We didn’t practice the same art, and they weren’t my student, but right there I would have given them a black belt just based on the story that they shared.
They were running late for the seminar, stuck in traffic on
the LIE, and stopped off at a service station to grab something quick to eat on
the way.
Waiting on line, next to pay, somebody else walked into the
store…
…picking up on a feeling, they got off the line and left the
store.
Wow.
The importance of being able to catch a feeling and act on a
feeling.
The ability to read the air.
These concepts, being able to cultivate them, and use them as
a black belt.
In training, these martial concepts can be taught, as a
teacher I can’t teach them, they are *not* academic. The best that I can do is
create a feeling or a situation in the dojo and through training so one experiences
them, or can catch the feeling.
As for the physical techniques (waza), that can be taught,
that part of black belt can be taught.