Paying Attention to Details

Last week my friend Lana and I were training together when Sa Bom Nim took us aside and took us through Bassai Hyung step-by-step. For Lana it was a much-needed review, but I've been practicing this form for over a year, and I've competed in tournaments with it several times, so I thought I knew it backwards and forwards. Well, there was a lot that I had to pay attention to. Since then I've been trying to incorporate Sa Bom Nim's comments, and I still don't have them completely mastered.

As usual, the issue for me is preparation. For instance, the first couple of moves are no problem. But then after the rear-facing double inside-outside block, I get hung up on the preparation for the turn into the forward-facing outside-inside block. I can see in my mind's eye how it should be done, but I can't quite get it in practice - yet.

I was concentrating so hard on getting the details right that I forgot the sequence a couple of times, too. I got as far as the triple punch and could not figure out how to execute it. Finally, after several days of stumbling through it, I realized that I was initiating the move with the wrong foot. Breakthrough!

After our session with Sa Bom Nim that day, Lana was nearly in tears as she told me that it was the first time he had ever taken her through the entire form himself. She wondered if she had been learning things wrong from the beginning since he found so much to correct in her technique. I tried to reassure her by pointing out how many comments he had made about my technique also; it may be that the teaching was correct, but that her ability to absorb it at the time was impaired. Learning is like embarking on a journey; we start off on a particular heading, but we have to constantly adjust our course. That's why ships have rudders.