competition

The Balance of Humility and Pride: Lessons from Kempo

Humility and pride might seem like opposites, but they coexist beautifully. In Kempo and life, true growth arises from balancing these qualities.

What does it mean to balance humility and pride? Are they opposites, or can they coexist? True humility isn’t about downplaying your achievements but recognizing your potential and the vast opportunities for growth. It’s not about minimizing what you’ve accomplished but embracing the journey of what’s still possible. Similarly, pride, when rooted in genuine effort and self-improvement, can be a powerful motivator. In Kempo, humility and pride are not opposing forces but complementary qualities that drive personal growth.

Understanding Humility and Pride

Humility is often defined simply as “not bragging.” While this definition may seem reductive, it is actionable and deeply instructive. In practice, humility is about acknowledging our room for growth and acting in ways that reflect respect for ourselves and others.

Pride, on the other hand, is tied to our sense of self-worth. The key question is: Who is the most important source of your pride? The answer is yourself. However, many people struggle with this. We’re often our own harshest critics, aware of our flaws and failures, which makes self-pride challenging. This inner conflict can lead to a paradox: criticizing ourselves privately while boasting publicly—a contradiction that undermines true humility.

How Kempo Teaches Humility and Pride

In Kempo, the lessons of humility and pride come alive through practice. Two guiding principles help us cultivate both qualities:

Do the best you possibly can.
Strive to improve upon your previous efforts.

This simple yet profound philosophy shifts the focus away from comparing ourselves to others and instead emphasizes personal growth. Consider the following examples:

Alex and Mia: A Tale of Two Runners

Imagine Alex, a 10-year-old, running a race against 5-year-olds. She wins easily, but the victory feels hollow. Why? Because Alex didn’t push herself to her limits. Her pride would be justified only if she ran faster than ever before. Without that effort, the accomplishment rings shallow.

Now, picture Mia, a 5-year-old, racing against older children. Despite her determination, she finishes last. Should she feel ashamed? Not at all. If Mia ran her hardest and improved her time compared to her previous races, she has every reason to feel proud. Even in defeat, her effort and progress make the experience a success.

These stories illustrate that pride and humility aren’t about outcomes but about effort and growth.

Cultivating Balance Through Martial Arts

Kempo provides a perfect environment for developing the balance of humility and pride. Martial arts constantly challenge you to perform at your best, refine your skills, and surpass your previous efforts. Yet, the practice also instills respect—for yourself, your instructors, and your peers.

Each step forward in Kempo is an opportunity to grow stronger, both physically and mentally, while embodying the balance of humility and pride. The satisfaction comes not from external validation but from the quiet confidence that arises from genuine effort.

A Perfect Place to Grow

Practicing Kempo is more than just physical training; it’s a journey of self-discovery. True pride and humility coexist when we focus on doing our best, striving for improvement, and letting our actions speak for themselves. When pride arises from within, it needs no external validation. And when humility guides our actions, it needs no explanation.

Takeaway

Humility and pride are not opposites but partners on the path to growth. Through consistent effort and a commitment to improvement, you can cultivate both qualities, allowing them to complement and strengthen each other. In Kempo, as in life, this balance is the foundation for true success.

The Capitol Tournament Returns!

Potomac Kempo recently hosted its first tournament in three years. Through the worst of the pandemic, our instructors continued to teach in whatever capacity they could, sometimes virtually, sometimes distanced or outside, and often masked. Our annual tournament, however, had to wait. An event of this kind can only be accomplished in person and with a crowd of excited spectators. So, given the long wait, it was a thrill to be able to bring its tournament back with full energy!

Potomac Kempo Hosts Capitol Tournament 2

Throughout November 6th, nearly two hundred competitors and double that in spectators descended on the Embassy Suites, Springfield. The room was packed, and the excitement was engaging. With five different age brackets from young children through mature adults and rank divisions from white belt through second-degree black belt, there were many proud victors.

With our next tournament tentatively scheduled for May of 2023, our instructors are already beginning the early work of preparing their students to compete and win.

Potomac Kempo Hosts Capitol Tournament — Congratulation to all of our victors!

PXL 20221106 2125193613 — Huge congratulations to the winners of the Tournament Cup—Sensei Geof and the whole Huntington dojo!

PXL 20221106 1353502252 — And endless gratitude to the judges who make the whole event possible!

Competitions That Matter

Everyone knows when it is tournament time for our studios. The practice rings are set up in every studio, inviting everyone to be brave enough to step in the ring. Students start standing up in front of the class to demonstrate their skills while *gulp* everyone else is watching, waiting to applaud. A sense of team spirit surfaces as the demo team polishes its routine and each school rallies to be the one that brings home the tournament cup. A lot of preparation goes into this competition that, frankly, doesn’t matter.

It seems odd that while discussing a tournament that one might be inclined to indicate that competitions don’t matter — but hear us out!

Potomac Kempo Tournament Victory Medals Winning Smiles

Upon reflection, we must accept that the outcome of most of the competitions that we have entered into in our lives — be they 2nd-grade little league games, middle school science fairs, or high school track meets — has had no impact on our lives. How would your life be different if you had won/lost that little league game, science fair, or track meet? In all likelihood, it would not be any different at all.

We can hear some of you arguing already — “winning that game was a pivotal moment in my life,” or “my dream to work as an engineer started with that science fair….”

Let’s get down to the brass tacks. The life-directing experiences that come about from competitions lie not in the moment of victory or defeat, but in how you handled the months of preparation that led to that moment. Without those training grounds, we would be less than we are. You are stronger, faster, more able to take on life’s challenges by preparing to enter into the ring, not by winning or losing the game that happens there. The punchline is that the competitions themselves don’t matter.

Did you train with consistency? Did you reflect on how to improve your approach? Did you build strength and adaptability? Did you recover from your failures? Did you follow through until the key moment?

You see, it is through the process of preparing for competitions that don’t matter that we become ready to face the challenges that do matter. When Renshi Holly was in high school, she was on the swim team. Her record — whether it was good or bad — is lost in the mists of antiquity. However, a few years ago, before all of our sons knew how to swim, one of them fell in the deep end of the pool. With footwork born of countless sparring matches and a dive trained on that long forgotten swim team, she raced to save his life. That was a competion that mattered.

This character-building is why we gather twice a year to participate in a tournament and why you should start training now for the next one. The tournament won’t matter, but how you prepare for it will.

With respect,
Shihan Santillo