A little on fighting spirit

Again, a late post, and again, with good reason. The weekend was spent away from my little burrow, until very late in the night of Sunday to Monday.

Last Monday, and the one this week, I held the training in iaido, and chose to focus on the ZNKR Seitei gata, that is, the twelve kata that are sort of international and common ground for the majority of iaidoka in the world. The Swedish National Championships are coming up and though I can't be bothered worrying about more than taking at least one flag (it's possible to have zero, one, two or three in a match, as there are a maximum of three in one match), or fighting for a medal in the sandan (third dan) class, I am going to fight for the Fighting Spirit award. That, to me, means more than any medal - a medal means "merely" technical superiority, a good show, a good match... but the Fighting Spirit award, well, that means one beat everyone else, in one's class or the whole competition, depending on how many they hand out. And that one has a good grasp of the technique, and that what is most important, which are, maai, mind of iai and, well, fighting spirit, is something that one has to a greater extent than anything else.
I realised that it means this to me when I won it two years ago.

Nevertheless... I must be proficient in the technicalities of the Seitei Gata, and so I chose to focus on three last week, and three other kata this week. It is good to see the other participants become better during one lesson! Very rewarding, for me and hopefully also for them.
Wednesday saw our sister club in Linköping send three participants to a very rewarding koryu practice, where, although our sensei focused on helping them, I still found useful new knowledge.

Tuesday and Thursday saw Kali practice with different foci. Yet, in that martial art, since everything is linked in different ways, the more time I spend on it, the more it is like a big, multi-layered jigsaw-puzzle coming together. With or without weapons, the movements are similar, for all the right reasons. I'm happy to say that despite heavy use of arms and shoulders, my muscle soreness wasn't too bad!

I've been looking around for a pair of running shoes, so as not to ruin my rather nice pair of sandals. A friend gave me an old pair of fairly battered sneakers (some kind of Nike ones) which I am aching to go out and try. I'm planning on having my first run in them on Friday - I want to step up my training regime to have a run every other day at least, but I know I need to be a little careful, my knee have been acting up as well as my shoulder, and with new shoes and after the forced winter hiatus on running... It pays to be careful.
Am also possibly going to look into the idea of "chi running" or whatever the name was... sounded fairly similar to barefoot style running, but some kind of a variant. I spoke with a friend you see, and, I'll get back to you on that matter...


Regarding what I wrote about earlier, the fighting spirit thing - it is important to have the right mindset, whatever one is training. It will be far less efficient if one is merely slugging on, going through the motions, no matter what one is training! To me, going to the gym is akin to torture. Boring, drab, uninspiring. I have tried using a mindset of "but it will benefit my iaido!" but that has not worked. In martial arts, I can directly link action to result, I know that what I do is useful, or, in the case of iaido, damn cool because I'm waving a flippin' katana around (to speak loosely and rather carelessly here). There's something about martial arts that not only gives my body exercise, but also my mind. Straightens it out, helps me focus. I can see a direct use of what I do.
And with martial arts, well, they are martial, aren't they? Fighting is in their nature, self-defence or what ever you wish to call it. In iaido it is ever so important to have that fighting spirit, not showing it by facial expressions, but by exuding it. You have no (physical) opponent. Yet it must be clearly seen that you are fighting an opponent. You must act at all times as if you were a warrior, not a fighter, and a warrior at ease with their skill and awareness. Zanshin! And when there is violence, you give it your all, without losing focus, poise, control or awareness. Perfect focus. Perfection.
The idea of a Fighting Spirit award is immensely satisfying to me. All too often, that part of iaido falls by the wayside. Mind is important! Mind is even more important than body! With the right mindset, your life will be right. And with the help of said mindset, I walk the streets more safely, I train Kali Sikaran with greater focus and reward, and I live my everyday life a better way.

...I got a bit philosophical there.
So, how do you find that a mindset can affect training? Do you have good examples, bad examples, examples from ordinary gymming, from martial arts? Tell me, I am curious!

