Opportunity in Adversity

It has almost been a week since completing our first in-person Tiger Challenge in three years.  There were so many positive takeaways from Saturday’s event, none greater than the opportunity we were given to share such an experience just as the province enters the beginning of the seventh wave of this ongoing pandemic.

Despite all the negatives that come with a global pandemic, there are always opportunities that come from challenges. For the first time ever in the history of our school, we held a tournament that included sparring events even though we have been unable to practice our sparring in a meaningful way for almost three years. As we all witnessed on Saturday, our sparring ability has not suffered because of the pandemic but it actually has improved! Everyone showed great control, and timing. 

This positive outcome is a testament to the efficacy of forms training. Having had no opportunity to maintain our sparring experience since early 2020, we have all narrowed our focus to forms training these past few years. Thanks to the pandemic, we have now irrefutably proven what we have only been taught in theory - forms training improves our sparring. 

The big takeaway here is that opportunity is always present. Remember, there is yin and yang present in all things and all situations. Despite the inconvenience and ravages of a global pandemic, mastery can, and does, thrive.