Very often I see new students come into the dojo saying that this is exactly the art they have been looking for all of their lives! "I really want to do this!" They tell me all about their past experience and what they want to accomplish. They promise to come to every class and to practice every day! Nothing will be too much work for them! How quickly most of those burn out! Some last only one or two months and then make excuses that their outside life is too busy to allow them this practice right now. Perhaps next year they'll have more time. They say that when they get the time, they will return and be really serious! That time never seems to come; it is rare that they return.
The question is, "What are you willing to give up in order to get this?" The willingness to repeatedly practice, week after week and year after year, takes a great deal of commitment. There is an enormous gap between saying that you want to practice and actually practicing. Reading books and articles, talking about your art with others, or just watching are fine but they do not take the place of consistent daily practice. .
Everyone has different motivations for practicing. Some Budo students get involved because of poor health. Some students initially get involved in training to develop self-defence skills. We need to learn what is valuable for our lives now; in the way we live them now as well as what we may need for our future and avoid physical confrontations through self-esteem.
Others begin practice for self-development, whether it is physical, psychological, or spiritual. This is the process of individuation in which a person learns about whom they are; how and why they act or react the way they do in various situations. This finally leads to changes creating a more fulfilled person. Joriki, personal power, develops in a person who consistently practices with awareness. This personal power may take the physical form of strength or great speed but what is strived for is the ability of being aware of the self; of who you are and what you feel.
Reishiki, formalities such as bowing and making the appropriate respectful gestures, are the first things new students learn. To show proper respect is the first step in becoming a good student; respect shows that the student is ready to learn and to practice what they learn. Each practice session begins and ends with bowing, first on entering the dojo, to the kamiza, the place of the spirits at the front of the dojo, then to the teacher, and finally to the sword. These actions show not only homage to the place and to seniors, but also act as a method of clearing away all previous frustrations and problems from the outside world prior to practice.
The next thing a new student learns is to sit in seiza. This is the traditional Japanese sitting posture. At first very uncomfortable, this posture after the first year or so of practice becomes more commodious and it becomes a posture from which you can move quickly in any direction; one from which you are prepared to act or react! As the thigh muscles stretch and the ankles become more elastic, your spine stretches upward and your chest opens, allowing your body to breathe naturally and deeply from the abdomen.
Practice tends to make us not only better at what we want to do but gives us flexibility of body as well as of mind to make us able to do what it is we want and need. What kind of practice do you need? How often do you need to practice? Only you can answer that. Research the skills necessary to reach your goal. Then practice the skills.
A very important part of practice is kihaku; having a strong spirit and mind that enables you to stay with something for as long as it takes. Remember that anything even approaching mastery takes decades of practice! Do not be taken in with learning the basics of something then jumping off to the next practice. Look in depth at the details of what you practice. Go further into the small points until the large picture is clearly before you.
It is the little things that a student has to practice. It is all too easy to practice a new technique to try to get it right while leaving the seemingly simple basic techniques alone. Whether bowing, standing, cutting, or drinking tea, having the right frame of mind while practicing is essential. Senior teachers practice the basics; the supposedly simple first techniques all students learn within the first few months of practice, for a large portion of each class. Remember when you were a child in kindergarten and had an attention span of about four or five minutes! Over the years the time lengthened but only through great strength of will and determination. What is your attention span now? How long can you concentrate on any one task? By concentration I do not mean to perform something in a repetitive manner only but to also be aware of all of your actions so that your attention is right there? It is difficult!
Isshyokenmei, diligence in practice, is what it takes. This means that your practice will take your entire life. Each class you learn something new to be added to what you know already. Where do you get the time to either start something new or to develop the skills you are in the process of learning? Make the time; take it from something you are already doing. I try to look at what I can cut out to make way for what I want. It isn't easy. You must be ruthless!
You can look at how you are wasting time now; where can you 'steal' time from to do what you really want to do? Scrutinize your commitments and decide what is necessary and what is not. This is difficult in that there are many things that you will feel you need to do that probably don't really need to get done. I know some people who, outside of work, practice tennis, squash, swimming, and running, and come to class saying that they want to study Iaido! What are they willing to give up? Usually they say nothing! They will find the necessary time.
Another suggestion is to take a look at how long you think you have to practice. Even practicing five minutes is like putting that amount of time of practice into the bank! Five minutes of practice can accomplish quite a lot more than no practice. Do not get stuck with the idea that if you can't practice for at least an hour then it's not worth bothering! You can also practice in your mind; going through the motions of each technique.
There are always good excuses for not practicing. For the first three years that I practiced in a dojo in Vancouver after returning from Japan, I had to travel every Sunday by car and ferry to get to class. This entailed about ten hours of travel and cost about two hundred dollars per month. My whole Sunday was taken up with travelling. I did that for three years. It was difficult, time consuming, and expensive but my hunger for learning and practicing Iaido was stronger. For the past twenty years I have traveled to Kyoto, Japan every year, sometimes for three weeks and sometimes for two months, to practice with my teachers. It is expensive and often I have had to take an unpaid leave of absence from my work in order to go. I'm willing to do that to get the teaching. I have little sympathy with students who have a difficult time travelling thirty minutes to class once per week then feel disheartened when they fail to show improvement! Where are their priorities? Ask yourself what you are willing to do.
I always suggest students bring notebooks to class. That way, when they learn something new about their own technique or from something that happens in class, they can write it down so they do not forget. I do the same when I practice in Japan. My notebook and pen are always open and ready. What I understand right now, may slip away by the end of a practice session. This too is practice. Tomorrow, the next week, or the next year, I can look at my notes and remember the feeling or movement necessary.
Practice is more than just the time spent in class. It is also the quality of what you do. Purchasing the right uniform, tools, books, or whatever is necessary for your practice is basic. If you do not have money, then find a way to earn some! How important is your practice to you? This is something everyone must decide for themselves.
Start a practice and stay with it. Choose your discipline and the teacher carefully, and then commit yourself. To be a good student requires determination, constancy, and depth. Keiko!