Live a Better Life
(Kathy, Jill, and Julie watch intently as the annual post-tournament Demonstration takes place)
Being a full-time Kung Fu and Tai chi instructor, one who owns his own small little school and is trying to build a following, there is something that frequently occurs to me. It's a question that I often get asked in parking lots or checkout lines or when I give a demonstration, and it goes something like this: "Why do I need martial arts in my life?"
And believe me, I understand. Look, we're all busy. We all have things to attend to in our life, personal goals of achievement, family obligations, work deadlines, etc. I've been there and I'm no different. Sometimes it seems like there's too much to do and not enough time in the day. The last thing we're thinking about is how to learn something new, something difficult and strange that we are not going to be very good at for a while, and build a commitment to a new organization.
So why should you start? Why should you do something that will be time-consuming, difficult, take you out of your comfort zone, push your limits, and stretch the borders of your brain? Why do you need martial arts at all?
What if I told you that it was for those very reasons? The reasons that you use to tell yourself it would be too much of a hassle to sign up or be too hard to follow through. The very things that are keeping you away are the reasons that you need to come inside.
The short answer, as you may have guessed from the title of this article, is to Live a Better Life.
Kung Fu and Tai Chi are very different in their aspects, but they share this basic philosophy. Time spent training in either system is time spent working toward a better life for yourself. This is the main thing that martial arts teaches, not just fighting. Life skills, personal development, creation of a strong hardy character. Determination through perseverance. Willpower through endurance. I can go on, but I think you get the picture.
Why do people join Kung Fu? Many reasons. Some people want to learn how to defend themselves. So they improve their life by learning how to protect their personal safety. Some people want to get in shape. They end up improving their life by creating a habit of physical activity and learning how to move their body to achieve the fitness goals they seek. They develop power and strength through Kung Fu by putting forth effort and dedicated repetition of skills. Some people want superior skill, either in weapons or in empty hand techniques. They end up improving their life through the process of practicing for public performance, rank advancement testing, or just meeting certain internalized goals that they have for themselves.
No matter what the reason they have in the beginning for studying martial arts, the process turns out to be generally the same. They come to class and work hard, they change and develop over time. And along the way they push through obstacles and learn a lot about themselves. They learn to not quit when things get hard. They learn to wait and be patient to see results. They learn that sometimes the greatest reward comes in the training, not in the end results.
Shall I put it to you another way? Okay.
If you want to Live a Better Life, guess what is the number one thing that is required of you? More than time, money, discipline, commitment, willpower, or any other buzz word?
Change. That's the thing that gets you moving. Off the couch and towards all the other things you want in life. You're not going to get it by remaining the same and doing the same things you've always done. Or you'd already have it. So the thing that's required of you is to change.