[myspauyijbv]

The other day I was practicing with a beginner (5 kyu I think) and he was dipping and bobbing and jumping in yelling kote (without hitting anything) and raising his hand in victory. I was a bit surprised by his actions, but on the third or forth time I ask what the (expletive) are you doing? He said he had been watching the all Japan championship and was trying to do as they did.

My question is the following (for none US folks you have to use a little imagination). If I just started to play basketball and watched MJ play basketball on TV then went down to the park and tried to do as he does I would not be able slam-dunk just because I watched him do it. The fact is that Jordan has practiced the fundamentals of basketball for 20 years and what you see is the culmination of hard work and dedication.

Why then do many beginners watch the worlds best kendo player and think since they watched the video they are ready to compete at the highest level? What they miss is the 20 years of kendo practice it took to get to that level. I could be off base on this one. I wonder have anyone else run into this syndrome in their practice?