"In it" vs. "At it"

Ed Parker used to say people would come to him for promotions based on time. Often it was when they heard a promotion board was being held and they'd show up. Many times it was the first time he'd seen them in years. There were times he would finish the test and decide someone on the board need to be bumped up as well as the candidates. Therefore, some people would show up hoping to be noticed and get promoted. He looked at this as being "in it" versus being "at it". He described it as how some of them were not practicing or teaching, they were just "in it". The one's he saw working out, teaching, going to seminars, and so on were "at it." Yes, there were times he promoted the "in it" people, and that sort of thing persists today.

In fact, I was recently told of one of my former students taking a promotion to another degree of black. There supposedly is a picture on their website of them being kicked with a caption stating "Five years in the making!". The implication here is that it took five years of work to achieve that degree. As the former instructor I can say that person took NO kenpo classes with me in that five years, two or three private lessons, and a smattering of tai chi classes. Six months after we parted, the promotion took place with an out-of-state instructor. That's an example of "in it", not "at it".

Our culture has been sliding into a feel-good, rewards for existing state. We are an instant gratification culture. It is affecting our martial arts and examples like this are increasingly frequent. It used to be that when someone said they took many years to achieve a certain level, people were impacted by the work and dedication. Now it's more like "What took you so long?" That's a shame.

We all have to make decisions about our art and this is one of them. Are you going to be "in it" or "at it"?

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Lee Wedlake has been teaching Kenpo Karate for over 35 years and has written a variety of Kenpo Books about different kenpo katas and kenpo concepts. Mr. Wedlake has worked directly with Ed Parker and is generous with his knowledge and his time. He is available for Kenpo Seminars and camps.