After 20 years of tiny apartments in questionable locations (at times), old and should be condemned base housing (rats are no joke) and "starter homes," my late wife (Terri) and I bought a four bedroom home in a very nice neighborhood, nestled in a good school district. Important things the average husband doesn't think about. Most guys would rather have land and no neighbors; certainly no neighborhood association president or his minions measuring the height of your bushes with a yard stick...but I digress. The place was pricy and our initial offer was declined, so we anxiously waited because our realtor knew the sellers were asking too much. It was a beautiful home with a huge great room, large kitchen, four bathrooms (private pooping is one of life's gifts) and...a basement.
The basement...bane of my existence. Why? Well, let me tell ya...that potentially nice and partially finished basement had a character flaw. It had...pains me to say it...a crawlspace. The word puts a bad taste in my mouth. You see, the sellers had the house built in the 90s and to save maybe $1500 bucks, they opted for a crawlspace instead of the full foundation. If you don't know, a partial crawlspace has no cement floor; it's a cement frame filled with mud and construction waste with a scant bit of gravel on top for drainage. This means you are constantly fighting moisture, something I'm sure the previous owners intelligently attempted to control by placing plywood sheets over the gravel. Because, you know, wood doesn't rot. Anyway, that hole in the foundation was a never-ending issue.
Good martial arts training has, among other things, a strong foundation in the basics. Learning key elements like stance, proper striking, kicking, kata, etc., help to build a strong and lasting foundation. But this requires hundreds of reps of the same, seemingly simple movements that cause enormous amounts of frustration and boredom. The average westerner who begins training in traditional martial arts is in for some tough weeks and months ahead if he or she is in the right kind of dojo. That's because the sensei will have a curriculum that starts people from the ground up. It amazes me that I occasionally hear stories about somebody starting jujitsu lessons, for example, getting pinned and choked out on their first night. Same thing happens in karate or MMA schools that allow novices to spar with "skilled" practitioners very early in their training and development. The problem is, if advanced students were taught in a type of "hurry up and learn" atmosphere, they will not have developed real skill and more importantly, control.
Ed Parker, the founder of American Kempo, a style that combines techniques and principles from Japanese and Chinese martial arts, once said in an interview, "I don't teach my guys to pull their punches...I teach my guys control." Kempo utilizes a flurry of kicks and strikes to overwhelm an opponent. A good Kempo practitioner is able to execute a dozen or more strikes at once, making light to moderate contact with their partners. Now, that takes a lot of "punching the air" type drills. The boring, underrated, under appreciated aspects of martial arts such as karate, kung fu and taekwondo. A lot folks who come to a dojo are looking for a workout; they are generally not looking for a life path. They have little or no desire to stand in front of a mirror or in a line of other students and practice strikes against an imaginary opponent. But...that's precisely what it takes to build a strong foundation...without a crawlspace. You need a teacher who will force you to focus on details. Once you develop the fundamentals, the real workout begins, like nothing you've ever seen.
So many things in life require a good foundation if you want to withstand the storms; education, marriage, child-rearing...faith. Jesus tells his disciples in Matthew 7:24-27 about two types of builders, one who more or less takes the cheap and easy way out; the other, taking the time and effort to build his house on stone. Sure, pounding through rock is back-breaking work, but the results speak for themselves. Those seeking a deeper faith understand this principle. You have to wade through doubt and worldly logic; you also have to painstakingly read through scripture, searching the history, trying to understand the culture of the time. Once you do enough spiritual reps, e.g. study, self-introspection, prayer, God's wisdom begins to speak to you. But you have to do the reps. That's how you build a strong foundation.
Today, Kim and I live in a home that was built in 1927. This place has good bones and a solid foundation. She's an old house with fissures and flaws. The floors creak and crack with the slightest pressure and you'd have a hard time finding a level spot upstairs. But there is a comfort and a peace here, perhaps because this house has weathered some storms. Same as the dojo that sits on the property. Come out and train with us.
Dave Magliano
Tatsu Dojo
Jissenkan Budo
Dojo Cho