In karate, we must always strive for perfection with the full knowledge that there is no such thing as perfection.

Wait, what? You might ask, “If there’s no such thing as perfection, then what’s the point?” The truth is that the goal of reaching “perfection” is really the vehicle for making progress, and it’s very effective. It’s like the old phrase, “shoot for the moon”, which means to set your goal to the highest level attainable by anyone, as opposed to limiting yourself to what you think you might be able to achieve.

For example, I’m in awe of Sensei Anna’s ability to throw round kicks (I’m sure we all are!). If I believe that I will never be able to achieve that level, I might very well decide that there’s no point in even trying. However, if I go into it with the attitude that I’m going to do everything I can to reach her level and I really try hard to achieve it, I may never reach that level, but I’m at least guaranteed to be much better than I am today. Reach for perfection but take pride in progress.