by Carol Gittins

Everything I Need to Know About Karate,
I Learned in Master Yamakura’s Dojo

If you can’t make the technique work, practice it more.
Pay attention to the small details because they are important.
Study the history and cultural context to achieve understanding and competence.
Learn to bow and understand what it means.
There is breathing, and there is Breathing.
If you can’t make the technique work, you’re doing it wrong.
Have faith and imagination―visualize the result you wish to achieve.
Observe your students to learn your weaknesses and shortcomings.
Learning to use ki is like digging a ditch with a teaspoon.
Keep an open mind―just because you don’t understand it doesn’t mean it’s not valid.
If you can’t make the technique work, analyze it again.
Stay in the now but prepare for what’s to come.
Keep working until you own the technique.
How you ask a question can shape the quality of the answer.