Quote
If you have a long term goal you’re always thinking about and trying to achieve, it trains you to do everything and give your full effort to achieve that goal. That’s black belt for me. When you aim for it, you improve yourself physically and mentally…and by doing this you put yourself on a higher level. Besides, if a person doesn’t have a long term goal, it’s easy to go off track in life.
— Vadim F.
Quote
…Institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths disclosed, and manners and opinions change with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also, and keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy, as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors.
— Thomas Jefferson, 1816 (via brooklynbjj)
Text
Learning
Learning first requires knowing what you know, and then taking the steps you need to in order to figure out what you don’t know.
Quote
Having guideposts established, and the discipline to abide by them, is critically important to staying on course—particularly when buffeted by inputs. This is where relationships are key: put people around you whom you trust and then over-communicate with them. The more you do, the more they’ll understand your intent and act like bumpers in bowling—if you stray, they can help you perceive and course-correct.
— General Stanley McChrystal
Text
One Mistake
Perhaps not the biggest mistake that many new practitioners make, but certainly a critical one, is trying to learn too much to quickly. Understanding the details of a single component - stance, balance, grip - creates a sense of refinement and a deeper take on the material. The difference between the expert and the beginner is understanding gradations on a spectrum - the beginners sees in black and white, while the expert sees shades of gray. To see all of those partials, you’ve got to know what you’re looking at, which is impossible when you’ve got too much floating around in there.
