“The answer is only important if you ask the right questions.” ??
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Miyagi Nariyoshi – Miyagi-do Karate.
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Everybody wants to progress, everyone wants to wrap themselves in another black belt, but very few are willing to look in the mirror to see where he or she is, right now.
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It’s not enough to do your best; you must know what to do, and then do your best.
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Most people are happy just punching, kicking, sparring in the dojo and moving on to the next belt, without thinking too much about a deeper understanding of their art.
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One of the best signs you are progressing is asking questions, or more specifically asking the right questions. It’s fine for students to ask questions of their teachers, but they shouldn’t always expect an answer.
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If we ask deep questions of someone else, we are seeking a transfer of knowledge from them to us. But how are you supposed to transfer complex feelings and experience? You can’t, at least, not efficiently, so the question won’t yield an answer that is helpful. If instead we ask the question of ourselves, I think there is value, provided that it is the right type of question, directed to a useful purpose.
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When we question, we try to understand something at an intellectual level. The majority of things we need to learn, can be learned through the passing of knowledge from teacher to student. But the deeper understanding, the knowledge we take with us from experience to experience, we’re not going to get from someone else.
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We must have the courage to look within ourselves. Understand through your karate training, that the journey to an answer, is as much a part of the answer.
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Each discovery is an answer of sorts, and is the answer you are perhaps capable of understanding at that moment. But who knows what you will discover from the same question in years to come?
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You should never feel disappointed or prevented from taking that journey of discovery, but rather encouraged to, and given the tools to help you on your journey as you go.
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There is nothing wrong with asking questions, but ensure you look for answers in the right place. ??
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“If you don’t know how to ask the right question, you discover nothing.” – W. Edwards Deming