This story will explain much of the essence of  Shotokan Karate-Do training…

     There is the following story about a certain Gidayu master. 

    While still a student intent on learning to chant these long narrative tales, he had an extremely strict teacher, who for many years refused to teach him more than a single passage from the Taikoki, a drama about the life and times of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Hundreds of times a day, day after day, the student was made to intone the same passage, and each time his teacher’s sole remark was, “Not quite”.  He would not allow him to proceed to the next passage.

   Finally, the exasperated student decided he was not suited to the profession and ran away in the dead of the night to try his hand at something more congenial in the shogun’s capital of Edo. On the way, he happened to stop for the night at an inn in Suruga Province (now Shizuoka Prefecture), where a group of Gidayu enthusiasts had gathered for an amateur contest. Still deeply attached to an art in which he had long trained, the man could not resist the urge to join in. Though an outsider, he took the stage and with all his heart he recited the only passage he knew well. When he had finished, the old man who had sponsored the contest approached him. “My, that was truly splendid,” remarked the old man. “ I’d like to know your real name. Unless my eyes and ears deceive me, you must be a famous master.”

   The erstwhile student was at a loss to respond to such flattering praise. Scratching his head, he blurted out, “Nothing could be farther from the truth. I’m just a rank amateur. I have to admit I don’t even know the passages before or after the one I just recited.”

   The old man was greatly surprised. “Is that true? But your skill ranks with the Bunraku masters. Who on earth was your teacher?”

   The student told about the severity of his training and how he had finally given up and run away.

   With a sigh the old man said, “You’ve made a terrible mistake. It is precisely because you were blessed by such a strict teacher that you have learned so much in only a few years. Take my advice: go back to your teacher immediately, beg his forgiveness, and resume your study.”

   Hearing the old man’s appraisal, the student suddenly realized his error and went back to his teacher. Eventually he came to be a master of his art. I think this story is about none other than Master Koshiji, but whoever it was, it raises a number of points worth pondering.

    You may wonder at time why your Sensei has not begun yet to teach you that next Kata, or even that next step in your present Kata. Wanting to learn more is a worthy characteristic in a karateka. Patience is also.....