Martial Musing Of The Day - The Purposeful Quest on the Warrior Path I have seen many of my students drop out after years of training. I have also seen some of my most enthusiastic martial art brothers in CIMA/FMA drop out like flies when the going got a little too hard. Reasons run the usual gambit of of time, money, relationships, age etcetera. But, then again, I also have two senior students, who have everything working against them, and yet they consistently show up to train. I can also think of a high ranking martial arts brother who is a 6th Dan Kajukenbo with black belts in multiple arts. He has a loving family and a challenging work schedule that takes him across the country...yet he always shows up and continues to grow. These last few months have highlighted a particular difference between those who quit and those who pursue their art. They also revealed the stark differences between the martial hobbyists and the warriors who walk the path. So what is the difference that makes the difference? How people answer the following questions tells me a lot: 1. Is personal growth and freedom a top level priority? 2. Are you willing to pay the price for it? 3. Do you have positive role models as teachers (not coaches or trainers)? 4. Do your significant relationships support your quest and vice versa? 5. Do you feel responsible or at least deeply involved in the growth of another individual in the arts? The more NOs to the questions above, the easier it is to quit. The more YESes you have, the more integral the art is to you. This is also the difference between those to whom the art is a hobby - this is something you do for fun when its convenient - and a true warrior. When the art is the way of life, then the art is the path and the destination. The art is not something you do, it is something You Are. So how does one go from saying (any) art is your life to making it your life? 1. Make your personal growth and personal freedom your #1 Value. This means making decisions in life from this lens. 2. Once you have made the decision... pay the price! Especially when you you dont feel like it and no one is watching. 3. Seek out the teachers whom you would like to emulate in all aspects of your life 4. Feed those relationships which support your pursuit, and completely support their pursuits in return 5. Share your hard-earned lessons with some mentees/students on a regular basis As you take these more and more of these steps listed above, you will see that the arts have now become a purposeful pursuit. For it is not that students on the path cannot see SOLUTIONS to the challenges of time, money, relationships etcetera that force them to quit. It is their inability to see the PROBLEM that trips them on the warrior path. That problem, quite simply, is that the arts never became a PURPOSEFUL PURSUIT! As always I remain open to your thoughts and constructive criticism. Have a Great Labor Day Weekend. Mahipal Lunia Sensei MountainViewAiki TheRenaissancePath
Posted on: Sat, 30 Aug 2014 05:22:13 +0000
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