Martial Arts Discipline

I have practiced martial arts every day for 16 years. It’s pretty much the only thing I’ve done every day besides eat, sleep, and meditate (I’ve probably skipped a few days of brushing my teeth and showering).

When I was 8 years old my parents put me in Taekwondo. I didn’t get it, didn’t love it, and definitely didn’t set my own time aside to practice (other than swinging my bo around a few times). I learned some cool “moves” and got some great pictures taken of my in my gi, but that was about as deep as it went.

The reason why was through no fault of the art. It was really my fault for not diving in; I got out of it what I put into it. I didn’t know this at the time. I didn’t know what martial arts could do for my life until I met Sifu Brown.

When I visited his dojo in Michigan for the first time, I saw a dedicated group of students pouring themselves into their practice. I saw real effort and joy on the mats. It was a palpable feeling I hadn’t experienced anywhere else, and I let myself get swept up in it.

I went to class most days, often morning and evening class, Kung Fu and Tai Chi. I attended meditation class every week, and Sifu’s talks inspired me. I began seeing martial arts practice as much more than what went on during class; I saw it as a way of life, a guide for all my actions. Soon enough I was not only practicing basics and forms outside of class (as well as meditation, of course), but I was finding subtle things to work on in day-to-day activities like keeping my thumbs tucked next to the rest of my fingers while driving.

One day after Tai Chi, I discovered I was tense while washing the dishes. These sorts of menial tasks had always annoyed me. I realized that I could wash dishes in the same way I practiced Tai Chi. I inhaled as I scrubbed, exhaled as I rinsed. I set my heel down first and moved from the center as I put the dishes away. In this way it became a moving meditation, and I was instantly in love with doing dishes. My mom began to notice the heightened quality of all my chores. Yet another annoyance averted.

I poured myself into schoolwork with the same attitude I put toward fixing my technique: anything worth doing is worth doing right. I sought perfection and went from a C student to getting straight A’s in college. I began to revel in my ability to turn anything into a discipline. After an inspirational Sifu Brown talk around New Years resolutions, I made goals that I kept up for an entire year. No exceptions. I went one year without eating any desert of any kind. My diet became perfect. I realized that I had complete control over what I did, and through meditation, even what I thought. I felt like a fricking super hero.

Now, this sort of discipline I have over body and mind no longer seems new. I take it for granted that I can form and break habits with minimal effort, and when I choose to do something, there’s no stopping me. I constantly have to remind myself that most other people don’t have such an easy time. This is one of the main reasons why I teach martial arts. To turn normal people into super heroes of discipline. When I look out onto my mats, I can see that it’s working.