Fear of Boredom

I ride my bike to and from work every day. The route is always the same. Identical, except for the light, and the weather, and the temperature, and the ocean view, and the traffic.

I run a lot. I have 3 main routes near my home. I run them backwards or forwards, and change the small parts. Not much change, except for the people I see, and the pets, and the odd bear, and all the things that vary on my bike ride.

My mind does like stimulation, so I usually ride or run with music, or podcasts, or audiobooks.

In many ways Karate is even less exciting. It certainly has no weather, or scenery, or even bears. Can't listen to podcast while doing it. No route to pick. How does it not become dull?

Every class I've ever been in has had a mess of punches. No real target, just air  where a target would be. Instructor counts, step and punch, count, step and punch. Back and forth. How many have I done since my start in 1982? Many hundreds of thousands, if not millions. The same goes for simple blocks, and basic kicks, too. Gazillions. Why are they never boring?

With each, I might focus on one aspect to improve. Maybe on the target height, or my hip movement, or the speed of my step. Each technique is an event on its own, a step towards mastery. Nothing boring about it. Once in a rare while I stop thinking altogether, and just move. A sweet state the Japanese call mind like water.

Sometimes an instructor will assign more advanced movements. This is fine and a natural progression. Sadly, they sometimes do it out of fear of the students becoming bored. White belts are usually quite content to work on what they are learning, and trickier stuff is not more interesting to them, it is just plain hard. Often they get frustrated and feel they are stupid or clumsy. It hurts their confidence, and I've known people to quit because of it.

As a Black Belt, I have no problem doing simple stuff along side beginners. Nothing is ever really mastered, and should never be considered beneath one's level.

Most of life isn't like this. Maybe it's a reason I love Karate.