--- title: Full Circle Moment description: karate practice, mindful focus image: https://northamptonkarate.com/hubfs/IMG_8754-1.jpeg --- [Skip to content](https://northamptonkarate.com/blog/full-circle-moment#main-content) [![Matsubayashi Ryu Shorin Ryu kanji](https://northamptonkarate.com/hs-fs/hubfs/NK%20Logo%20high%20res%20photo.jpg?width=50&height=101&name=NK%20Logo%20high%20res%20photo.jpg)](https://northamptonkarate.com/) - [Home](https://northamptonkarate.com/) - [Classes](https://northamptonkarate.com/classes) Show submenu for Classes - [Adults](https://northamptonkarate.com/adult-classes) - [Teens](https://northamptonkarate.com/teen-class) - [Children](https://northamptonkarate.com/kids-class) - [Instructors](https://northamptonkarate.com/classes-0) - [Understanding Karate](https://northamptonkarate.com/guidelines-for-practice) - [Blog](https://northamptonkarate.com/blog) - [Plan Your Visit](https://northamptonkarate.com/visit-us) Open main navigation Close main navigation - [Home](https://northamptonkarate.com/) - [Classes](https://northamptonkarate.com/classes) Show submenu for Classes - [Adults](https://northamptonkarate.com/adult-classes) - [Teens](https://northamptonkarate.com/teen-class) - [Children](https://northamptonkarate.com/kids-class) - [Instructors](https://northamptonkarate.com/classes-0) - [Understanding Karate](https://northamptonkarate.com/guidelines-for-practice) - [Blog](https://northamptonkarate.com/blog) - [Plan Your Visit](https://northamptonkarate.com/visit-us) Oct 13, 2025 10:29:15 AM # Full Circle Moment [Anna-Maria Goossens](https://northamptonkarate.com/blog/author/anna-maria-goossens) Share: [facebook-f icon](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://northamptonkarate.com/blog/full-circle-moment) [envelope icon](mailto:?body=https://northamptonkarate.com/blog/full-circle-moment) [Share this page on Facebook](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://northamptonkarate.com/blog/full-circle-moment) Have you ever had a lesson come so perfectly full circle that you can't help but marvel? This weekend, I signed Northampton Karate up to do a demonstration and fundraiser at the Springfield Thunderbirds hockey. I was nervous about it, partly because I was unsure how karate would translate in this chaotic environment. Would people laugh, would they heckle, would they *get it*? Before we get to how it went, a brief flashback: in 2020, during the lockdown part of COVID, we did karate classes over Zoom, and it was hard. Not only was it an extremely stressful time, people were practicing in inconvenient spaces — the backyard while the neighbor was mowing, the living room while kids did remote school, the family room with the clatter of dishes being washed the next room over. The vibes were extremely far from the relative serenity of the dedicated dojo space. When one student, then a brown belt, said she found it difficult to get into the right headspace amid all this chaos, I suggested that maybe that was what we could learn from these circumstances. We couldn't do partner work or the detailed technical corrections we could in class, but we could train ourselves not to get distracted by the chaos. Back to this past Saturday, and me standing next to a beer cart on the concourse in the Mass Mutual Center, wondering how this demo was going to go. The student from that COVID-era anecdote, now a second-degree black belt, walked in, surveyed the scene and said, "This chaos will be great for practice." And it was. Some passersby stopped and watched and asked questions. The sound system from inside the arena blasted occasional snippets of music. The people in the beer line mostly ignored us. Friends came by and waved. My husband and daughter handed out magnets and tote bags and took emails for our mailing list.  But mostly, we locked in, tuned out the chaos, and did 45 minutes of kata, kihon, and bunkai.  Thanks, universe, for delivering my own lesson back to me. 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[Read more](https://northamptonkarate.com/blog/brief-comments-on-karate-and-zen-as-one) [![](https://northamptonkarate.com/hs-fs/hubfs/A23AE0F8-77C8-421F-A1BC-7F0F7E549C03.jpeg?height=200&name=A23AE0F8-77C8-421F-A1BC-7F0F7E549C03.jpeg)](https://northamptonkarate.com/blog/making-a-resolution-about-your-karate-practice) [martial arts](https://northamptonkarate.com/blog/tag/martial-arts), [beginner's mind](https://northamptonkarate.com/blog/tag/beginners-mind), [karate](https://northamptonkarate.com/blog/tag/karate), [training](https://northamptonkarate.com/blog/tag/training), [improving your practice](https://northamptonkarate.com/blog/tag/improving-your-practice), [committing to martial arts practice](https://northamptonkarate.com/blog/tag/committing-to-martial-arts-practice) ## [Making a resolution about your karate practice](https://northamptonkarate.com/blog/making-a-resolution-about-your-karate-practice) [Anna-Maria Goossens](https://northamptonkarate.com/blog/author/anna-maria-goossens) Dec 30, 2024 2:49:41 PM As we come up to 2025, lots of folks will think about New Year's resolutions. 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