The reasons for training

The shoulder seems to have settled into being trouble, but it is generally less painful than it was at first. Kali works better than iaido, possibly because of the lack of vertical lifting movements with heavy objects. Regardless, this Monday I had to forego the iaido practice. On Tuesday, I learned that blocking a rattan stick with the (in my case rather protruding) bone bump by your wrist is a bad move. On Thursday, I learned that blocking a rebounding rattan stick with your eyebrow is equally bad, if a little less short-term painful. My eye didn't swell shut, but it did look rather odd until I got to it with the Voltarol/Voltaren cream. Wednesday I had the opportunity to be a hardass, evil trainer with lots of nitpicking, when there was only one other more experienced practicioner at the iaido. I managed to get through the ZNKR kata, as well as all Shoden and Chuden kata I know, but it was good to be able to break it off and rest the shoulder with some nitpicking. The student I helped coach has, as so many, a great many tiny issues. One of his is that he is constantly talking back. Not necessarily arguing, but I am schooled in the Japanese way - you listen, nod, and do. But at times I allow him to speak, because he seems to need it in order for things to stick. We managed to fix a detail no one has noticed before - he kept his sword much too far pushed into his obi, too far to the left, which caused some awkwardness in his gripping the tsuka and drawing, and also made him sloppy with hikite/sayabiki, that is, drawing back his left hand to allow the katana out of the saya/scabbard. Having fixed this, much of his form instantly became better. I am always glad when I can iron such little creases out. And, I pushed for something which I personally am very aware of - when walking, or moving, I try to teach students to avoid bobbing up and down. This is not something the other teachers speak much about, but I have become a little audacious in my teaching, and am now pushing for this. No one has yet told me off so I suppose they are fine with it. I have been thinking again about motivation. Why do I do iaido, and why do I do kali sikaran? My reasons are different, but frustratingly intangible in a way. I am a perfectionist. That was one of the reasons I mentioned when my first iaido teacher asked me why I had come. The perfection in iaido spoke to me. Also, of course, swords are cool. I have been doing iaido for a very, very long time now. I feel an obligation to all the sensei before me, all those who have passed their knowledge on to me. It is forward reciprocity, which I am very keen on. I want to be fast, skilled and strong. I want my form to be perfect, so that when a situation arises (hypothetically, as always, who walks around with a sword in their belt these days?) my mind will not stop. I will move outside the kata and just act. And I pursue perfection, as I know I have many things to perfect yet. Iaido is closely tied to Zen buddhism, and since it is a do, it needs must be connected to my life, and vice versa, in a much stronger way than most people think martial arts is. But that is the way of it! A do is a way. It is not just a thing you go to and exercise. Kali sikaran is... enjoyable. Flexible. Full of variation. Physical. Changing. Evolving. It requires, in its proper form, the same no-mind and non-stopping-mind as iai or any martial art. It allows me to move beyond one weapon, allows me to broaden my perspective and when I drop the sword, if I do, I will still be highly armed and dangerous. I am a beginner and am yet able to remember that, and avoid being frustrated at my inability to do things perfectly at once. This is very good, as I like to be reminded that there is always more to learn. Yet there is still the politeness and the "practice WITH rather than AGAINST eachother" that I am so very fond of in Shorinji Kempo. Running is sheer enjoyment. It is something which I can feel strengthens my body every time I have the chance to do it, it cleans my mind, helps me keep it in the now or helps it roam, depending on what is needed at that moment. I am now able to run barefoot style in my big combat boots too, if only for limited distances, and it is not as comfortable, but still - I have changed my way of running and am better off for it. It is floating across the ground, instead of pounding it. I run because of freedom, exploration, stamina, strength, no-mind, its beneficial effects on everything else I do... I run because running makes me feel alive. Do you have different reasons for doing the various physical exercises you do, and/or what are those reasons?