Years ago in Japan the Samurais would celebrate a young man’s coming of age and becoming a samurai by presenting him with his sword.
To the young man, this sword was a sign of respect from his teachers. A symbol that they believed that he had what it takes to fight alongside them, live the code of the samurai, had become an adult and ultimately was responsible for himself.
This day would be an empowering time in the life of the new young samurai, something he would have been dreaming of for years before it.
Much like the older samurais whose responsibility is to teach their young apprentices all they need to know to function without them, this is what we believe in as coaches.
Our job isn’t to coddle our clients forever but rather give them the tools in which they graduate from their apprenticeships and become their own master. Also like many warriors of the past this didn’t mean that the relationship had finished but rather one of the essential steps to the growth of the relationship.
The point in which the sword is passed into the hands of our clients and they continue ownership of their own journey is often the most exciting part.
This is where the apprentice then has the power to teach the master and we get to test and explore more ideas than possible alone.
Our job is to build the foundation and then pass over the reins to our clients then through communication help guide them on the journey to where they want to go.
Too much of the fitness industry tries to take control of people and make them fit a cookie cutter program like a single interval circuit or chicken and broccoli meal plans. We know ourselves that’s not the way it should be but yet it feeds into the way our brains have been taught to see fitness with lots of hype and quick fixes.
The day where we can lay the foundations appropriately before handing the ownership back to our clients and explore the journey together will be what moves the fitness industry forward as a whole.