Today's Business Lessons
Kick memory
I’ve made it a tradition to spend my yearly vacation with my
brother-in-law Felix and his family who reside in Silicon Valley,
California. There is not a time when I don’t learn a lesson or two from
my brother-in-law, a retired US Marine officer who’s now a very
successful car executive.
Felix is a very dedicated father. He has made it his passion to
coach, encourage and train his youngest son Joseph in his favorite
sport: taekwondo.
Felix showed me the belts, the trophies and the medals Joseph won in
tournaments all across America. One medal occupied center stage – the
silver medal Joseph got in the last US Open Taekwando Championship held
in Las Vegas last year. Felix and Joseph’s dream is for Joseph to join
the US Olympic team for Brazil.
For training, Felix makes sure that Joseph sticks to a strict
regimen. So everyday, Joseph would run, do push-ups and pull-ups, skip
ropes, and all those boring drills.
I would go running with Felix around 7 a.m. every other day, and
while we run, he would tell me stories. I learn new things from those
stories, one of which I want to share with you.
According to Felix, Joseph trains under the watchful eyes of Master
Henry Cruz, under the club “Manila Taekwondo”
(manilataekwindo.blogspot.com.). Here’s something amazing: every kid and
student who enroll in the club, no matter the ethnicity, greet the
master with “Mano po,” and say, “Kamusta po?” as a sign of respect to
him. Also, small kids are matched up even against bigger kids. And those
who refuse to follow rules and discipline, Master Cruz has kicked out
of the club. No wonder his students are very respectful and disciplined!
My nephew Joseph certainly is.
Now here’s the thing I learned: the concept of “Kick Memory.” Kick
memory is the ability to instinctively know how to return kicks and hit
the opponent every time one is in a sparring. The return kicks have
become so automatic, the kicker doesn’t have to think much to execute it
– they just go ahead and do it!
I remember the late heavyweight boxer Joe Frazier once said, “You
train yourself hard, and you build your skills, and you may have all
kinds of strategy, but once the bell rings, it’s just pure reflex and
instinct.”
No wonder Joseph is good. He started very young in his training, yet
he has beaten many of his older opponents. This is because of his skills
trainings and drills, all those boring things he has to do everyday.
They’ve made the basics automatic for him, enabling him to be creative
when fight time comes.
I think the same principle applies to business and career. We need to
be real good with the basics so when competition, crisis or
uncertainties come, we’ll have enough space to be creative.
The basics may be boring. In business, these are things like fiscal
prudence, pursuit of excellence, quality improvements, leadership
training, personal development courses and corporate values
articulation. But they are necessary. Once a business is good with the
basics, it frees the enterprise to be creative and innovative without
unnecessary risks or negligence.
“Kick memory” is such a great concept. I think the company or
enterprise that has mastered it will always win in any competitive
exercise.
Master Henry Cruz and his team bring honor to our country. I’m
looking forward to my nephew, Joseph Ong, getting on stage and receiving
his Olympic medal in Brazil. But until then, Joseph continues to work
on his boring drills.
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