Martial Arts Lessons

5 Biggies

Martial Arts Lessons Ive learnt on the mats that have had a profound effect on my life

Martial Arts Lessons 1/ Emotion

Learning to control my emotion on the mats has had profound effects off the mats in my daily life. When sparring and your opponent has the better of you there are two major choices 1/ Get mad and respond with anger or 2/ Stay calm, work out how you got there and try not to let it happen again. When you have been training this for years it’s second nature. Instead of reacting to every drama out there, you see things with a new calm perspective

Now simply apply this martial art lesson to arguments, Facebook attacks, finances and so on.

Martial Arts Lessons 2/  Debate – Go ahead punk, change my mind

When I walk onto the mats I’m an open book, ready to learn, unlearn and relearn. If you’re tapping me out I’m not just resisting the truth and denying whats happening. I’m listening to whats happening and how it happened and I’m learning to adapt and evolve my game. This means accepting new ideas and ways of doing things.

Now transfer this martial art lesson into your next Facebook argument or debate with a friend. Do not enter like a politician firmly fixed and immovable forever defending your idea. Let a better idea take over, adopt it, grow and evolve. Enter with this mindset “Go ahead punk, change my mind”

Martial Arts Lessons 3/ Living in the past

When rolling in Ju Jitsu and ive taken my opponent to the mat with a leg reap. There is a point I need to let go and let gravity and the energy do its thing. If I hold on in some cases it makes it much worse for me, I’m living in the past, I should have let go. There are times when we need to hold onto the past and times to let go. One can lead us to submitting our opponent with a beautiful armbar and one can lead us into being arm barred. Know when to let go.

Living in the past can be like walking through treacle, it’s sometimes useful of course though many stay attached to negative emotions for many many years, learn to let go.

Martial Arts Lessons 4/ Goal setting – Motivation

Having goals helps measure growth in skills and performance as well as something to aim for. Martial arts gradings are a series of goals structured over a 25 year plus syllabus. The early stages are every three months giving students clear goals and skills to develop. This, in turn, motivates people to achieve set goals and builds the habits of virtually every successful person on this planet.

Martial Arts Lessons 5/ Here Now

Martial arts helps develop a mind that remains present, focused and sharp. When performing high-intensity sparring or pad drills, you are forced to stay in the moment. A momentary lapse and drift into whats on TV later will lead to a short sharp shock in the form of a glove on your nose. You can have a truly awful day, stress, work, finances etc. When you get on those mats the world melts away and you are in the moment, all that exists is right here right now.

Life is like a sausage machine, you get out what you put in. 

Revolution Is Internal