Life is a fighting art. There are battles of the mind and of the body. How you overcome your demons and your fears determines how well you succeed. How you improve your body and health determines how you feel. The mind and body connection makes sense. One needs the other.
Think of all of your commitments and the time and effort you put into your everyday life. You have persevered through struggles and made compromises. This is similar to the passion and purpose of a martial artist. Commitment, time, and dedication, become necessary for the martial artist to grow and advance. No practitioner wants to stand still or be stagnant. The whole reason he practices is to progress, but in the meantime he has to fight through natural tendencies of complacency and negativity.
I can’t explain why martial arts have made such an impact on my life. All I can say is that they were a transition and a transformation for me, a woman who never fought hard enough for what she really wanted. My confidence wavered every chance it had, before I learned a martial art. As I learned, I also anticipated another important lesson. A black belt is not freely given, or shouldn’t be, and it requires a fight.
I’m not talking about sparring or kicking a bag. This is about the mental fight, when you question if you are good enough or if you have what it takes. That is why it is so powerful and so difficult to earn. You have to push every thought of failure away, work diligently toward the goal, and be committed. I struggled with that along the way. Life troubles threw me off track. Somehow, I kept going and miraculously, martial arts never failed me.
Can you imagine being told in your fifth month of pregnancy that your unborn child would die? Have you ever watched a fire engulf the property surrounding your home? Have you ever hidden a secret about your living arrangements, because you felt embarrassed? Have you watched your teenage son endure painful knee surgeries, or felt the last breath of someone you love drift over you as they pass from this life to the next? I have experienced each one of these things, and each required an intense fight. Without my martial art mindset, I don’t know how I would have persevered.
My examples of life’s difficulties may not be worse than anything through which you have ever lived. The comparison between my life and yours does not matter. What does matter is the coping mechanism. How long did you battle through your most difficult experiences before giving up? How calmly did you face them? How much effort were you willing to exert to push through? Martial arts limited my trauma and my negativity. They gave me to power to find positivity even in the worst moment. They gave me the power to endure and never give up.
The reason why people are so enamored with martial arts is because they represent hope and exemplify a fighting spirit. If you engage the courageous and diligent mindset that a martial artist uses to your life, you will be changed forever. Every false accusation, every negative thought, and every inaccurate hindrance that you have faced, is built up like a wall, but with this martial strength you can tear it down, over and over again.
You do not need to practice a martial art to see the parallels that martial arts create with life. The martial artist continually improves throughout his entire life and never knows all there is to know. Life, too, has infinite possibilities. You never know all there is to know. There is always more. If you want to find your calling, live a personally successful life, or improve, you need this thought process. There is so much more, if you are willing to fight for it.
Will you fiercely engage your battles in order to move past them, or will they deter you from being everything that you can be? Will you make the right decisions and stand your ground? If the martial artist turns away from his practice or his potential, it is because he allowed fear of failure to cloud his otherwise focused mind. A pregnancy gone wrong, a fire, the death of a close one, can either cripple your potential, or they can make you stronger than you’ve ever been. Under pressure, you will surprise yourself. If you believe, you will give every ounce of fight that you have, without thinking about it.
When the fighter enters the ring, he knows exactly what he is going to do. He is going to fight, body and soul, to the end. While winning is the goal, it is not the most important thing. What matters most is that he gives his all, and never lets fear deter him. Today, be secure in knowing that although life is a fighting art, what matters most is not that you are fighting, but that you are a fighter.
Andrea
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Ossu and thank you! It’s reassuring to know that you’re there reminding us to keep on fighting 🙂
You know I always will!
A very interesting take on life. But, oh, so true! :)With the way you speak about martial arts and the interconnection with everyday life reminds me of a film that is so powerful philosophically. The film is called, “Circle of Iron”, and it was originally written by the late, great Bruce Lee. If you haven’t already, I would recommend that you view that film. In truth, I believe you were a great mystic in a past life. Anyways, I hope you and the family had a great Easter. Take care.
Excellent response!
A wonderful blog, you have rounded. Out your life with martial arts, and fulfilled your life
excelente mensaje Andrea saludos desde Venezuela estado guarico de parte de la federación mundial de ciame kio ken kai saludos
Thank you!