MEDITATION AND THE MARTIAL ARTS

Why do some people who practice the martial arts also meditate? I can’t tell you why they do it, but I can tell you why I do. For me, meditation is an essential step in cultivating a mind and body that acts in unison. Only when your mind and body act together can you unleash your peak performance. Let me explain.

I was in great shape when I first started training in jujitsu. However, despite my cardio conditioning, I became gassed within minutes each time I entered the clench. Out of breath and sapped of energy, I quickly tapped. My instructors continually told me I was too tense. “Relax, relax,” they would say. Why was it so important that I learn to relax?

The answer is simple. When you enter a sparring or grappling match without relaxing, your adrenaline surges, your heart races, and breathing becomes erratic. This causes your muscles to become tense and deprives them of the oxygen they need to operate. Once that happens you get sloppy and make mistakes on the mat. Meditation teaches you to relax the body by stilling your thoughts and focusing your breathing. Making yourself relax and staying relaxed takes more effort than you think. Actually, it’s hard work. With practice, you can bring yourself into a relaxed state on command. Once you learn to relax in a state of quiet repose, you can bring yourself to relax while in engaged in physical activity.

So, the question is, do you have to meditate to learn how to relax your body? No, there are probably other ways. But meditation is the probably the easiest way. Mediation is to learning to relax like training wheels are to learning to ride a bicycle. There may be other ways, but none are as practical. The amount of time you spend in meditation depends on your goals. I strive for ten minutes when I wake up in the morning and ten minutes before I go to bed at night. Sometimes, I only get the evening ten. Consistency here is the main key. It’s probably more important to have a daily regiment of ten minutes, than doing twice a day every other day.

THE MARTIAL ARTS AND SELF-EXPRESSION. What does it mean to "express yourself?"

If you want to accelerate your personal growth and development in training, it is absolutely essential that you understand what it means to "express yourself" through the martial arts as soon as possible.

In the Western world, we think of self-expression as simply a "statement" or particular point someone makes about what they think or feel. We say an artist expresses themselves through a painting or song. Or, some may express themselves through the clothes they wear, tattoos, or other adornment. In effect, we find people express themselves by performing certain acts or behaviors in order to stand out from the rest of society. Self-expression in this context has nothing to do with expressing yourself in the martial arts.

Self-expression in the martial arts occurs when your technique comes automatically without thought, without pretense. It is the point where mind and body have come together to affect one action - one motion. For most people, this occurs after years of hard work and countless hours of drills and repetition. This type of expression goes beyond simple muscle memory. It's what others in the sports world call being "in the zone." When you're in the zone, there is no thought process involved in your performance. The action comes automatically with flawless perfection. We can all remember a time in our lives when we secured the victory or did something spectacular while in the zone - that moment when time stopped, all internal dialogue ceased for that split second when we made our winning move. For most of us, we fell into it by accident. We remember what it felt like, but have no idea how to we did it or how to repeat it.

This is what the martial arts attempts to teach us. In learning to express ourselves in the martial arts we discover how perform in the zone upon command. The Bruce Lee interview I have posted below addresses this topic in greater detail. It's well worth your time to watch repeatedly.

Imagine what could happen if you, having learned to enter the into the zone upon command for purposes of training or competition, expanded the concept to other areas of your life. What impact could living in the zone make in your business decisions? Life decisions? Your relationships?