DEVELOPING A TRAINING PHILOSOPHY IN BUDO AND MARTIAL ARTS: DEVELOPING A TRAINING MINDSET
In Budo and the martial arts one should remember the adage “Wherever your head goes your body will follow.” To prepare your body to train in Budo, you must first have the right frame of mind (mindset). The idea is not to simply train more, but rather, to train more effectively and wisely.
A good “first” mindset is to accept from the start that you are learning Budo or a martial art and that, as should really be expected, it will take time. You should also keep in mind that you will make mistakes, at times with some regularity; however, also keep in mind that mistakes give you the opportunity to train more and thus to learn more.
In Budo, one should train as though you intend to use this art someday in the protection of someone’s life: a loved one, even your own. But one should not train as though the treat were today, and that as soon as you walk out the dojo door, your worst enemy will be waiting to kill you. Instead, train as if it might be threatened – someday. Take your training seriously with a realistic intent and intensity.
Train also as though your spiritual life also depends on it; that is, in approaching Budo, always maintain your high level of ethics and behavior. Remember also that within Budo and Bushido, one’s on spiritual development (in addition to physical development and development of skills) really depends on concentrating on one’s work and progress. No one can do it for anyone else. We can help our partners and fellow students but we cannot, as much as we might like to, do it for them and in return, they cannot do it for us.
Hopefully one enjoys the art they are pursuing and truly, one should train as though they enjoy it. One learns faster, better, and maintains training longer if the process is enjoyable for them. Try to take pleasure and enjoyment from what you do and if you are not, explore with your sensei and within yourself why that might be.
Approach training in Budo or martial arts with intense intent. Two extremely important items in training are intent and intensity (note intensity follows intent). For example, if your intention is to come to the dojo and “hang out” with your friends, the intensity of your training will be pretty small. If you train with the intent of only achieving physical fitness, you will train with a higher intensity than that if you were just “hanging out” but it would not be enough so that you were able to defend yourself someday if needed. If you train with the intent that someday you will be able to defend yourself if you need to, you will train with a still higher level of intensity. One should decide what there intent is and train with the appropriate intensity in order to achieve it.
Remember that one needs to train consistently and to be persistent. Progress will not just come. Acquiring skills require consistent attendance and persistent training and practice.
When you starting out in Budo or a martial art, train with some goal in mind. This will help you focus your training. To train without a goal in mind is the same as taking a trip without having any destination. Not such a great idea. At the start one truly needs to know where they want to go. Later on, one can train just to train; that is, train with no specific goal or intent in mind. This is a bit more “process oriented” approach rather than focusing on content or intent. Training (later on down the road) with no specific goal means that you have a direction in mind to get to, but no real “destination” such as reaching a specific goal or achieving a specific rank. Eventually the training comes on its own – training becomes the intent, the content, the goal, and the process all in one. The destination and the journey become the same. At the same time, the training itself changes from something that one does, to who they are.
So one can also then, approach training to make a statement. At the start, train as if your behavior while training is making a statement about who you are. What do you want people viewing your training to think about who you are. Train in such a way that your behavior communicates that personal statement.
Approach training not just for self-improvement (although that is certainly one of the better reasons for studying) but also for the improvement of others. The principles of Budo and Bushido stress the common good and the best interests of everyone. To train just for you in the long-term is not enough, it is a bit selfish and thus does not demonstrate or apply Budo or Bushido thought. One must train the “self” but one must also lose the “self” in order to help improve others. For example: When practicing as the one executing a technique, stay relaxed, calm you mind, follow instructions – this will lead to self-improvement. When you are practicing as the one initiating an “attack” and thus receiving the technique, give honest intent and intensity to the approach and the attack. This allows your partner or the one giving the technique the opportunity to practice and to improve. Do not, however, give too little intensity or intent, which tends to make practice rather useless. Also, do not give too much intent and intensity or then, in fact, you are no longer training but fighting and things degenerate into a contest of muscle and ego, not a training session for self- and other’s improvement.
Train slowly and pay attention to details. Truly, the best way to progress rapidly is to progress slowly. The best way to make big changes is to pay attention to the little things.
Lastly, train and technique and concepts; that is, train in both the physical techniques that apply to the concepts and train in the concepts that make those techniques effective and efficient.
