razorback
13th July 2003, 17:21
Murphy's Law states "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong in the worst possible place at the worst possible time."
Now with that in mind, think about the worst possible place and the worst possible time. Traveling with the family to Yellowstone and your vechile breaks down in, say, rush hour traffic on I-80 in Chicago. For some reason you forgot the cell phone(D'oh!). Its hot, your relatives are letting you call the shots on what to do.
Being a serious martial artist you have no fear about walking to a phone. But you do have some concerns about leaving everyone alone on the highway in Chicago. Hmmmm... what to do?
Next visualize you are in the American Southwest in a state park near the border with Mexico. You planned your trip well, plenty of supplies, plenty of water, the car is in good shape and you have no worries. In the middle of hiking you come face-to-face with a dozen illegal aliens trying to escape the law. Unknown to you is that one of them is wanted for murder. (see the current issue of FHM for that story) What to do, what to do??
When faced with "simple" conflict situations alot of martial artists can easliy come up with what to do. Its my belief that in these "complex" conflict situations we, as martial artist, have to rely more on the (character-development) of our training. One of Sensei Shinryuken Massamitsu Toda's admonitions was "sorrow, pain, and resentment are natural qualities to be encountered in life. Therefore, work to cultivate the enlightenment of the immovable spirit." In learning lessons like this I have been able to face and avoid alot of "complex" and "simple" conflicts. But I never learned these lessons in the dojo! A lot of them were learned in the after hour talks with my instructors, or while hiking through state parks.
I often think about characters like Mushashi Miyamoto and the training he went through before writing the "Book of Five Rings". Experiancing Life first-hand and adapting quickly, he had 60 to-the death duels and won. With an example such as this I can't help but wonder why I don't see more out-of-doors martial arts training. Is outdoor training important in this day and age? Do they train while I'm at work? Can you learn "Core Character" lessons in the dojo?
Something to think about. :)
Now with that in mind, think about the worst possible place and the worst possible time. Traveling with the family to Yellowstone and your vechile breaks down in, say, rush hour traffic on I-80 in Chicago. For some reason you forgot the cell phone(D'oh!). Its hot, your relatives are letting you call the shots on what to do.
Being a serious martial artist you have no fear about walking to a phone. But you do have some concerns about leaving everyone alone on the highway in Chicago. Hmmmm... what to do?
Next visualize you are in the American Southwest in a state park near the border with Mexico. You planned your trip well, plenty of supplies, plenty of water, the car is in good shape and you have no worries. In the middle of hiking you come face-to-face with a dozen illegal aliens trying to escape the law. Unknown to you is that one of them is wanted for murder. (see the current issue of FHM for that story) What to do, what to do??
When faced with "simple" conflict situations alot of martial artists can easliy come up with what to do. Its my belief that in these "complex" conflict situations we, as martial artist, have to rely more on the (character-development) of our training. One of Sensei Shinryuken Massamitsu Toda's admonitions was "sorrow, pain, and resentment are natural qualities to be encountered in life. Therefore, work to cultivate the enlightenment of the immovable spirit." In learning lessons like this I have been able to face and avoid alot of "complex" and "simple" conflicts. But I never learned these lessons in the dojo! A lot of them were learned in the after hour talks with my instructors, or while hiking through state parks.
I often think about characters like Mushashi Miyamoto and the training he went through before writing the "Book of Five Rings". Experiancing Life first-hand and adapting quickly, he had 60 to-the death duels and won. With an example such as this I can't help but wonder why I don't see more out-of-doors martial arts training. Is outdoor training important in this day and age? Do they train while I'm at work? Can you learn "Core Character" lessons in the dojo?
Something to think about. :)