Oss everybody!

As we head into the final weeks of the year most of us are already making plans for family vacations, Black Friday shopping lists, and year-end office parties. It is also the time of year when our daily energy levels seem to dwindle down after a long and often stressful year. It is easy for any of us to start going into auto-pilot and just do “the necessary” in order to avoid disappointing others, without considering that we might be permitting ourselves to just accept being average or mediocre.

The 5th Maxim of JKA karate is “self-control” – most often seen as avoiding to use of karate to inflict pain or hostility towards others. However, self-control is also a state of self-awareness – the ability to not do the things that your feelings make you want to do. Whether it is reacting to frustration, being apathetic or just wishing the old year away before so that you can make some more New Year’s resolutions to break in 2024. We always need to master our emotions and do the things that will ultimately make us better humans (and better karate-ka!).

For the last bit of 2023, make sure to exercise ultimate self-control. Be in control of how you motivate yourself. Of how you interact with others. Of how you react to pressure. Rise above the bad and cultivate a positive atmosphere around yourself. And above all – Train, man train!

Oss,
Sensei Heinrich