Practice Without Gaps
- JP de la Rama
- Oct 20
- 3 min read
How a Japanese Method (and a Kid’s Game) Reignited My Creative Discipline
“Art doesn’t die from lack of talent — it fades from neglect. Show up, even for five minutes. Because consistency, not inspiration, is what turns dreams into finished work.”
Setting the Stage
I had an epiphany this week.
Like many artists juggling multiple client projects, I’ve noticed that most of my energy goes into creating for others — not for myself.
My personal projects, the ones that once made me excited to wake up early or stay up past midnight, have been quietly gathering dust.
The comic ideas, the game prototypes, the animation frames — all waiting for their turn.
A turn that never seems to come.
I told myself I’d finish them “within the year.” But the year kept moving, and I didn’t.
The irony hit me hard: I’ve been worried about being replaced by AI, yet I’ve been the one neglecting the one thing AI can’t replicate — my voice, my stories, my perspective.
That’s when I stumbled upon something that shifted my mindset: the Gyoji Method.
It’s a Japanese practice derived from sumo culture — a philosophy of “practice without gaps.”
In essence, it’s the discipline of consistency — showing up, even for a small moment each day, without breaking the chain.
And, funny enough, the lesson was mirrored back to me by someone much smaller and wiser — my daughter.
The Problem
My daughter has been obsessed with Pokémon Park 2.
She’s determined to finish it — every quest, every side mission, every hidden challenge.
But she struggles.
Some quests are too hard for her age, some require endless backtracking, and yet, she doesn’t give up.
Every week, she picks up the controller again.
Every week, she gets a little further.
Every week, she says, “Daddy, I’ll finish it this time.”
And slowly, she does.
That persistence — that practice without gaps — hit me right in the gut.
Because that’s what I’d lost.
Somewhere between client deadlines, financial anxieties, and creative burnout, I let my rhythm die.
I stopped showing up for my own work, even for just thirty minutes a day.
I realized — the problem wasn’t time. It was consistency.
Time can always be found in small doses.
But consistency? That’s a habit you build — one minute, one session, one page at a time.
The Resolution
So I made a declaration.
I told myself, not as a wish, but as a fact —
“I am a person who finishes my projects.”
Here’s what that looks like for me:
30 minutes a day – to draw traditionally and keep my hand sharp.
1 hour a day – to work on my graphic novel.
1 hour a week – to develop my personal animation project.
1 hour a week – to build my own video game.
Every day – to love and take care of my family.
1 hour a day – take care of my body.
This is the Gyoji Method — practice without gaps.
Not waiting for inspiration, not chasing perfection — but showing up.
Because the small daily acts compound into mastery, and mastery births meaning.
It’s not about how fast we finish — it’s about becoming the kind of artist who finishes.
So if you’re an artist reading this — a comic creator, animator, or storyteller — let me say this to you as much as I’m saying it to myself:
Stop waiting for the perfect time.
Stop waiting for the stars to align.
Show up. Practice without gaps.
Because even in the smallest effort, you’re breathing life into your dream.
And someday, like my daughter finishing her Pokémon quests, you’ll look up and realize —
You’ve arrived.
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