Never give less than 100 %.
Do everything to the best of your ability.
If you fail, try again.
As it applies to Kenpo specifically I think working hard is to be practicing
a half hour three times week, plus going to class at least twice, making your private lesson, and teaching. If you are coming up for a test, practice should be daily, different time would apply to different belt levels. But if you find you have time for a movie, a book, a Sony game, a party but not enough time to practice, then you are not working hard enough.
I think lots of people miss out on the part where Kenpo picks out what you need to improve on in your character or personality, If you are a procrastinator, it will show, if you are unable to deal with constructive criticism, it will show, if you have to be the best at everything and cannot deal with someone being better, it will show. If you make yourself too busy to meet your own goals, it will show. Making good choices with how you spend your time is imperative to the completion of a long term goal.
Actually I don’t think so. The issue at large is What do you think working hard is. Not what you are doing. As Sifu said “If a persons def. of working hard is that they were in the building while a workout was going on, or they practiced their stuff once in a week for 10 minutes we have a problem”
Requiring great effort or endurance: a hard assignment.
Performed with or marked by great diligence or energy: a project that required years of hard work.
Difficult to resolve, accomplish, or finish: That was a hard question.
Difficult to understand or impart: Physics was the hardest of my courses. Thermodynamics is a hard course to teach.
Intense in force or degree: a hard blow.
Inclement: a long, hard winter.
Stern or strict in nature or comportment: a hard taskmaster.
Resistant to persuasion or appeal; obdurate.
WORK ( P ) Pronunciation Key (wrk)
n.
Physical or mental effort or activity directed toward the production or accomplishment of something.
A job; employment: looking for work.
A trade, profession, or other means of livelihood.
Something that one is doing, making, or performing, especially as an occupation or undertaking; a duty or task: begin the day’s work.
An amount of such activity either done or required: a week’s work.
To me, “working” means giving 70%. “Working hard” means giving at least 100%. Working past the point of ease. Doing something, with diligence even after it stops being easy for you. You can “work” on something if it’s easy. You work hard on something when it isn’t easy, isn’t nessicerily fun, but you’re still working on it. And often, and with energy.
Working hard isn’t quanitative to me. You don’t have to work on something 30 times a day to be working hard on it. It doesn’t have to be the first thing you think about in the morning. If it’s hard, and you’re working on it at all, you’re working hard. Trying is working hard, because giving up is easy.
To me working hard is pushing myself past where I thought I would stop, and well past where i wanted to. Even if it is say a seven day Instructor course at KMNTC it wasn’t hard until you wanted to quit, and didn’t.
How can something you are certain you can accomplish comfortably
ever be hard ???
OK, THANKS SO FAR WITH YOUR DEFINITION OF HARD WORK. WORKING HARD: DOES THIS MEAN TRAINING 5,6 DAYS A WEEK? PLUS GOING TO CLASS 4 TO 5 HOURS A DAY? i BET IF YOU TALKED TO ANY OF THE BLACK BELTS THERE STORIES ON WORKING HARD WOULD ALL BE VERY SIMULAR…...DOES THIS MEAN ALL YOU SHOULD BE FOLLOWING THIS?, NOT NECESSARILY…
SO PLEASE CONTINUE WITH YOUR DEFINITION OF WORKING HARD IS.
THIS WILL ALL COME DOWN TO: WHEN THE SIFU’S ASK YOU HAVE YOU BEEN PRACTICING AND WORKING HARD, WE WILL ALL BE ON THE SAME UNDERSTANDING.
LIFE is HARD. If it’s easy then you are doing something wrong, you are not putting forth the quality of effort it takes to give meaning to the things that you do every day. Working hard at kenpo is the same as working hard at everything else in your life. Doing that activity to the best of your ability, giving it all (most at least) that you have to give to it, regardless of the circumstances. It doesn’t mean that it will be the same all the time or the same for everyone. It is something that only you can know for yourself. No one else can define the worth of your efforts for you, for we are unique and no matter how much one can empathize, everyone’s ability to give all that they are to everything that they do is different. You must be completely honest with yourself to make a proper assesment of whether you really ‘work hard’ to give the time and commitment that you give to that activity. Like Kenpo.
Ok so we have heard from a very small amount of students on this subject.
Now, who is looking forward to their next belt? and what are you doing to get ready???
Working hard? I work hard at running, I work hard at cross fit, I work hard at dieting. Some days I cheat my diet, because it is hard. Somedays running feels almost impossible because for me its hard, and somedays I feel like I am getting no where with cross fit and that I am the slowest person not only at Brandx but in the world, yes for me its hard, but all of these things inhance my Kenpo, and Kenpo I love, Kenpo is not hardwork for me. I love to practice, because if I practice Sifu Dan will teach me something new, and I won’t even try to explain how happy that makes me. The private instruction, class time and family Kenpo that I do because I owe the school and Sifu Dan, and when I feel overwhelmed sometimes I remember how much I get from the school and how Dan does it just cause he loves the art. He doesn’t get a free private from anyone. ( the offer to teach you to drive still stands). Hard work its just part of wanting to be a better person.
This needs to be a habit. Lately I have been seeing tech. that are being performed very poorly, and no one can improve unless you start working a lot harder then you are. NOW PRACTICE!
Big D
Well, we already know about the form dyslexia, and possible left sided stroke, but as it applies to techniques…
I don’t want to practice them wrong.. and usually in class it is med- full speed, maybe some slow speed with Instructors detailing them out
would help get us slower types to move along…? I know that the techniques that I am teaching are usually better than the ones I am not yet teaching, because of going over them slowly so often, and having to think out each detail, answer questions, etc…
