YOUR OWN WAY

 by Phillip Starr

When you're first learning a particular technique or movement, your instructor very likely says that it HAS to be done just so. And you do your level best to execute it exactly as he has instructed. And so it must be for some time...perhaps years. But even as you do your level best to perform the movement precisely as you were shown, some small aspect of it just doesn't fit well with your body.

You must “find your own way” of doing it. That is not to say that you can or should change the whole thing; you must adhere to the principles upon which that particular technique or movement is based AND you must understand why it must adhere to those principles. Then you must learn to make tiny adjustments so that it “fits” your particular body.

Learning to do this; learning how to perform “your way” while maintaining the fundamental principles of a technique/movement is actually expected of upper-level practitioners of all martial arts. No two human bodies are exactly alike. This is why no two high-level practitioners of a given martial art will perform the same form in exactly the same way. They may be 8^th degree black belts, but when they demonstrate the most fundamental form of the same system, they'll look SLIGHTLY different.

But don't hurry and try to find short-cuts. There aren't any. Your instructor should be able to notice flaws in your movement and bring them to your attention so that you can fine-tune what you're doing. We're all on the same path. Enjoy the scenery along the way.