How to play the game

Win or Lose, it's how you play the game:

      We have all head the old saying, "It's not as important to win or lose, but how you play the game." Like many people, I only played to win and the prospect of losing was not a part of how I thought. It was not a concept I could understand.

I was cheated, it's not fair, and nothing was called right:

  Then, many years ago, it came to me after hearing students, parents, spectators and other Sensei's complain that they had not won because they had been cheated by the Referees or the Scorekeepers.

I now tell my students: Sometimes you get the bear and sometimes, the bear gets you.

Question: How do you play the game when you win?

Winning is simple.  You think about your training, your techniques, what did you win with?  What did your opponents use to score against you?  Where were my openings?  What can I learn from the win?

Question: How do you play the game with a loss?

Losing is also simple.  You think about your training, your techniques. Where were my openings for them to be able to score? Did I train hard enough for the competition? Did I put myself in position for the judges to see my scores? What can I learn from the loss?

What does the win or loss do for me?

Did I learn anything from the experience, win or lose? Did I perform with dignity and respect? Did I learn to have confidence, self respect, and respect for others? Do I have the courage to be big enough to accept the outcome, win or lose? Everyone will win one way or another, win or lose, if they play the game to learn, to have high goals for themselves and good sportsmanship. Anyone who has the courage to enter into any competition is a champion.

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