WAX ON, WAX OFF

One of my favorite scenes of all time is in the Movie Karate Kid.  Mr. Miyagi, the Karate Master, is training Daniel, the student, by having him complete tasks that seem to have nothing to do with Karate- including waxing Mr. Miyagi’s car. Daniel becomes frustrated but then Mr. Miyagi shows him how the Wax on/ Wax off motions block several punches making the movements integral to Daniel’s success.

I was thinking about this scene when Antonio introduced me to a new exercise that has become a crucial part of my rehearsal process. He produced some beverage napkins and I was supposed to walk keeping the napkins under my feet to help stay connected to the floor. It felt awkward at first, I stumbled quite bit and kept losing my napkins. (I was grateful I was not doing another instructor Mario’s version which uses real dollar bills instead of napkins because if you lose the dollars he keeps the money!) I continue to practice my walk and as I have gotten better I am noticing improvement in all my dances, and steps that were difficult for me to grasp are becoming easier- especially in Rumba.  I now will spend up to an hour with the napkins before any other elements in practice, the walk has become a sort of meditation for me and helps to steady my focus.  I am feeling excited as I am truly being fine-tuned for the days ahead!

By: Kamaria George (01/02/2015)