The Warrior Within

Training

I recently had experienced a major setback in my training. It was all precipitated by just ordinary life stuff. You can never tell where your obstacles will come from, and they often will be from the most ordinary of circumstances, and those are the ones we have to look out for and prepare for. Life never stops coming at us. We must train on, and we must figure out how to deal with it and still persist in what we do. I took several weeks off of my martial arts training, but I still tried to do the little things that kept me fit and ready to resume when I would be ready, but it never feels good to have to pause, but if you can at least do something, then it was a victory.

What I have learned and have become more thankful for over the years is that my training in martial arts for the last several decades has helped provide a mindset that will not quit. It is important to be relentless in your pursuit of training. Because it teaches you to be relentless in the way you live life and overcome obstacles. You never know when those moments will arrive that you have to enter into a mode where you feel like you are just battling. Whatever the obstacle may be, it can feel like an internal battle, or an external battle. It is a battle all the same. I feel truly blessed that I have learned this trait to be relentless in trying to overcome whatever comes at me.

It certainly does not mean  it is always fun or pleasant, but it is a feeling of satisfaction to know you have overcome a great deal to get to where you need to me. When you train, hopefully you have a vision of where you are trying to go. That will make the training more meaningful. If you know your destination, the training takes on greater purpose. Such is the same in the way you live your life. Martial arts and training is a metaphor for life. You can look at it from so many different angles. The parallels are always there.

Adversity

Adversity is something that we will always need to deal with. My adversity posed a great challenge for me. However, I was blessed to have perspective enough to be able to deal with it. I think what most people don't realize is adversity must first be confronted internally before you can face it externally. It is the same in the martial world of combat. You can only perform if you internal self is at peace and can handle the pressure of the moment.

For those that approach martial arts from a purely sport perspective, the internal battle is still there as well. Adversity faces athletes, just like anyone else. If it is a defensive or combat perspective, focusing on the physical, well, you still have to master your mind (ie. fear) before you can execute your defensive maneuvers. There is no escaping the requirement of internally mastering yourself before executing the physical. The old masters who made martial arts a philosophy, as well as a physical practice were on to something. The internal battle is real. We need to train it all.

Adversity is not going away, and if you understand that and how to deal with it on multiple levels, you will do yourself a great favor. Martial arts transcends life. Those that can find the parallels between their training and how they live, they are the ones that last the longest and generally understand it well, in my estimation.

The Warrior Spirit

That mindset or spirit to be relentless, that is something you can really teach so much as you must experience it for yourself. Someone can try to explain it, and guide you into a situation where you will start to understand it, but unless you choose to accept it, it will be hard to find it within yourself. It is an experience, that comes from an intense desire to not fail and to learn and to grow.

As a martial arts teacher, all I can do is be your guide. The decisions of each student must push them towards that which they want to achieve. Fortunately, for me, my teacher has one of the fiercest warrior spirits I have ever encountered, and he has guided me to try to become more in each step of my training. That is all you can ask for when you train with someone, be it teacher or training partner. We all want to be better at the end of the day. That is how you find the fight within you.

That spirit is within all of us, if we allow ourselves to find it. Find yours. Don't let it just sit there. Dare to dig deep within yourself and find out who you are. don't let obstacles hold you done. Be relentless in all that you do. It will serve you well if you can push yourself to find the better version of yourself. Train hard and train with the idea you always can be better. It will serve you well.