Done is better than perfect- my first Kuk Sool Won public demo

Our Kuk Sool Won school has a select group of students chosen to do demonstrations. They are chosen because of their dedication, skill and commitment.

Kuk Sool Won, yellow belt form, demo in the park

Every second Saturday of the month they meet to train together and practice. They are all black brown belts and their exemplary behavior has earned them a spot on the team.

At their last training session however there were two unlikely guests with the rank of blue stripe. They had been asked to join in the training for a particular public demo to illustrate the point that gender and age should not be a limiting factor in a martial arts journey. I was one of those blue stripes.

Since I had just celebrated my 45th birthday it was a fun way to mark the occasion. When I first pitched for the demo training class one of the black brown belt students looked at me incredulously. “You’re doing a demo?” he asked quizzically. “Yes” I responded, ” at my age one has to make every moment count!”

Fortunately I was doing the form along with my training buddy Ramya. I thought she was rather brave to appear in public doing a martial arts form alongside me. She is very energetic, fit and spirited so doing extra training together was great.

The demo was held on a hot and sunny afternoon at a nearby park. It was Community Night at the local Farmers’ Market. The demo team did an excellent job. They clearly were much more familiar with the requirements than I was.

When our turn came I surprisingly didn’t feel too anxious and initially started off well. We were about half way through when things went a bit awry and I kicked with the wrong leg!

At least I managed to smile at my error and move on. Our fellow participants were very complimentary and encouraging. My kids, dressed in their doboks were excited to be there and my sweet husband came straight to the venue after work to offer me support.

We had a second opportunity to do our form and lo and behold I made the same error the second time around! My performance was far from ideal but being there was already a challenge overcome. I still felt a sense of accomplishment and doing the demo in public motivated to keep practicing. We are all growing and learning.

Sometimes done is better than perfect.

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are solely those of the author in her private capacity and do not in any way represent the views of Master Saidi or that of the World Kuk Sool Association.