Maybe like Captain Willard, I was looking for a mission, and for my sins they brought me one. Only the messenger in this case was a friend and the particular sin was a failure to commit.

Ah, a lack of commitment. For the past few years, I’ve bounced around in the study of martial arts, training with different instructors, in both group and private settings. I attended classes with zero thought for either the journey of self-discovery or earning belts or badges. If I learned something new, that was a sufficient milestone–even if I was the only one who recognized the progression.

One night, something remarkable happened. During an in-class demonstration, a rather frail looking older gentleman knocked a man half his age and twice his weight more than six feet from the point of impact with a strike that appeared to require no more effort than a waiter dropping a bill on a table. After realizing what happened, I took away three things from that night.

First, size did not dictate the amount of energy a person could channel in the right circumstance. This Grand Master was 130 pounds dripping wet and on the short side. Second, certain skills defied a conventional explanation and therefore later people might doubt what happened, even those people who witnessed it. Unlike a boxer or MMA fighter, this martial artist barely moved, yet caused a tremendous reaction in his target. Last, I wondered if I would ever have the chance to learn to focus energy with such precision.

Last week the chance appeared. And like Willard, the mission came up to me like room service. Of course I agreed.

When the universe offers a chance to learn from Yoda, the only answer is yes.