The judo cherry blossom tree

A judo player's growth is like that of a cherry blossom tree

(Adapted from a story by Trevor Leggett)

An experienced teacher looks at a number of keen students and notes how their body types differ. They all have physical and psycho-physical habits, some good and some bad. For a time. the training tends to be the same. It is concerned with all-round development of body, balance and anticipation. Much of the training is ironing out bad habits. Later, the teacher will bring out the natural facilities of that student.

Now, suppose the teacher feels a particular student could excel in a specific throw. He may show the student the throwing action and say, "When you have practiced this throw 100,000 times you will get the feeling of it."

There's a sort of knack of timing which can't be imitated or taught. It can only be felt. And that requires a lot of practice. If you practice the throw enough, you'll eventually get it. Note, the practice must not be mere repetitions which will soon become mechanical and sloppy. They must each have a keen edge of trying to achieve the inner feel of the throw.

If the students attempts the throw 100 times a day, assuming a six-day week, the student could get 100,000 practice throws done in three years. By then, it would have become a part of them; it will feel as natural as blinking or sneezing. But does it really take three years and 100,000 attempts for a student to master a throw?

It would be quite wrong for the student, after one year of practice, to say "Of course I still haven't mastered the throw yet, I've still got two more years to go." This is not the case at all. The student might get the throw at any time during the course of the training. Remember, the teacher did not say the student had to do 100,000 throws in order to master it. What the teacher said is after 100,000 throws you would most certainly have mastered it. It could happen much sooner. But for that to happen, the student must continually practice that technique.

Failure and failure and failure. Then suddenly (it usually happens very suddenly) the breakthrough happens. This may occur well before that 100,000 figure has been reach. From the student's standpoint it is like a sort of wonder, like sunlight breaking through the clouds. But the teacher's view is different. To him, the thousands of failed attempts at the throw and the eventual success are not two different things but a unity.

On the judo cherry blossom tree, the failures are the roots and the success is the blossom. The tree is not failing and failing and failing, and then suddenly succeeding. The roots were growing deeper and deeper and deeper all the time. There was just very little surface change to be seen.

It takes confidence in order to practice like this. It is not just a question of confidence in the teacher. The student must realize that the the teacher has confidence in the student, otherwise he wouldn't have bothered to teach them the technique in the first place. When the student has confidence in the teacher's confidence, they will carry on with the training despite the failures and setbacks.