In general, Karatedo practitioners can be divided into four main categories: (1) those who have potential and are hardworking; (2) those who do not have potential but are hardworking; (3) those who have potential but are slothful; and (4) those who do not have potential and are slothful. If we are to pursue the true value of Karatedo (please refer to the article “Advices For Beginners”) in order of excellency, these four categories of Karatedo practitioners can be arranged in this order: “those who have potential and are hardworking” belong to the most excellent kind of practitioners. Relatively speaking, they learn faster the techniques of Karatedo. The second category refers to “those who do not have potential but are hardworking”. As a matter of fact, in terms of excellency, these students are very close to the first category. Admittedly, in the beginning, they have to pay more effort and spend more time in the training. But in the long run, students of the second category are no more different from those in the first category. Always remember, “…there is no short cut in the training; hard work and rigorous exercise is the key to success. Training in Karatedo is never easy; it means sweat and hardship: one has to endure the pain in the process of training, which is often long-term and repetitive. Only through this marathon process that Karatedo practitioners can gain and master the skills they strive for, and further transform them into their own natural strengths.”

Next comes the category combining “those who have potential but are slothful” and “those who do not have potential and are slothful”. These two types of practitioners both belong to the last category – the worst of all. Hard working is the only way to pursue the true value of Karatedo; slothfulness will only stop students from improving themselves and indulge in their inactiveness. In this way, they will easily lose interest in Karatedo training, and eventually, they will quit the training as a whole.

Which category do you belong to?