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<blogEntry id="2056">
	<title><![CDATA[Diamonds in the rough? Or cowpies on a plain? :-)]]></title>
	<body><![CDATA[8/23/05
So I was feeling that my prepping for this test was going poorly, and that my Aikido was not up to the level that it was when I was ready to take the test 3 months ago. 

In talking with Julia about it this morning, she pointed out that the difference between then and now, is not really in my physical Aikido. She felt that if anything it had continued to get better. Rather that I had polished and polished the Aikido that I had three months ago, and that now I have added to my aikido, and there are new additions, new insights, new little pieces of knowledge sticking out of the plateau that I had spent so much time polishing for the last test period. These new pieces are a whole lot less polished, yet they are growth beyond the polished places of my previous training. Diamonds, not yet polished are still diamonds.
]]></body>
	<date>08-25-2005</date>
</blogEntry>
</blogEntries>