SMALL WORDS

 by Phillip Starr

How many times have we allowed some small, seemingly insignificant remark made by our teachers to pass through our consciousness...and it flies away, never to return? Too often, I'm afraid. It may have to do with a technique, a form or movement(s) from a form, a training exercise, or even pre-class stretching and warm-up drills.

I was reminded of this a short time back when, a few days after showing a novice a peculiar warm-up routine I casually mentioned to him that the exercise loosens and stretches not just the shoulders, but the entire upper body – but only if the movements were made rather large and somewhat exaggerated. He hung on every word, went home, and practiced it just as I had shown and explained it to him. He was amazed at how thoroughly it loosened his upper body and waist. He'd remembered exactly what I had casually mentioned...and made a wonderful discovery.

I remember my own teacher casually mentioning several things more than 50 years ago, such as...

• “Some of the warmup exercises are directly related to the boxing...”

• “How you balance at the beginning of the form sets the tone of it”...

• “'Relax' doesn't mean what you think it does”...

• “You can move faster if you relax, but move quickly...”

And so on. It took awhile, but I finally managed to grasp just what he was saying. I discovered that he wasn't speaking in some kind of code or couching anything in mystical, sage-like phrases. He meant EXACTLY what he said. But it took time to figure it out. And now I wonder what seemingly insignificant statements I missed...

I realize now that he figured I'd remember what he said; I was an astute pupil. But remember every word? Not.

So I encourage you to hang on to everything your teacher tells you, even if it seems unimportant, because someday – if you continue with your training – you may find some gold in his words.