Discipline is all a matter of time!

When we are fully present, we almost always know what to do. This is why it is so important to remain present as often as possible. When we try rush or stuff our lives with too many activities, or take ourselves out of the present through addictive behavior, we lose our connection to what is real in the moment. Later we may say " that was a dumb thing to do or say." If we remind ourselves to wait and stay present, we will remember what we really want to do or say. This is where holding yourself to what you know is right comes in -discipline!

When we are present and inhibit our habitual reactions through patience, it gives us a chance to go beyond our ego and sense what our true self knows to do or say. This can be illustrated more concretely, when you are practicing a sidekick. If I am having a difficult time striking a target hard with my side kick, I could keep adding more speed and power with my will. Usually, I will get farther and farther from what I am trying to achieve with this method.

Instead, I could stop, empty my mind, try the technique as slowly as I can, and then see if I can now identify what instructions I can use that will change the outcome. Many times I will quickly discover what it is I need to do. Other times I may need to repeat the process or ask others to watch.

In the next stage I will find that when I try to speed-up, I will go back to my old patterns. This reminds me of a story:

There was a student walking to the dojang who would get to a spot where there was a hole in the ground. Every time his left foot got stuck in that hole and he tripped and fell. Each time he cursed and ran on with mud on his dobok. Eventually, he started to absorb some of the lessons from his master about mushim and innnae.

He decided to leave for class a little earlier and he took his time enjoying the walk with his mind more and more present instead on what he would be practicing in class. The student would start to slip into the hole, but he would be present enough to catch his balance. As the student absorbed more of the master's lessons on discipline and he became better at holding himself to leaving for class on time, he spent less time worrying about if he would remember his forms in class, and held himself to noticing the his surroundings more. Not only did he start remembering his forms better, but his performance became more powerful. Most importantly, he noticed that there was a path he had never noticed before that was a little quicker, had no hole to fall in, and had a beautiful view!

When you find that you slip back to your old patterns when you speed things up, you know you must slow things down so that you can be mindful enough to replace your reaction with a new one. You must be humble and patient enough to really break things down into small pieces

In our next installment, I will explain how the realization that we really do control our reactions is!

Practicing Patience

Patience requires an empty mind and discipline. In a sense patience is a practice of meditation. Viktor Frankl wrote about this fundamental principle of the nature of humans in his book: Man's Search of Meaning. The principle is that between stimulus and response is our freedom to choose. F.M Alexander also speaks of this in regard to changing habitual patterns in our lives when he speaks of "inhibition."

How often do we react the same way we always do in an argument? How often do we respond the same way to stress in our lives with self-destructive behavior? As a martial artist, how often do respond with the same counter technique in sparring? We condition a response through repetition. So how can we change these responses? The answer lies in connecting mushim and geukgi with innae of course!

At the start of our practice it is crucial that we become completely present in mind, body, spirit, and emotions. When we disconnect, we will always go to our default reaction. This is why the continual practice of putting our mind into our body and breath is so helpful. I suggest you read Eckart Tolle: The Power of Now for great incite into this subject.

As Viktor Frankl waited it out in a Nazi concentration camp, he discovered that his captors could control his enviroment but not his reaction to it. That space between stimulus and reaction is patience. If we start our training very present, move very slowly, we will be very aware of our habits. Moving fast or adrenalized, we will have no time between stimulus and reaction.

This is why I want you to start each exercise slowly and build speed slowly. This will keep you aware of your muscle's reaction to each movement and allow you to choose how fast and high you make the movement. If you stay present and slow down, you will not only hear your body, but you will hear your instructor's instructions, and you will be able to make adjustments.

For many of us who are Type A, we have a hard time going slow enough to be aware of our habits. Make a commitment to learn the value of slow movement. Try all of your forms, self-defense, etc.. in slow motion, taking at least three seconds to complete each move. If you are having a hard time disciplining yourself to do this, join in on one of my kimoodo classes. This is one of the ways I have learned the process.

In my next post, I will connect the concept of discipline, or "holding yourself to what you know is right," to our learning process.

Making mushim work!

The key to enacting our words of wisdom are always the words that proceed and follow. In the case of mushim, it is choshim (beginner's mind) and innae (patience). The best way to understand this is to think about listening to someone in an argument. If our sense of self is strong, we will think that we know the answer and have the best arguments for it. Instead of actively listening, our mind will become full of rebuttals. By telling ourselves that we may not know (choshim), we open ourselves up to new viewpoints and answers. This will definitely take Innae, patience. We may start to say things before we even realize they are leaving our mouths and we have to focus on our breathing and just WAIT! The waiting is the key. Time heals all. It seems so important to say or do something in the heat of emotion, but then time goes by and it is not important at all. This is the power of patience!