Achieving Mastery Through Kaizen
Achieving mastery through kaizen is a beautiful Japanese philosophy that we should all practice and draw strength from in such a ever changing world. Regardless if it’s martial arts, business or in life we should all continue to learn and have continuous improvements.
The kaizen philosophy has been applied around the world and used by business markets , martial arts, athletics and even in education .
WHAT IS THE TRUE MEANING OF KAIZEN?
Kaizen (改善): means continuous Improvements, It comes from the Japanese words “kai” which means “change” and (“Zen”) which means “good”. It’s a core concept in Japanese philosophy and business practices. This concept first gained prominence after World War II as a key principle in Japan’s business rebuilding strategy, but its roots lie more ancient historic values.
HOW CAN I USE THIS CONCEPT IN MARTIAL ARTS?
What I love about the kaizen philosophy, Is it teaches us that no matter what art you practice or what belt you are, there’s always room for improvement. This idealism encourages all martial arts practitioners to constantly analyze their techniques, identify any weaknesses, and work towards self-mastery. As we navigate a constantly changing world we need to learn the practice that self growth and improvement is an ongoing processes.
Have you ever heard that saying “Martial arts is a way of life. The same principles apply using kaizen. As it teaches you how to continuously improve in your training regimes as well as your mindset. Which is a valuable lesson for all martial artists.
Remember you’re not just competing against an opponent; you’re competing against yourself. The aim is not prove you are better than everyone else. But for you to become a better version of yourself than you were the day before.
This is where the Kaizen concept takes centre stage. It encourages each practitioner to focus on making small incremental improvements, maybe it’s perfecting your stance, mastering a new technique, or even improving mental focus and endurance .
FOUNDATIONS OF KAIZEN
Think for minute about something you have wanted or needed to learn. Maybe you have even been teaching your kids a new life skill and you broke it down into a step by step process. Therefore, making it easier to learn. That is essentially Kaizen!
- PLAN – let’s say you wanted to learn a new kata or a new strategy in sparring. You can’t simply say “Let’s do this.” You need a create a detailed plan , setting yourself achievable goals , a timeframe and obtaining advice from your sensei or coaches.
- DO – action phase. Now it’s all about putting your plan into action. If you wanted to improve your kata, this is where you document every change you make to your stances, techniques or focus. Get someone to film you before and after these adjustments and observe the outcome.
- CHECK – This is the analysis phase. Here, you take a deep look into the data you’ve collected. And compare your results against what expectations and objectives you wanted to achieve in the above phase. Did you achieve what you set out to do? If not, why?
- ACT – Finally, based on your analysis. Ask yourself was the adjustments you made successful, if so take your training to a new level. If you were learning a new kata and you have now accomplished incredible stances and techniques. Now focus on adding your power and putting it all together. However, If it was not the desired result then you go back to the drawing board, armed with this knowledge and insights you’ve gained. Then try and try again. Never giving up on the process.
By following this cycle of planning, doing, checking, and acting ensures that as a martial artist. You are always evolving, always improving, and never stagnating.
HOW TO REACH NEW HEIGHTS
As you begin your martial arts journey it seems almost impossible to master all the techniques that are required to earn your black belt and yet it is achievable if you take it one step at a time. There are no shortcuts, in the process. As you go through the ranks and with the guidance of your sensei. You will earn your black belt, just be patience with yourself and it will come. As we are living in a world that is constantly changing around us, this means our goals and objectives are in constant movement.
Martial artist are trained to have extraordinary focus in particular in our technical skills and goals. When we progress up the ranks our goal/target selection begin changing and we must be mindful of this in order to achieve our long time objectives. Let’s say you that you have done your new kata 50 times, you should always should do once more in order to improve. This the power of achieving mastery through kaizen.
YOUR SUCCESS IN YOUR OWN
Only doing the required amount of work in the dojo, will only get you so far. But doing that one extra punch, kick or kata outside of the dojo is what makes the difference in your training and sets you apart. As this establishes the warrior spirit allowing you to achieve not only your goals today but also in your future. You must always do more than needed to be a step above the other people as life is a competition. It is a competition that only you can fail.
It is only your Sensei s job to give you the tools to achieve your black belt, but earning it is totally up to you. Only you decide if you want to train outside of the dojo. Some of the best training and character building traits are done when no one is watching you. Therefore, it is up to you to attain greatness…to attain honor…to achieve that black belt. Kaizen is the path and it is a path forged out of necessity and in time where anything less meant death.
USING KAIZEN TO IMPROVE YOUR LIFE
Whenever you have on eyes set on a lifelong dream, it can seem both empowering but also a terrifying step to take. I’m sure nearly every one of us at some point in our lives has gone through this same cycle. Start a goal, crash, fail, and repeat. At times like this you almost want to give up right? Luckily, it doesn’t have to be this way. Instead we can focus on making small, incremental improvements and lead the life we have only dreamed of.
START OUT EASY (Achieving Mastery Through Kaizen)
We all know how hard it can be to start the process of personal growth, dragging yourself to training when it’s freezing outside or making those first adjustments to new techniques. This is why is why important to get out of your comfort zone, or in other words get comfortable being uncomfortable.
