20 years at
various institutions, and I’d
like to think that karate has helped me adapt to my current position; which
requires more resilience than I think I’ve
ever needed before.
I think karate is similar to the Japanese term
“kaizen”,
which is a philosophy of continuous improvement.
Whereby small changes on a daily basis accumulated
over time can result in an overall significant change.
Although the overall goal may be reached, you should
always reflect to continuously improve.
A technique that worked effectively in the past may
need to be re-evaluated for efficiency as the years go by.
Just because something is not broken, doesn’t
mean it doesn’t
need to be fixed and just because you fix something doesn’t
mean it’s
not broken anymore.
Someone once told me, in karate, there’s
always something new to learn and something old to perfect.
I’ve
come to realize, that karate is unlike any other sport or extra-curricular
activity; you don’t
just
“do”
karate, you have to
“live
it”
to
“get
it”
and that is something that I’m
trying to study, comprehend and incorporate into my life and lifestyle.