Sensei Mike
For me, after 23 years, the Arts have become more of an intellectual puzzle than anything else. Actual application is simple - we all eventually get to a point where, when faced with the need, technique just 'happens' on its own, as a totally natural reaction. And it's almost always the basics. In fact, the more advanced a student gets, the more basic techniques come to predominate over the more intricate ones. But what I find most fulfilling is seeing how the diverse 'pieces of the puzzle' fit together; how one technique is built off of another, and even how different entire systems fit together. I'm constantly finding some new facet to things I've done a thousand times, rather like a stamp or coin collector noticing for the first time some new detail on an item in his collection that he's looked at numerous times but never quite noticed before. That constant joy of discovery is what the Arts hold for me.
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