Can emotions help you in martial
arts?
Emotions can be a training tool,
a motivator, or provide you information about your surroundings that can be
useful. However, emotions do have limits
in learning or in the application of the art form. To demonstrate this, I will discuss a few fairly
common emotions.
Fear
Fear could possible save your
life, or paralyze you. If you think or know you are in the presence of danger
and act to remove yourself from the danger, then the fear can be useful. If you are fearful of not testing well or not
doing well in a drill in class in front of other students, and you are
motivated then to try harder, work harder, then fear can be a useful tool. However, if you let that fear control you and
you obsess about the items you are fearful about, then it is not useful. Gavin De Becker book entitled “The Gift of
Fear” [1] gives many more examples how fear can be useful if moves you from
danger.
Anxiety
Anxiety is similar to fear in
that if you are nervous because something does not feel right to you, then it
can be a useful tool to avoid it. If you
are nervous about testing, for example, and this motivates you to train harder,
then that can be useful. However, if
avoid testing or training or trying a new technique because you are nervous you
will not do well, then it is not useful.
Anger
As a tool, anger may be used to
get a student to tap into an intention of destruction that aligns with the
energy and intention expected in demonstrating Han Moo Kwan. As a motivator, if you are dissatisfied with
how well you are performing a technique or a form, it may motivate you to
improve and this can be useful.
However, projecting your anger
towards another student or instructor in the dojang is not acceptable in
martial arts. Using your skills against
another person because they made you angry is not acceptable. There is a classic story in “The Hero
with a Thousand Faces” by Joseph Campbell [2] that demonstrates that to react
because of anger is not honorable:
His overlord had been
killed, and his vow was, of course, absolute loyalty to this lord. And it was
his duty now to kill the killer. Well, after considerable difficulties, he
finally backs this fellow into a corner, and he is about to slay him with his “katana”,
his sword, which is the symbol of his honor. And the chap in the corner is
angry and terrified, and he spits on the samurai, who sheathes his sword and
walks away. Now why did he do that? He did that because this action made him
angry, and it would have been a personal act to have killed that man in anger,
and that would have destroyed the whole event.
Pride
To have a healthy self-esteem can
be very positive. However, when your self-esteem is based on external
conditions or based on something you think you deserve, pride will get in the
way. For more information on how pride
can hurt your martial arts practice, refer to my January 2012 blog entitled “Ego, Pride, and Martial Arts.”
Passion
To have passion to train, work harder, learn as much about the history
and application of the art form as possible, and share the art form with others
is very useful. If your passion consumes
you to the point where you lose yourself and forget everyone and everything around
you except the art form, this may not be useful.
Again, emotions have their place
and can be useful. A quote by Bruce Lee
says it very well: "Emotion can be
the enemy, if you give into your emotion, you lose yourself. You must be at one
with your emotion, because the body always follows the mind."
Regards,
Kelly
“The best fighter is
never angry.” ~ Lao-Tzu (6th century BC), philosopher of ancient China, and
best known as the author of the Tao Te Ching
References
1.
Gift of Fear by
Gavin De Becker
2.
The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell
