Lineage

People always say that the next generation always learns faster. I can wholeheartedly agree on this because I've always considered myself generation 1.5. I started and grew up around the old school guys but young enough to be able to carry that through to the next batch of practitioners.

One thing I think people of this new generation forget however is that basically, you guys are getting the final product of something that most of us went through copious amounts of trial and error to learn. So many fluctuating kata variations, bad translators where we misunderstood details that would be like a giant lightbulb. All the stuff I tell you now, is all the result of many years of all this.

However I think the problem is that because you guys get the already easy finished product, it doesn't ingrain into you like it did with me and the older generation (or confuse us even til this day hahaha). Why? Because there is a difference between knowing a technique and KNOWING a technique.

When I put you guys through tough exercises or push you hard, it's because those are the methods that I took to get to the point where I am today. If anything, I pushed myself way harder than I push you guys (helped that I was younger too) Although it might seem tedious and I can be quite hard on you guys, it's because I want you guys to make the technique yours, and not just a hand me down.

Eventually you learn this in your own way and you can help the next generation to find their way to get to the same result. Up to a certain point, the trickle down effect only reaches so far, so you guys are the next level. Just like my teachers passed it on to me, then I made it mine, now I pass it on to you guys so I look forward to seeing what you can do with it. This is lineage.