Why Practice Martial Arts?

We all have different reasons to practice martial arts and meditation. These reasons change as we grow in our practice. One of the best things I’ve heard on the subject is that people start practicing for good reasons, keep practicing for great reasons, and if they quit it’s usually for dumb reasons.

We should all evolve with time. Even if we do the same things and the outward appearance of life remains constant, our reasons for doing so and our experiences change. Like the famous zen saying goes, “Chop wood carry water before enlightenment, chop wood carry water after enlightenment.” To get to a level of enlightenment in meditation, or achieve greatness in a physical practice like Kung Fu, Tai Chi or Jiu Jitsu, we must take the first step, then find a great reason to keep going.

Good Reasons to Start to Practice

When I was in highschool, my friends were practicing Kung Fu and Tai Chi. They made it sound fun and I wanted to spend more time with them. These were fine reasons to start martial arts. Most adults choose to begin practicing because they want to learn self defense or get a workout. These are also good reasons to start. Many kids start because their parents want them to learn discipline or get socialization, like mine did when they signed me up for Taekwondo at 8 years old. All of these reasons and more bring people into our dojo and others across the world every day. Maybe you saw the latest season of Kobra Kai or just watched Shang-Chi. Whatever gets you in the door will work.

Great Reasons to Keep Practicing

In my first Kung Fu class, my Sifu talked about the five ways of becoming great at martial arts: Patience, Perseverance, Practice Hard, Practice Exactly What You Want to Perform, and Meditation. I definitely didn’t expect to hear anything like this in a martial arts school. I thoroughly enjoyed the physical practice, and after hearing other concepts like treating everyone as partners rather than opponents and happiness is a choice, I decided to stick with it for the long haul. These are just some of the great reasons to keep practicing. 

In the beginning, it’s important to have patience and perseverance. Once we’ve practiced for several months to a year, we’ve dealt with some ups and downs. For some students who never really get going, the first rough patch is often when they quit. Maybe their job schedule changes or they go on vacation and miss a few weeks of classes. Maybe they break a toe playing basketball. Before we really give practice a chance, it’s easy to lose it.

This process is true of any great undertaking. When we are up to big things, we must get through the initial phase where we are easily thrown off track. A new practice is fragile, like a baby bird. After our life begins to change and we create habits around what is important to us, it becomes stronger. Practice takes flight on its own.

Ultimately, it comes down to what works for our life, what we connect to personally. If we can recognize what it is about practice that affects us deeply, we can keep going through the ups and downs and make great strides.