A LESSON IN HUMILITY
Many years ago I was presenting a seminar in my own school and both instructors and students from several other schools were in attendance. Prior to bowing in, I announced that we would clean the training hall in the traditional way...and I brought out two buckets of water and several small towels. I told the participants to line up shoulder to shoulder across the width of the floor. On their hands and knees, they cleaned the floor with their wet towels.
This is not as easy as it sounds. To do it without slipping and sliding all over the floor requires strong shoulders and hips! My own students would often conduct races in this way as they mopped the floor! Those of you who know me also know that I am a Chinese stylist and this particular practice is not seen in the Chinese martial arts. Rather, it is typical of the Japanese budo... but I also have a background in the martial arts of Japan and I find that training routines such as this are very useful.
“Training,” you say? “What has this got to do with training?” Well, I already told you about building strength in the shoulders and hips, but there's more. Settle down and keep reading...
I joined the group in mopping the floor and we all laughed at each other as students slid all over the floor or “missed a strip.” By the time we were finished we'd worked up a good sweat and I noticed, as I was sure that I would, that not one (count 'em...nada) of the other instructors had joined us. They were busy sipping coffee and chattering amongst themselves, paying no attention whatsoever to what we were doing.
Just as I figured.......
We bowed in and I began the seminar with basics. Lots of basics, and more basics. One of the instructors sidled up to me and asked; “When are we going to cover some of the advanced material?” I looked at him and said firmly, “Not today. You're not ready for it. None of you are.”
This took him aback and another instructor who'd overheard my remark stepped over to us. “How so?” he asked. I replied, “Your egos are too big. Your cups are overflowing with your own egos. When you're that full of yourself, you can't learn.”
This immediately removed me from the “Mr. Congeniality” category in the “Most Popular Martial Arts Teacher” competition. :-) But I made my point... “How many of you joined in to help clean the floor before the class today?”
Blank stares; they knew where this was going. One piped up and said, “Well, that's for students! They need to learn the discipline.” I smiled. “So do you, it would seem,” I said. “Did any of you happen to notice that I was with them?”
More blank stares; ”You cannot humble yourselves to clean the floor. Your egos won't allow it. How can you possibly learn from someone who cleans floors?”
The remainder of the seminar was thoroughly enjoyed by all of the students. Their teachers, however, learned a very different lesson.