Growth

I was struck this afternoon by a thought I probably should have been struck by a long time ago.

At the time, I was daydreaming. I know, big shocker, right? But hey, I'd been brainstorming about my online RPG character. He's big on martial arts, and I was wondering what kind of weaponry he would prefer/would be proficient with. What I came up with was an interesting conglomeration of modern military and ancient Japan. The .308 sniper rifle and handgun tactics would be most of the modern stuff. The more ancient arts are the blades and staff: tactical knife fighting and throwing, perhaps throwing stars, maybe blowguns, but most definitely, the exquisite art called "Battojutsu" which basically encompasses the unarmed Samurai arts of judo, aikido and jujitsu as well as kenjutsu and iaijutsu, the sword arts.

As all of this went through my head, I remembered what I had read and learned about martial arts, in particular the teachings of the sword arts: that physical lessons are important, but are not the most relevant lessons to be learned. That was when I was struck by the aforesaid thought that I should have been struck by a long time ago.

One cannot improve the body without improving the mind.

There are two reasons for this. One, it is unavoidable. When the body is exercised, the flow of blood encourages the harmony of all muscles, including the brain and its functions. Exercising also produces the pleasant side-effects that accompany a sense of accomplishment, which typically improves one's mood, which is also very healthy. So you see, all of them are tied together one way or another, and influences are very easy to manipulate. The next time you feel down in the dumps and don't have any better ideas, try some exercise!

The second reason that one cannot improve the body without improving the mind is that it is unwise. A strong body without a mature mind is a loose cannon, shifting wildly back and forth with emotional extremes. If one is an expert marksman but does not know where to aim, one is not only ineffective and of little use, but also dangerous, and a hazard to everyone, including himself.

Besides, when it comes right down to it, a warrior's greatest weapon is nothing he can lay his hands on or do with his own body, but his mind.

I go back to school on Monday. I don't look forward to it, but at this point if it would help me graduate faster, I'd clean every bathroom on campus with nothing but a toothbrush and my own spit.

That would be improving the mind. I'll be going back to taekwondo classes this semester, too. I hope to test for my fourth degree in March, and I don't quite feel ready for it yet. Thank God there's time.

That would be improving the body. Only tw things remains un-addressed, which cannot be improved by default by training the body:

The heart and the spirit. Those can only be improved on their own, and luckily, I've for just the right idea for it.