Some people have remarkable athletic ability. I hate them.
That’s too strong. I wish they had much, much less athletic ability.
Like me, for example.
But there are ways in which being too good can reduce your achievements. For instance, when I was studying at the dojo on 7th Street in Phoenix, Arizona, all those long years ago, a super-duper athletic guy came to study with us.
Nice guy. A little too tall and good-looking, but you can forgive that sort of thing over time.
On the other hand, his gi was snapping and crackling like a big soggy bowl of Rice Crispies during his first week of training. And he looked like a Shodan in his second week of training.
But there was no third week of training; it had seemed too easy to him, so he didn’t bother continuing.
Now, that was his loss, and none of our own. But that’s one of the few areas in which being a stumblebum can be helpful.
Because Shotokan Karate was always so difficult for me, it was always a challenge, and I was always interested in making progress, no matter how slow.
So you could say my lack of ability was my best friend!
On the other hand, you could also say I was really, really reaching to find something good about being such a slow student.
Both are equally true.
I’m just glad that Shotokan karate lends itself to the development of natural athletes and those of us who need to take classes in remedial shoe-tying.
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