Jim Hedgpeth: Cycling Towards Success

“As you go the way of life, you will see a great chasm. Jump. It is not as wide as you think.”
~ Joseph Campbell: a bit of advice given to a young Native American at the time of his initiation.

…and then Dojo University came along for me and has given me a path to Bagpipe Freedom!

In the Dojo U Transitioning to the Bagpipes course, Andrew elucidates:

“Tuning is a tough thing. For me to teach you in a video how to tune your pipes is a lot like me trying to teach you how to ride your bike just by talking to you through a video.

"I could probably explain some of the basic concepts, but then what would you have to do? You would have to go get on your bike and you’d have to “not get it” 100 times; and maybe on time 101 you accidentally get close; and then for the next 50 times you don’t get it; and then maybe you get close a couple more times; and then after a katrillion attempts you’re going to be able to ride your bike.

"Well, tuning is the same way…“

Hmm... well so far, I have ridden over 80,000 miles on my bicycle, including a bucket list Northern Tier 4,208-mile, 3-month tour across America in Summer 2019. I’ve ridden 26 cross-state(s), week-long rides, many fun tandem rides with family members., and miles of gravel grinds with friends in the Western North Carolina Blue Ridge Forests.

Yes, I do know how to ride a bike. Certainly, unconscious competence. And yes, it would be difficult to simply verbalize someone through learning how to ride a bike.

So, I get the similarity of comparing bagpipe tuning (and learning everything there is about bagpiping!) and bicycle riding!

One just has to do it (with direction).

The Dojo has helped me focus on small things; little details that get me building to passing the Phases.

That focus is leading me towards success.

Concentration on the 11 Commandments and completing the 5 Challenges was not just a “have-to-do” but something to continue to build upon into unconscious competence.

Dojo University has an exceptionally deep volume of libraries for courses and material.

And where else could one find such talent and experience shared through the instructors and guest lecturers?

I recently got a chuckle while studying Instrument Fundamentals Part 4 – Tuning. The topic “Pitch-Time Continuum” sounds like something from the movie “Back to the Future”!

I’ve taken pride in sharing with others my experiences with the Dojo. It is very special to me in my every day.

Jim Hedgpeth, Nebraska, USA