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The Philosophy of Martial Arts
Like most things, martial art comes down to the concept of balance. As the name states, it is both martial, and art. Too much of one and you are a mere thug; too much of the other and you are fooling yourself as to your ability. We train hard, but safely. It can also be said that we train safe, but hard. If one trains too safely, it can also be said that he trains hardly. A true martial artist is forever walking along the edge of the sword, striving to learn under the conditions most closely approximating true danger, yet at the same time, respecting one's own desire to preserve physical well-being and the physical well-being of one's classmates.
Martial art is, above all else, the training of excellence. And excellence is a habit, just as mediocrity is a habit. Most people learn the habit of mediocrity because the pursuits into which they are first thrust in their lives, are not pursuits they choose for themselves. Arithmetic, penmanship, table manners. By the time we finally get to choose for ourselves what we seek to conquer, our approach has become one of mediocrity. Then we are reduced to the lowest expression of pursuit: perseverance.
Excellence is not the result of perseverance; it is the result of love. Perseverance is the path of the fool, for it is a lifelong swim against the tide. Perseverance is only relevant if you assume that what you are persevering at, is itself tiring. Because without fatigue, the word 'perseverance' loses its meaning. And fatigue is not an event of the body but of the mind. Action isn't tiring, effort is. So if you move through your life with action in place of effort, thought in place of thinking, the day will tire but not fatigue.
Thus, when one does what one loves, perseverance is irrelevant. As martial artists, we love the workout itself, not the belt we wear or the admiration of those around us at the mention of our high rank. Just so, in life, we seek to do what we love. When morning comes, we do it again, not because we are persevering, but because it is what we wish to do. This allows us to train and work with passion, with excellence. Then, excellence becomes our habit, and we bring it to all we do. It provides fertile ground for greatness.
We seek greatness in ourselves. We seek it because it is the human obligation to attain the highest expression available to ourselves, our best self. We have the chance to reach this noble goal because we love what we do. We are passionate about the process of what we have chosen to do. Thus, greatness will emerge and we will know it. We will not seek it in the reflection in the eyes of others; we will know it in our daily experience of ourselves. Simply work great, and you will do great work.
The Philosophy of Martial Arts
Like most things, martial art comes down to the concept of balance. As the name states, it is both martial, and art. Too much of one and you are a mere thug; too much of the other and you are fooling yourself as to your ability. We train hard, but safely. It can also be said that we train safe, but hard. If one trains too safely, it can also be said that he trains hardly. A true martial artist is forever walking along the edge of the sword, striving to learn under the conditions most closely approximating true danger, yet at the same time, respecting one's own desire to preserve physical well-being and the physical well-being of one's classmates.
Martial art is, above all else, the training of excellence. And excellence is a habit, just as mediocrity is a habit. Most people learn the habit of mediocrity because the pursuits into which they are first thrust in their lives, are not pursuits they choose for themselves. Arithmetic, penmanship, table manners. By the time we finally get to choose for ourselves what we seek to conquer, our approach has become one of mediocrity. Then we are reduced to the lowest expression of pursuit: perseverance.
Excellence is not the result of perseverance; it is the result of love. Perseverance is the path of the fool, for it is a lifelong swim against the tide. Perseverance is only relevant if you assume that what you are persevering at, is itself tiring. Because without fatigue, the word 'perseverance' loses its meaning. And fatigue is not an event of the body but of the mind. Action isn't tiring, effort is. So if you move through your life with action in place of effort, thought in place of thinking, the day will tire but not fatigue.
Thus, when one does what one loves, perseverance is irrelevant. As martial artists, we love the workout itself, not the belt we wear or the admiration of those around us at the mention of our high rank. Just so, in life, we seek to do what we love. When morning comes, we do it again, not because we are persevering, but because it is what we wish to do. This allows us to train and work with passion, with excellence. Then, excellence becomes our habit, and we bring it to all we do. It provides fertile ground for greatness.
We seek greatness in ourselves. We seek it because it is the human obligation to attain the highest expression available to ourselves, our best self. We have the chance to reach this noble goal because we love what we do. We are passionate about the process of what we have chosen to do. Thus, greatness will emerge and we will know it. We will not seek it in the reflection in the eyes of others; we will know it in our daily experience of ourselves. Simply work great, and you will do great work.