Like most people we all make New Year’s resolutions like getting fit or stop smoking. Everybody seems to have a rush of motivation Yet, after a few weeks, it’s all forgotten or they just don’t have the time.
In the beginning we want to make our first steps so easy that we can’t make excuses. Always be kind and patient with yourself and allowing your mind and body to adjust.
- If you want go join the gym , start by just going once a week.
- If you want to be more active, take the stairs instead of the lift.
- If you want to write a new blog post, begin with a paragraph a day.
There’s no need to over exert yourself, take it easy until you feel comfortable. Once you have started a habit and it becomes a lot easier to be consistent in your efforts. You’ll find yourself exceeding your targets as you slowly build your momentum. It only takes a tiny push to lead you down the path of success. What is one small thing you can start today that you can’t possibly skip?
ACTIONS ARE BUILDING ON YOUR FOUNDATION
At the start, your commitment and every small step builds on your foundation. Then as you get better and you feel confident you can go to the next level. Remember if you’re never trying to improve every day, then you will not improve and in turn will stop you from growing. In karate, I have watched practitioners who have trained for years, but stop improving. Not because that had no skill but because they turned up physically, but not mentally.
A martial artist who practices but never tries to improve on their weaknesses, will remain doing their techniques wrong, if they don’t actively try to correct their techniques. Some improvements are better than no improvement.
You need to be fully focused on the task at hand. Ask yourself how can I do this better next time? What small adjustments could I make right now?
The purpose here is regular experimentation. What would happen if you used a different approach? Remember Thomas Edison when he invented the light bulb. He was not successful on his first attempt, it took thousands of hit and misses. Every time it didn’t work he would re-evaluate his experiment until he found the right solution.
A common issue we struggle with is, we seem to have developed a mindset that failure is a weakness. Which is not the case at all, kaizen shows us we need to choose the most balanced path. By pushing ourselves a little bit further when you see success. Accept failure and know it might not be the right time. Work out what you can do better next time and try again.
THE COMPOUNDING EFFECT ( Achieving Mastery Through Kaizen)
Taking small steps regularly in order to achieve your goals will lead to greater rewards over time. This is the magic of the compounding effect. Never put unrealistic pressure on yourself to be 50% better in a year. That’s the exact kind of pressure we are trying to avoid in the first place! Don’t confuse results with growth. As we age and go through different phases of our lives , we then have a new set of small goals to set and to deal with. If your personal best is in your past, that doesn’t mean you aren’t growing.
Nobody grows in a straight line or exponential curve. You may have setbacks and plateaus along the way, but in the long run it will trend upwards. If you focus on solving one small problem at a time. Love the process, not the results, and you may experience sudden breakthroughs as your underlying knowledge clicks together.
INTERMINABLE GROWTH (Achieving Mastery Through Kaizen)
One of the things I love about karate as that there is always something new to learn ( a new technique or looking at something in a different context). This is why it’s called a life long journey. The more you learn, the more you want to know.
Never fall into the trap of trying to reach perfection because it is unobtainable. Although this might sound terrifying, let it go and stay in the moment. Just think if everything in your life was easy and you had to put little or no effort into achieving something. Life would end up pretty boring because if there’s no challenge, there’s no real reward and therefore you stop growing.
Keep reevaluating how you are using kaizen in your life. If you stay focused on something that servers no purpose to you. Why not let it go and use your time and energy that will reward you in the long run. Kaizen is not about impressing anyone else about how far you grown, it’s about finding what pathway is right for you.
COPING WITH LIFES IMBALANCES
Nobody has complete control in their life when life decides to throw you a curveball. You may think well what can I do ?
In Japanese, this kind of radical change is called kaikaku and can work in harmony with kaizen. While somethings can be out of our hands, we can control our response. We are still the same person we always have been, even when circumstances comes completely unexpectedly.
Kaizen plays an important part in how to deal when a life has thrown you a curveball. We can lose focus when our life’s become interrupted and unbalanced. But we should not be angry at ourselves if we struggle. We need to learn to be kind and patient with ourselves as we adjust. Everything will fall into place and that’s it’s okay to learn as grow. You’re human after all.
Focus on yourself by asking small questions. How can I become more adaptable at this moment ? Do I need to take a break to calm my mind, so I can think more clearly? Remember we do not to take on everything all on our own, it’s okay to ask for help or guidance. Know in your heart you have the ability to deal with whatever life throws at you. Just take it one step at a time.
FINAL THOUGHTS ON ACHIEVING MASTERY THROUGH KAIZEN
Kaizen is the practice of improving yourself or a process by taking small, incremental, daily actions, which then forms habits that stick and, ultimately, makes you succeed. When you walk into the dojo you should practice patience, awareness, positive attitude and work on making small improvements regularly; even if they appear slight because over time they will add up and be substantial.
This philosophy is incredibly helpful skill to have in both our martial arts training and also our professional lives. Instead of trying achieve everything at once. You should start with small, daily improvements. Just think if you only focused on getting 1% better each day. Every little improvement you make, start compounding on the previous day’s accomplishment. At first, the changes will seem inconsequential. Gradually, you’ll start to notice improvements. Over time, there will be amazed at what you are truly capable of.