The Treadmill of Karate Rank and the hedonic treadmill. The hedonic treadmill. (Here is a link to Psychology Today on the hedonic treadmill)

Hedonism is a set of theories about pleasure and how it should be pursued in life. A treadmill is what we put hamsters on to keep them busy. Put these two things together in a mashup and you have the treadmill of karate rank.

The World is Going to Rotate

Ask any karate-ka what their favorite kata is and they are likely to say the name of the latest kata they learned. The older the practitioner the less likely they are to name the one they just learned. The reasons are there is no new kata and they have gotten over the shine of a new and exciting form.

Having a goal is essential to motivation. If you have no goal the Earth rotates underneath you the Erath goes around the Sun and you die with no achievement. Not exactly the most positive or, up comment, but as true as true is. Goals and motivation, when well-placed make for an exciting and valuable life.

Hedonic Treadmill

The hedonic treadmill sets itself; it makes an average in life. Think of it as a constant line with a sine wave moving up and down through the constant centerline. Some days are up and others are down.

Karate should not be subject to marketing, the creation of less and loss, the fear of missing out. (FOMO) yet it often shows up in the ranks.

The desire to get a new rank to advance, to climb the ladder of skill is omnipresent. Yet the over-rotation into such behavior, desire is common. And why wouldn’t it be?

There is an answer that can take the edge off this setpoint. The false treadmill created by the external world. You can listen to the solution in the podcast linked below.

New World KarateChallenges MeLittle Value to a Black Belt

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KRIS WILDER

Kris Wilder is a martial artist based in Seattle Washington. He has authored many martial art books, including the classic, The Way of Kata. Making no apologies for his obsession of Football he can be found telling any who will listen about the nuances of the Canadian Football League.