Meditation and motivation
When you think of karate. You see the intensity, the power, the displays of beauty and fitness. Yet what we miss and is not seen until you research it is the art of meditation and motivation. I have studied the traditional Chito Ryu classes that came from Japan. I have seen how yes indeed they are some of the most intense workouts you can ever do but yet how do they get to this point. My position is that they get to this point by understanding how crucial meditation and motivation are. Every proper class in Chito Ryu starts with the formal bowing and then has a meditation portion.
This section is not meant to be a deeply spiritual exercise. What this is meant to do is to prepare you for your class. Clear your mind of all the day's thoughts, anxieties, schedules and get ready for the class. When you work with no mind your intensity is deeper, your power increases and you're able to focus on what is happening in the present. This allows the next level of practice. The idea of focusing on what is in front of you is a hard task in the multi-faceted world of technology today.
To me, mediation and motivation are of the same relationship. Meditation clears your mind and teaches you how to work your mind around things. Motivation is used to help drive you further once you’ve cleared your mind.
What is about the motivation that takes a person who is just going through the motions of a class to the person who drives the class? Is that they don’t want to be left behind? Is it the person standing next to the sweating and trying to press further? What is it that intangibly takes motivation and fills our soul.
Motivation is the fuel that can fire a lifetime love of karate, of exercise, of determination and fulfillment. I encourage my students to identify what drives them, what motivates them and press them to work on that just as hard as actual practice because once the two come together it is an amazing experience.
I have spent most of my martial arts background applying and learning multiple ways of teaching motivation. How to find that thing that makes it happen. This why I am still able to practice harder than most people.
Come join us and learn mediation and motivation through the world of karate.
MAR