“Good players can overcome bad coaching.”
– Bill Belichick
“I didn’t do anything. You did it.”
– Sensei Dan Mizukami
The New England Patriots beat the Los Angeles Rams in Atlanta to win their sixth Super Bowl under Coach Bill Belichick. Along with Quarterback Tom Brady, Bill has made it to nine of them. ESPN’s Chris Berman spoke with Bill, after this record-breaking accomplishment. Bill expressed how proud of and grateful he was to his players for the 13 -3 victory over the Rams.
Chris said that the one constant in the Patriots success over the last 18 years has been Bill’s coaching: There needs to be good coaching for players to succeed. Bill laughed, saying, “Good players can overcome bad coaching.”
I remember about 26 years ago when I passed my shodan test for 1st-degree black belt, I said to Sensei Dan, “Thank you for everything.” He told me, “I didn’t do anything. You did it.”
Sensei may have had a point. I was the one, who took the Shodan test. I was the one, who executed all the throws and techniques that Sensei called out. However, I wouldn’t have become the man I was without Sensei: his teaching and his belief in me.
Bill would be correct that without players like Tom Brady, Julian Edelman, Rob Gronkowski, or Cornerback Stephon Gilmore, who made the critical interception that just about sealed the Super Bowl victory, to execute his plans, they would mean virtually nothing. Perhaps. To paraphrase Robert Burns: ‘The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.’
As I shook Sensei’s hand and when Tom hugged Bill after their Super Bowl victory, we knew that whatever we accomplished, whatever we executed, and who we became was because of them. Yes. Players execute. Coaches coach. Senseis teach. For all this, we are grateful–all the same–for those, who made us greater on our mastery paths.
To a certain extent results matter, whether it be the historical feat of winning a sixth Super Bowl Championship or on a more personal level, earning my black belt after growing up not feeling good enough and afraid. The Art in Mastery is really discovered in the journey. Bill tells Tom and his men, “Do your job.” Sensei would tell me, “Just train.” “Make it work.”
Good players can overcome bad coaching. Maybe, even a good martial arts student can overcome a bad Sensei. Yet, when the synchronicity pairs the good players with the great coach and the good student with the great Sensei, you are able to create your Art in Mastery.
The execution of a plan or technique ultimately counts. What got you there, though, is what evolves and grows you. Sensei was there when I made mistakes and failed. Sensei made sure I learned from them and became greater from it. He’d say, “Do it again! That’s it!”
Years later, I was training for my Nidan test for a 2nd-degree black belt with my dear friend, Kyle, who was Nidan. It was a rainy night at the dojo. Kyle and I trained together because no one else showed up for Aikido class. Sensei had a cold but came in to watch the class. So, he sat on a bench off the Dojo mat and called out techniques for Kyle and me to practice, correcting us on our execution.
Kyle and I worked our asses off that night. I knew that Kyle and I had nothing to prove to Sensei. He saw and listened to us as greater than even we knew. He was just doing his job and we were doing ours.
What matters might all be in the execution, in doing your job. Yet, just as Tom Brady is grateful to Bill Belichick, I’m forever grateful to Sensei. Sensei always recognized the greatness within me when I couldn’t.
Accepting the mastery path is–in large part–having gratitude for those who helped create you. That gift from Sensei is something I wish to carry forward. Thank you, Mizukami Sensei.
Amen.
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The post Art in Mastery: Execution and Gratitude appeared first on The Good Men Project.
