Pushing Ourselves

 

 

"If there is effort, there is always accomplishment."

-Jigoro Kano

 

"We need to learn to set our course by the stars; not by the light of every passing ship."

-Omar Nelson Bradley

 

 

As martial artists we practice the art of living. But such a phrase is deliberately vague, both in the word 'practice' and in how define 'life'.

It is surely true that we exist given we suspend doubt and the Buddhist concepts of illusory existence. With that in mind I enjoy Bruce Lee's point of view on the subject; as martial artists when we stand still we are no longer alive. It is only when we keep going, when we do more than we did yesterday, that we can prove we live.

I came across this view from this story of someone who trained with the martial artist, and here I will relate it to you;

'"Bruce had me up to three miles a day, really at a good pace. We’d run the three miles in twenty-one or twenty-two minutes. Just under eight minutes a mile [Note: when running on his own in 1968, Lee would get his time down to six-and-a half minutes per mile].
So this morning he said to me “We’re going to go five.” I said, “Bruce, I can’t go five. I’m a helluva lot older than you are, and I can’t do five.” He said, “When we get to three, we’ll shift gears and it’s only two more and you’ll do it.”
I said “Okay, hell, I’ll go for it.” So we get to three, we go into the fourth mile and I’m okay for three or four minutes, and then I really begin to give out. I’m tired, my heart’s pounding, I can’t go any more and so I say to him, “Bruce if I run any more,” –and we’re still running-” if I run any more I’m liable to have a heart attack and die.”
He said, “Then die.” It made me so mad that I went the full five miles.
Afterward I went to the shower and then I wanted to talk to him about it. I said, you know, “Why did you say that?”
He said, “Because you might as well be dead. Seriously, if you always put limits on what you can do, physical or anything else, it’ll spread over into the rest of your life. It’ll spread into your work, into your morality, into your entire being. There are no limits. There are plateaus, but you must not stay there, you must go beyond them. If it kills you, it kills you. A man must constantly exceed his level."'
(http://quittingadderall.com/running-with-bruce-lee-quote/ and  http://impossiblehq.com/then-die)

It is that last paragraph which touches me, and it is a part of my martial creed; everyday I must do more than I did before, so that I do not plateau. I will not define my life by the borders of what I can or might not be able to do- every great thing ever accomplished did so with someone believing it wasn't doable, even sometimes that person who did it.

Everyday I do a series of push-ups, and add to it one more at least than I did the day before. Now I do 250-300 a day, and still I push. I do a series of kicks everyday, as many as I can do non-repeating without having to put the leg down. I started at twenty, now I can do fifty.

When I can do those perfectly, I will again push the number higher to sixty, and eventually a hundred. Last week I began to do Hindu squats, and started at a measly 20. Now I can do 40, and I will only keep adding the pressure and weight.

I do this in all things; it is a goal I can see myself realize to be and do more than I was the day before. And that IS inspiring for me; because even if I only add one push-up a day, I still get to realize that goal. Even if I only did one more kick, I get to tangibly see why it is I can do 200-300 kicks a day.

Yes, we will have set backs. Life may get in our way and not allow us to strive, but then we should just channel our effort into those other areas which demand our attention. Perhaps we may get sick, or injured, and can only do a fraction of what we were able just days before.

So be it. A martial artist picks themselves up, and even if losing heart, finishes the fight successfully in their own terms. So perhaps one day I won't be able to kick because of some reason or cause; that means nothing to me that I cannot work toward what I once had, and even surpass it.

We can always do better, we can always be more. Believe that.

 

"Martial arts is a vehicle to develop your full potential."

-Joe Rogan