Shoshin is a Japanese word that means beginner’s mind. It’s the openness you bring to your first class, and it’s the hardest thing to keep once you’ve trained for years. This post is for anyone thinking about starting, and for anyone who has forgotten what starting felt like.
Where does the idea of a beginner’s mind come from?
It comes from Shunryu Suzuki’s 1970 book, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, and one line from it sums up the whole idea.
“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities; in the expert’s mind there are few.”
Can you have a beginner’s mind without knowing it?
Yes. I’ve been fortunate to be part of world-class teams and organizations, where the people around me were often far ahead of me, and staying open was the only way to keep up. I didn’t have a name for that habit until a friend gave me Suzuki’s book and told me I’d been living it, and reading it made the idea official.
Why is a beginner’s mind hard to keep?
Because being new is uncomfortable. For a long time I swung between wanting to learn and being frustrated that I wasn’t good yet. Now I bring that openness into every session and balance it with regular testing, so I can see what I’ve actually integrated.
Why do experienced athletes stop learning?
Because knowing a technique isn’t the same as still studying it. With enough rounds behind you, it’s easy to run a drill on autopilot and miss the details that make it work. Ego makes it worse, because it would rather protect what you know than risk looking new again.
How does Warrior Soul Combat build a beginner’s mind into every class?
We train it on purpose, the same way we train technique:
- Advanced athletes drill the basics alongside beginners.
- The focus of the day keeps returning to core techniques, because there’s always more to see in them.
- Athletes are expected to ask why a technique works, not just copy how it looks.
- Coaches keep learning too, and I train with a network of school owners and coaches across Southern California.
Is it too late to start as an adult beginner?
No. If you’ve never thrown a punch, you already have the mindset experienced athletes work to get back. Our Fundamentals & Fitness class is all levels with no contact, and it builds strong fundamentals from the ground up.
When you’re ready, book your first class and arrive 15 minutes early, so a coach can meet you for a quick orientation.
Albert Carrasco III is the founder of Warrior Soul Combat. Read why he started the school.