Martial Arts for the Long Haul
So, I’m sitting here thinking about my progress overall. It’s only been a little over a year since I’ve started martial arts training. Well, a year and 2 months. Time just fly’s by. I’ve just taken a stripe test and after hearing what my instructor had to say after our test, I’ve had many thoughts. Granted these thoughts have been mostly concerning myself, but what I find myself considering is martial arts as an endeavor for all.
One idea that was discussed tonight was the idea of being the best martial artist you can be. Everyone who considers entering the challenge of learning to become a black belt takes to heart the time and commitment that is involved in such an endeavor. At some point in the classes that you take in learning a martial art, it seems one might have learned what it takes for themselves to be the best they can be. To be a great black belt, a good black belt, a bad black belt and all levels in between, is something left for the practitioner to decide.
For myself, I’ve considered what it might take for myself to become the best I can be. Granted, my age has some limitations, but really it’s up to me what I can do with what I’ve learned. There are so many aspects to a martial art, even for the art of Kenpo that I am practicing. How does one cover all aspects to become the best that they can be? I’ve come to the conclusion that it takes much hard work and dedication to become the best that one can be. So, with that said, here’s my interpretation of what martial arts is for the long haul.
It is something that must be absorbed by the self. One must dedicate themselves to every aspect that is taught and cover it, practice it, and consume it ad nauseum. I am one that believes that all should have access to learning any martial art, no matter their intentions. However, there is something to be considered when one spends time learning an art and realizes that there is more to the art than learning a series of movements to completion. There is something more that lays awaiting for the individual to discover. What is this thing?
To me, this thing is the challenge of the self. Learning a martial art brings about many feelings. Training the body to perform specific movements can be a daunting task. Along with that challenge comes discovery of what it is about you that limits you from performing at your best. At least that is what I have discovered. I have many limitations, however, I would not have known specifically about these limitation without learning a martial art and discovering for myself just how limited I am.
Every class, every practice session, every technique line, every test, is a moment in which I learn more about myself as a physical human being. Every pain, every day I feel sore, every bruise, every ache, brings me closer to knowing more about myself and what it is my mind and my body might be capable of. As I progress, I see what it is that I have done, what I haven’t been able to do, what I am now capable of doing, and what I hope I can do. This is what martial arts is about to me.
It’s almost as if the body and the mind, the ego if you will, are on a journey of discovery of one’s self. It can be so much more and so much less if that is the individual’s mindset at any given moment. Martial arts can be broken down into simplicity or it can be infinitely expanded upon to include the unbelievable. However, one constant that exists is what one practitioner is capable of at any given time. That’s what makes martial arts a personal affair.
It’s crazy when I sit and think about it. When I considered entering into martial arts classes, my mind had a mental image of what it might be like. As time has progressed, it has never at any given time been anything but the contrary to what I had ever imagined. I metaphorically scratch my head daily at what it is I am learning and what it is I am capable of. Every detail that is absorbed by me becomes uniquely different than what it was that I was taught in a class. There is a subjective teaching pattern that has emerged to me that consequently becomes a subjective learning experience. It is not black and white. It comes with the torment of personal interpretation to what one is willing and capable of doing with one’s own body.
It comes as no surprise to me that all that I have described, no matter how cryptic it might be, is what studying the martial arts is about. I find myself embracing and rejecting it, all at the same time. What keeps me coming back for more is the prospect of learning more about what I might be capable of doing. The challenge, I guess, is the subject of obsession. Why would someone put themselves through such a test of will and dedication? That is a question I continue to ask myself and continue to learn more about as time passes. Maybe it will be a question I will ask myself for years to come.
It is not an easy affair to learn a martial art. Yes, one can absorb and learn everything that is taught throughout the course of martial arts training. But to what level of ability and understanding does one take themselves? It has never been more apparent to me the years that can pass in dedicating one’s self to such an aspiration than most recent. Only a little over a year have I been training and I can foresee many more years ahead of me in this journey of discovery.
So, with that said, what is martial arts for the long haul? It is a love for the challenge, for the seeking of knowledge to test the self. To push the body to boundaries it has never experienced. It is a bridging of the mind, body, and soul, if you will, into one internally connected individual. What might be the reward for such an undertaking? That too is a totally personal affair. It has to fit with the self. It has to be what one wants and desires in their very being. There are many levels at which this can be achieved. That too is what is left to the individual. I am no different. I struggle daily to know what it is I want for myself in this endeavor I have accepted. Maybe that is mainly what martial arts is about? Discovering what it is you want, will tolerate, and will do for yourself. In reality, there is no other reason to dedicate such time and dedication to such a painful affair.
The amount of time it takes to be able to call one’s self a black belt or beyond is surely not an award equal to the sweat and effort required to earn such title. Or is it? Is it subjective? To the practitioner? To the instructor? Nonetheless, it seems to be an extremely personal affair for all parties involved. I know that when the day comes that I earn my black belt that I will have spent a considerable amount of time and effort achieving such a label. It’s what is involved prior to that day that is the challenge of martial arts over the long haul.
