In order to properly develop yourself as a martial artist and urban warrior you must first have some clear idea of why you are training, or rather why you continue to train. The reasons you had for walking into that dojo in the first place way back when might not be the reasons you are still training today. If you began training just to get fit then you should be fit enough by now, so your motivations will have changed. If you began training to learn how to defend yourself so you could stand up to that awful bully, then by now you should have floored that guy and moved on.
The longer we stay training in the martial arts the more our motivations for doing so change over time. I, like a lot of people, just trained. I trained because the training was part of my lifestyle and I didn’t really give it much thought. I didn’t think I needed to. I trained and that was that.
Development
Recently however, I came across an article on Steve Pavlina’s personal development site called, “How to Discover Your Life Purpose in About 20 Minutes”. The article basically outlined a way in which to discover what your ultimate purpose in life is by simply sitting down and writing out various answers to the question, “What is My Life’s Purpose?” until you finally come up with the right answer (right to you, that is). How do you know when you have found the right answer? Well according to Steve you will know when you have found the right answer because it will make you cry.
Now I tried this exercise a few times, writing down maybe five hundred different answers. I was able to clarify my life’s purpose, but it didn’t, as Steve suggested, make me cry (I’m a martial artist, for God’s sake!). The exercise just made me clearer on what I wanted to do with my life.
So the other day I got to thinking about this exercise of Steve’s and I wondered if I could apply it to my martial arts training. I wanted to find out if I could become clearer on why I was still training after twenty-five years. So I took a notebook and wrote at the top of page: What is My Martial Purpose?
Then I began to write down different answers to that question, most of which were pretty obvious (to train hard, to become disciplined, to be able to defend myself etc.) and didn’t really get anywhere near the heart of the matter. So after forty or so different answers I decided to simplify things even further and change the question to: Why do I train?
Changing the question to this seemed to focus me a bit more and after several attempts to answer it I began to edge that bit closer to the truth and the real reason why I continued to train after so many years.
I knew I was getting closer because all my answers began to centre on the same sort of theme, which was the idea of having an inner-warrior and embracing that warrior within. Eventually, after a good few attempts to clarify what I was trying to say, I came up with the following, the reason why I still train in martial arts after twenty-five years:
I train in the martial arts so I can embrace and nourish the warrior spirit within me, the one who gives me the strength, courage and wisdom to walk my own path in life and to help others along the way do the same.
Now I have to say this exercise has really helped me to clarify my motivation for training. Yes I have other reasons for training, but they are subservient to the reasoning I mentioned above. That statement of intent, although it may be meaningless and maybe even laughable to you, holds great meaning for me because it’s like a credo that I can train by and I can remind myself of often to make sure I stay focused. It’s personal to me as yours will be to you.
Try it
Try the exercise yourself, if only to see what you get out of it. It’ll probably only take a half hour of your time, though be prepared for it to take longer. You can use either of the questions I mentioned earlier or you can make up your own, just as long as the question directs you towards finding your true purpose in the martial arts. It is also important to keep writing until you come up with an answer you are happy with. It is a process of refinement and taking a break from it will interrupt that process and you’ll have to start again.
It’s an interesting little exercise at the end of the day. I got quite a lot out of it because it forced me to look a lot deeper into myself and my motivations than I otherwise would normally, so for that reason alone, this exercise is invaluable.
Your feedback
I’d be very interested to see what you get out of this exercise, if anything. So drop me a line and let me know how you got on.
Further and Recommended Reading:
The Purpose Driven® Life: What on Earth Am I Here For?
Shape Shifter: Transform Your Life in 1 Day
