War Ready

Martial arts training is far more than being fun, good for the body and a self defence. Of course it is all of these, but far more it is a metaphor for life - I feel. The lessons I have learned during the time I’ve spent in the dojo have always prepared me for life’s twists and turns, more than any other method.

Training has to be tough at times, there should always be balance but to have the fun and technical sessions we also need to be allowed to go through the ‘fire’ ( by this I mean the metaphorical one which martial arts presents in the way of training), the endurance and sparring sessions. The uncomfortable sessions.

This fire can be controlled in the dojo, turned up or down depending on the group or individual. By allowing ourselves or even our children to struggle through the pressure of combat we are giving them one of the greatest lessons in life, to deal with stress.
Obviously, when you are being pinned to the floor, punched or kicked, thrown or choked there is the physical stress but also the emotional stress of the situation. As tempting as it is to leave this out of training, it is a core value to instil - being calm under pressure and emotionally stable during times of panic.

I am not looking to make them hardened soldiers, who can take anyone out but Warriors in a garden. Able to see the beauty in life, while being ready to stand up to the stressors of it. For when they arise one can come back to the pressure of those martial art sessions and remember, I was calm during that stressor therefore I can be calm now.

Although it you may want to step out of that part of the session or ‘rescue’ the person you are watching, remember these are the life lessons one falls back on - perseverance, pushing through and over coming a difficult situation. Therefore we need the fire, but we must control it as we teach.

We are training to be a Warrior, a Samurai.
We are training to be war ready, life ready.

And yes, I completely stole the photo idea from Jiri Prochàzka’s insta. His is slightly more iconic, but my still carries the same meaning.

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Jack