A good “first” mindset is to accept from the start that you are learning Budo or a martial art and that, as should really be expected, it will take time. You should also keep in mind that you will make mistakes, at times with some regularity; however, also keep in mind that mistakes give you the opportunity to train more and thus to learn more.
In Budo, one should train as though you intend to use this art someday in the protection of someone’s life: a loved one, even your own. But one should not train as though the treat were today, and that as soon as you walk out the dojo door, your worst enemy will be waiting to kill you. Instead, train as if it might be threatened – someday. Take your training seriously with a realistic intent and intensity.
Train also as though your spiritual life also depends on it; that is, in approaching Budo, always maintain your high level of ethics and behavior. Remember also that within Budo and Bushido, one’s on spiritual development (in addition to physical development and development of skills) really depends on concentrating on one’s work and progress. No one can do it for anyone else. We can help our partners and fellow students but we cannot, as much as we might like to, do it for them and in return, they cannot do it for us.
Hopefully one enjoys the art they are pursuing and truly, one should train as though they enjoy it. One learns faster, better, and maintains training longer if the process is enjoyable for them. Try to take pleasure and enjoyment from what you do and if you are not, explore with your sensei and within yourself why that might be.
Approach training in Budo or martial arts with intense intent. Two extremely important items in training are intent and intensity (note intensity follows intent). For example, if your intention is to come to the dojo and “hang out” with your friends, the intensity of your training will be pretty small. If you train with the intent of only achieving physical fitness, you will train with a higher intensity than that if you were just “hanging out” but it would not be enough so that you were able to defend yourself someday if needed. If you train with the intent that someday you will be able to defend yourself if you need to, you will train with a still higher level of intensity. One should decide what there intent is and train with the appropriate intensity in order to achieve it.
Remember that one needs to train consistently and to be persistent. Progress will not just come. Acquiring skills require consistent attendance and persistent training and practice.
When you starting out in Budo or a martial art, train with some goal in mind. This will help you focus your training. To train without a goal in mind is the same as taking a trip without having any destination. Not such a great idea. At the start one truly needs to know where they want to go. Later on, one can train just to train; that is, train with no specific goal or intent in mind. This is a bit more “process oriented” approach rather than focusing on content or intent. Training (later on down the road) with no specific goal means that you have a direction in mind to get to, but no real “destination” such as reaching a specific goal or achieving a specific rank. Eventually the training comes on its own – training becomes the intent, the content, the goal, and the process all in one. The destination and the journey become the same. At the same time, the training itself changes from something that one does, to who they are.
So one can also then, approach training to make a statement. At the start, train as if your behavior while training is making a statement about who you are. What do you want people viewing your training to think about who you are. Train in such a way that your behavior communicates that personal statement.
Approach training not just for self-improvement (although that is certainly one of the better reasons for studying) but also for the improvement of others. The principles of Budo and Bushido stress the common good and the best interests of everyone. To train just for you in the long-term is not enough, it is a bit selfish and thus does not demonstrate or apply Budo or Bushido thought. One must train the “self” but one must also lose the “self” in order to help improve others. For example: When practicing as the one executing a technique, stay relaxed, calm you mind, follow instructions – this will lead to self-improvement. When you are practicing as the one initiating an “attack” and thus receiving the technique, give honest intent and intensity to the approach and the attack. This allows your partner or the one giving the technique the opportunity to practice and to improve. Do not, however, give too little intensity or intent, which tends to make practice rather useless. Also, do not give too much intent and intensity or then, in fact, you are no longer training but fighting and things degenerate into a contest of muscle and ego, not a training session for self- and other’s improvement.
Train slowly and pay attention to details. Truly, the best way to progress rapidly is to progress slowly. The best way to make big changes is to pay attention to the little things.
Lastly, train and technique and concepts; that is, train in both the physical techniques that apply to the concepts and train in the concepts that make those techniques effective and efficient.
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(c) 2007 by Hayato Tokugawa and Sekishinkan Tokugawa Dojo, www.takayamabudokai.com
Labels: budo, bushido, development, hayato tokugawa, japan, martial arts, mindset, philosophy, sekishinkan tokugawa dojo, training, www.takayamabudokai.com
posted by Hayato Tokugawa at 7:24 PM
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