My Beansprout, age 8, broke her thickest board yet in her karate career. Pretty danged impressive!
What’s more impressive is how she failed the first few times before recovering and getting it right. Her form was fine; but she didn’t shout.
In the tradition she studies, it’s called k’ihap – that sharp shout you use when you want extra power. Despite eight-year-olds seemingly shouting pretty much constantly, training to remember this specific shout at the specific time when you need to maximize your power is actually somewhat tough.
There’s a lesson there for all things – you’ve always got a deeper well to draw from. You really can give 110% when you need to, because you can use every muscle in your leg and maybe still fail. But add a little more from your lungs – from your heart – and maybe you’ll get there.
Like she did.
The Opportunity Machine 