MARTIAL ARTS BEGINS AND ENDS WITH RESPECT

Empty Your Cup

There once was a great teacher who had many students. One student in particular who was very talented, however also very impatient. Whenever the teacher would say something to the students in class, the student would start trying to execute the technique before the teacher could even finish his instruction. When the student was offered correction, he would always reply “OK, I got it”.

The teacher saw potential in his student despite his lack of respect. The teacher decided to help the student see how his actions were limiting his growth. The teacher invited all  of the students to a tea ceremony after class.

The students attended the ceremony and each was served a cup of hot tea. When the teacher served his impatient student, he continued to pour even when the cup was full. Eventually the tea overflowed the cup and started pouring onto the floor. 

“Master!” cried the student, “Stop, my cup is full!”

Regardless of the style of martial arts you practice we can all appreciate the lesson here. Martial arts begins and ends with respect; respect for the teacher and the instruction being offered, respect for the process and time it takes to master the fundamentals, respect for the training area and respect for our training partners who become, in essence, our martial arts family.

This month our focus is on the family. Just for reaching out we will send you a coupon for $100 off one of our regular individual or family memberships!