04/16/2026
I tell my students that a dojo is sort of like a mad scientist’s laboratory. But instead of mixing potions and inventing robots to help take over the world, we are trying new things, combining and modifying old techniques to create new ones, acquiring new ways of thinking and learning. We are constantly mixing a concoction of mind, body and spirit that is forever evolving allowing us to become the best version of ourselves possible!
We martial arts instructors see a lot of parents in class watching their children and trying to coach them from the sidelines. Trying to coach them into betterment because, perhaps, they feel that their child isn’t understanding what is being taught as well as the kids around them. I understand that, as parents, we want our children to be as fast as, as strong as, as smart as, as good as other kids, however, we as instructors of the martial arts want your kids to know that the dojo is a safe place to fail. It is a safe place to experiment and try new things and new ways. A place where, ultimately, they will find success because their failures were allowed. This will make their successes that much more enlightening and powerful because THEY made the discovery for themselves! They had the courage to fail so that they could ultimately succeed! What a wonderful life lesson in perseverance, and indomitable spirit!
Parents let’s not take this formidable tool away from them by comparing them to others. I think we get stuck in ways of thinking and we think that the practice of martial arts is like competitive sports where there is a winner and a loser. Ultimately, it’s more about walking out of the dojo a little better than we entered it. It’s about helping to create the best version of ourselves we can be!
So, parents, let’s allow your instructors to do their jobs. They really do have a method to their madness. Let’s all be mad scientists together and create a better world for us all through the betterment of our youth. You’ll be surprised what they will concoct with the freedom to fail magnificently!
