THE NATURE OF THE BEAST

 by Phillip Starr

How many instructors (or senior students) out there have gritted their teeth when junior students, or even more senior ones, walk away from training? I remember one of my most senior students actually becoming so frustrated that he was angry about this occurrence, which happens very, very frequently.

“It's just the nature of the beast”, I told him. “I'm sure it's always been that way.”

We often hear about this or that master of times past – but stop and think about when they were training with their classmates...most of whom we know nothing because they dropped out for one reason or another. Students have been giving up training for eons.

Why?

Rather than trying (pointlessly) to determine just what the problem was or is, I prefer to simple say that “they got out of it what they wanted”, and they were done. Not everyone really aspires to become a black belt (or a senior-level black belt). They may initially SAY they do, but that isn't really true. They are seeking “something” from training, and the “somethings” vary widely. It could be getting into better shape or losing weight, building self-confidence, developing what they perceive as adequate self-defense skills…and they may well not even be CONSCIOUS of what it is that they really want.

And when that “something” is finally achieved, whether it's after two weeks or three years...they're all done. Although they may stick around for a few weeks or even months, their hearts are no longer in it, and they ultimately walk away. They got what they wanted, and they're finished.

So as I told my student, “don’t get too frustrated. It's just the nature of the beast. Always has been, always will be.”