In karate, as in life, the first and most basic of rules is "Pay Attention." You have to be focused on your surroundings, people around you, your instructors, or you will walk into trouble. The next few weeks, I'll be posting a little bit that I've learned about focus.
In Proverbs, Solomon says: "Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you."
At Waxahachie Karate, we say the same when we say that we keep our eyes "on target." In the dojo, of course, our target is whatever we're aiming to hit - focus pads, body pads, opponents. If you are not looking at your target, you can't hit it (and, conversely, you can get hit).
In life, our targets are our goals. Often, we lose track of those targets when we become distracted by the pleasures, pressures, wants, and needs of the world around us. We allow our eyes to wander off target, and we spend all of our energy chasing things that take us farther and farther away from our target. Eventually, we can end up feeling like we got punched in the head and wondering how we ended up where we are.
Focus is a constant effort. Once we've decided what our goals or targets are, we have to consciously, constantly compare what we're doing with what will help us achieve our goal for the day, for the month, for the year, and for our lives. "Fix your gaze directly before you."
What are you focused on today?
