Egos and Icons

The hardest thing to do is deliberately hold yourself back.

This means evaluating yourself and deciding you are not ready to proceed forward.

I had a karate test this weekend. But I opted not to evaluate because I knew there were things that I still needed to work on.

This was a difficult decision to make , especially when there is pressure from up and coming students that are racing to catch up and pass you in rank and ability. That doesn't mean I can't recatch up and pass them again later.

Rank is associated with ego. The faster you can advance the more you can hold over your daily opponents. (The people you train with).

But rank isn't what karate is about. Karate is a life-long journey. It is a sport that allows you to work at your own pace. If you want to learn, ego should be put aside.

Besides if you know you are not ready, why embarrass yourself by trying and likely not succeeding. Instead it is better to kick yourself for not working hard enough in order to have been ready and then vow that you will be ready next time.