This week and last week’s quote and words are combined together one, because I didn’t get a chance to do it last week and two, because they work well together and fit in with our monthly idea of Loyalty.
“We define family in many different ways: not just by blood but by people with whom we find a common ground and a common bond.”
-Adrienne C. Moore
“It’s the best gift any teacher could possibly get, to go back to where you came from and offer knowledge and camaraderie.”
-Vincent Rodriguez III
When we work together in a common environment, we as human beings tend to develop a bond with those we are working with. We have a common goal that all of us are working towards and thus we have a reason for all of us to work together to meet that goal. This creates that shared bond that becomes almost like a family. Camaraderie is that sharing of bonds. You share not only in the success of achieving your goals, but also in the mistakes and setbacks that occur on the way there. Each of you have your strengths and weaknesses, but together, as a team, you cover for each other and help each other up when some of the team falls behind.
This kind of bond and camaraderie can be found in martial arts especially. All of you share similar goals, whether it is black belt/sash, getting more fit or simply just to learn it for the sake of learning it, the thing that binds you together is the lessons that you learn while in the class. When another student makes a mistake and you have made that same mistake before, you gain an understanding and you share in their pain of failure. When you see the pride on another student’s face when they achieve the next rank, you understand it because you have felt the same pride. Martial artists know that there will be rough times ahead of them, but they also know that the others who have come before have gone through the same thing and because they have gone through the same hardships, they can help the newer students get through it because they have done it themselves. It is a perpetual sense of loyalty to the class and the students within. It develops a strong bond and powerful sense of camaraderie when you share in the same ups and downs together. Think about this moving forward, and you will find your training that much more meaningful.
Train hard,
Head Instructor Shawn Morris