In Budo it's all about the training.
The training of both mind and body.
It's very true that the body is easier to train than the mind. The unfortunate result of this is that quite often the mental aspects of training we're sadly lacking.
The thing is, mental training is probably more important than the physical.
There are a few ways of training the mind that a martial artist should develop. Some of these include the endurance to keep going when you want to stop and the character development to be a better person.
A large part of mental training and indeed an important aspect of being a true warrior is the development of the martial mind.
Primarily, as martial artists we should constantly seek to develop the martial mind, the mindset of a true Budoka.
In every situation it's best to get in the habit of asking yourself “Is this is what a smart martial artist would do?”
It's all about having a certain attitude and outlook in any given situation.
One aspect of the martial mind is when we're not switched on during training. In a real self-defence situation you don’t have the option to take your time or be lazy. For this reason we should keep a focused mind when training.
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| Very Focused Budoka |
Be switched on and serious about everything you do in the Dojo, even little things like getting up or walking to the other side of the Dojo are best done with conviction. You may need little skills like these to work for you when you don’t have the option to do it at just any old pace. The enemy doesn’t care about little aches and pains, actually they will take advantage of them.
Another aspect of the martial mind is simply awareness, known in Japanese as Zanshin.
Gichin Funakoshi said “When you step beyond your own gate, you face a million enemies”.
At all times, it's best to put effort into keeping your head up and being aware of the people around you, whether you are in a crowded place or on your own.
If someone (or a group of people) looks dodgy, firstly you need to know that they're even there, but then you need to be aware enough to keep an eye on them. Don’t be taken by surprise, all the training in the world won’t help if you’re struck down before you even know what happened.
One other aspect of the martial mind is that you’re always training.
You can apply the technical aspects of Budo to almost any physical action, so why not use that and get into the habit of using everything to make yourself better/stronger?
Gichin Funakoshi also said: “Apply the way of karate to all things. Therein lies its beauty.”
If you’re walking down the street, closing a door, getting out of bed, brushing your teeth, lifting some random object or even just standing still you can apply the things we do in training.
If you do this, your training will go from only being a couple of hours worth each week to something like 80 to 100 hours worth of training each week. Can you imagine how much you would get out of that much training?
If we want call ourselves a martial artists, we should also work towards having the mind of one.
The martial mind is a very important part of your training… have a little bit of focus and determination… become the Budoka you want to be!
Comment below to share any thoughts or opinions you might have. :)
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