Karate Chopping Art
The simple concepts are usually the best, aren’t they? I read a lot about creative thinking and motivation — and I internalize a lot of what I read and think it is my own idea! But a concept that has defined my work style was actually spoken in broken english to a bunch of karate students.
My sons took karate for years and one of their goals was to break a board — it was every students dream to be able to attack the board with confidence and break it while the class was watching. The Korean teacher’s CONSTANT advice was to “go right through it” Don’t hesitate, don’t try to hit the board — go THROUGH the board.
I was learning to paint for shows at that time. Learning to deal with deadlines and expectations was as important ultimately as increasing my skill. I wanted to paint without the freeze of fear as an important date drew near. And I wanted to keep working even when a deadline wasn’t looming.
The simple advice from the karate teacher is still with me — I paint right up to the hanging date and continue the day after. I refuse to let the deadlines define my work schedule or my stress level!
That karate teacher wasn’t an incredibly wise man but his simple advice still defines my work ethic and consequently, my work schedule. Funny how we learn from everybody and often when we least expect it.
