Competition and Japan

I started taking piano lessons around age 7, and private clarinet lessons around age 8 or 9. Dr. Miles Ishigaki was my clarinet instructor up until my last year of high school when I unofficially quit. I also had various dance instructors, one of whom was Romi Yoshimoto. I learned about the Japanese work ethic from those instructors. Japanese people are very competitive people as aligned with the stereotype. Yet, I learned how warm hearted my instructors were to me. They wanted me to win and challenged me with difficult solo pieces or repertoire. If I had to choose between clarinet, piano, and dance, I'd voluntarily pick dance, but my mom had me quit dance and choose music. Both are very competitive activities that entail a competitive spirit. I've lost that competitive spirit as I've aged and learned to appreciate beauty of these activities without competition. It's definitely taxing and tiring to stay competitive. I appreciate both Dr. Ishigaki and Romy Yoshimoto as instructors that I've learned greatly from.