he secret of martial arts is to be yourself? What?! That’s all?!? Yes, that is all. If that makes sense to you, this is the end of the blog. If not, keep reading. Well, read anyway and let me know what you think. 
I woke up this morning with that thought. It was so simple. It came, as many enlightened or crazy thoughts do, during the awakening period of the night/morning. Not really awake. Not really sleep. The mind was free to just be.
Of course there is a bit more to the secret than just being yourself. You have to practice. A lot. You need guides, examples and role models. My role model for the technical aspect was Sensei Dwight Holley. I was amazed at how efficiently he moved. Every block and punch had that “snap” to it. He would rotate his hips and pull his arms and body around with very little effort and yet have so much power. I thought his arms would fall off so many times!
My model for fighting was Sensei Melin Lewis. His back fist was amazing! He could hit just about anyone at anytime with it. I remember one sparring session we had many years ago. I was what some typically say “in my prime”. In shape. Very fast. Etc.,etc. We were moving and all of a sudden: POW! That backlist hit me so fast and so hard! Right in the mouth! I saw it coming and could do nothing about it. I was still conscious because he only hit my lip. There was no blood either. Yes, I did an inventory of my face after receiving a blow like that! The control and timing of the strike was amazing.
The third seed for learning the secret of martial arts came from a conversation with my step-father William Bridges. This occurred one summer when I was visiting home from the Navy. He has never practiced Martial Arts, while both my mother and biological father did. He was much older than me, making his wisdom obvious and abundant. Following his advice and role modeling has made life very simple for me. His advice this day/conversation: Be yourself. You will know when you are ready. Know yourself. You can’t be like them and be yourself. Find out who you are.
No, my mind wasn’t blown then. It should have been. Such simple statements carrying so much wisdom. The thoughts were transmitted to a young mind who did not understand how important, how grand the little seed planted was. Something within me knew what William Bridges said was important though. Something deep inside me stirred from that moment on. I began to be free.
The secret of martial arts continued to grow within. Many, many hours of movement. (Check out 10,000 Bad Kicks) Many, many hours of paying attention to how techniques are done. How I do them. How others do them. I gave myself permission to be myself. When that happened, I seem to become aware of more and more. The old saying of the more I learn, the more I realize I know nothing rings true. Most of what we know is like the tip of an iceberg. What we see is very small compared to what is there.
Go do the work. Find someone to model. Learn from them. Find someone who will tell you you are doing it wrong and who will guide you towards improvement. Better yet, find someone who will help guide you to discovering who you are. Again, you don’t want to be your role model. You want to be YOU. When evolving into YOU, dare I say, you will create an Art that is your own. Oh, that last thought will get me in trouble. I truly hope to see so many “new” Martial Art “Styles” from those I am guiding. Everyone has their way. I see nothing wrong with that.
Be you. What secrets will you bring to the Arts? Please share as we work through another Phase of Growth. I look forward to learning more.
