Confucius wrote that "a scholar is one who does not desire great accumulation of wealth, but looks on many accomplishments as riches." We could choose to take the great philosopher at face value as to the meaning of this bit of wisdom, but it might be of more use to us if we try to divine the deeper meanings and apply them to our own lives. Presuming that Confucius was speaking metaphorically in this instance, what does the quote above mean?
It becomes clearer if we change the word "wealth" to winning. We can then say that a student is one who holds learned accomplishment from hard work as the greatest success. Winning, while nice, becomes of a lesser value than striving for educational excellence. Each of us is an individual with our own strengths and weaknesses and each of us learns at a different pace. Based upon this idea, we can expect to not always be the best. The point is, that winning is secondary to giving education (or anything else) your best effort.
Being a good student means going to class regularly, doing your best and participating actively in each day’s lessons. If you listen to the lessons passed on by your masters or teachers, take time to think about what you are being taught, practice and work toward success to the best of your ability you will increase your knowledge and ability to perform. A good student is attentive to the day’s lessons and other students. As Confucius wrote, for a true student the greatest reward is learning.
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Sensei Josh Meyer is back from his first year at College and is looking forward to a great summer at the University Karate Center. He has been a student here since he was three years old. He still holds the title of youngest Junior Black Belt, which he achieved at the age of 12. He sees that this has motivated other students to work harder and feels that, with the additional training opportunities now available, there will be younger Junior Black Belts in the future. Mr. Meyer is also the only student at the Karate Center to achieve 2nd Degree while still a Junior Black Belt. |
By the age of 14 Mr Meyer was already a full time competitor on the Fame Circuit. He went on to win 3 State Championship and 1 Double Championship, where he won in both forms and fighting. Just recently he was asked to try out for the 2000 Olympics in Australia. He has decided to put his Olympic training on hold to concentrate on his academics. He realizes to compete on such a high level he would have to train for at least four to five hours a day. Though he cannot put forth that amount of time and still keep up with the other aspects of his life, he can’t wait till the opportunity is right.
What has Sensei Meyer been up to lately? Coming home with a 3.3 gpa, He has been enjoying his time off with his old friends. He is looking forward to teaching the Karate Kamp again this year. Sensei Meyer has many new ideas and surprises for this years Kampers, so sign up fast !