In the martial arts, to make true and worthwhile progress, you would do well to have a few "things."
One of those things is patience. Patience means you look at the long-term benefits of steady, consistent training; not too hard and not to easy, but training that’s varied, interesting, and --eventually --both meditative and challenging.
Another thing is the big picture view. Your martial arts practice should not be limited to --or even predominately on --the mat. The awareness, the calmness, the confidence, should make it’s way off of the mat and into your world.
“My favorite saying about the martial arts and life is,'My life is my dojo.'” --Tom Callos
And yet another great thing to have is an instructor with a brain and some awareness. It’s a great, great thing to have friends and mentors who have the makings for a full picnic lunch --and it’s a real bummer when you end up hanging out with someone who turns out to have brought the basket, but forgot to pack the sandwiches.
Oh, and a really wonderful thing to have is a good diet. Without a good diet, the body doesn’t cooperate the way it should and training is never as much fun or as productive as it could (and should) be.
If you’re considering martial arts classes as a way to have some fun while polishing those “things” that you like most about yourself, consider using the pass you can find here. I like to give new students a good, healthy opportunity to see what the training is like (we always start slow and easy). If you have questions, please, call 206-230-9050
Comments
All things to strive for that sometimes is tough- using the awareness and calmness to look inward vs external "it is not a competition" - and know that what starts within radiates out!
Thank you for some awesome thoughts!
Patience is a great thing that i've learned from Martial Arts. I've been with limited supply of it for as long as I can remember, but now I have a significantly extended supply!
Another thing is my diet....and I don't mean the 'OH NO! look at my thighs!' type diet either. I mean the 'let's limit the garbage that I put into my body kind' of diet. If you eat crap, you will feel crappy...better stuff you eat, the better you'll feel. PERIOD!