subject: Martial Arts Discipline, Why It Is The Best, Why It Works! [print this page] I say Martial Arts Discipline, but actually only one of these methods relates to the fighting disciplines. The most important of these three types, however, refers to studies like Karate, Jujitsu, Kenpo, and so on. In life, this is the only one that counts.
The first method is going to be life itself. You do something wrong, and life comes up and knocks you on your fanny. Go on, don't bother getting up and heading off for work, hungry comes fast around here.
The second method is the fact of discipline, and here we should say something. What we are talking about is not somebody making you do something, for the subject can't be forced. What we are talking about is you making you do something that you know is good for you, and if you're smart you'll pick something you like.
Now, that having been noted, methods for putting control on oneself range throughout all endeavors and activities. Simple sports, like basketball, ping pong, hula hooping, whatever, they all call for one to order one's existence and activity so that one gets somewhere. And, this notion of controlling oneself extends through pottery, learning to have manners, cooking, any activity at all.
So, we come to the martial arts, be they wu shu, silat, tang soo do, or whatever. The question here is why are they so darned significant, why are they so much better for a person than simply ordering activities like pounding a drum or playing the guitar or learning the proper way to mount spearheads? The answer is that they have to do with handling people, and with handling the things that actually happen in life.
In Karate you have a fist coming at you, just like life hands you a problem, and you have to solve it. This means you have to calm yourself down, make yourself function even under threat or duress, and find the right solution. This is a far higher degree of control, and much more akin to what happens in life, than learning to sit for hours and play checkers.
In Aikido you have to move through masses of people and harmonize with them. In Arnis you have to sort through stick patterns and penetrate them. In the UFC you have to decide whether to wrestle or punch, and then have the dedication and commitment to do that no matter what.
Life is dedication and commitment and learning how to get where you are going. It is not just sweet talk and apple pies. Martial Arts discipline, no matter whether it is from shito ryu or praying mantis or Systema, is the only truly effective way of facing up to life so that you are the winner.
