Intensity: "Iki o sakan ni subeshi!"

It's more than energy.

It wasn't that long ago that I was rediscovering martial arts after a 17-year absence.  I had studied Tang Soo Do as a small child (up until age 11), and I always missed it a little.  It would be a particularly long story to tell, so I'll set it aside for now and get to today's point.  In December of 2010, I arrived at the AYK dojo, stretched, and eagerly awaited my first test for 8th kyu yellow belt.  I had attended a lot of classes by that point--a lot.  So, by this point I had attended a few particularly tough workouts.

Testing was different.

Here's the interesting thing:  it wasn't that different from a regular class.  Especially testing to 8th kyu, the amount of material is not huge, so in a lot of ways, it really does resemble a regular class because you have the time to do full sets of all of your techniques.  What was different about the test however, was me.  I wanted to NAIL IT.  I waited on the side to be called while watching the higher-ranking students test, and I was getting pumped up.  I don't remember much about the test besides getting my brain tied-up and switching inside-center block with outside-center block (see current 8th and 7th kyu folks, I told you it happens to almost everyone!), but what I do remember is at the end of the test, I was pouring sweat and still equally as pumped as when I started.

I've had 21 kyu/kup-grade martial arts tests since then (7 more for Yoshukai, 9 for Kyuki-do, and 5 for hapkido), and I still get that pumped-up excited feeling.  Recently, one of my instructors at AKF Athens told me that he's enjoyed watching me ever since I was "all attitude, intensity, and a huge kiai."  A lot's happened since then, and although a lot's changed, my feelings about intensity have not.

It really does take a lot to reach a person's limits--maybe not at first, but that goal line keeps moving, and there has to be an x-factor to keep us pushing to the peaks of our technical ability, strength, endurance, spirit, and mental capacity.  I also believe that anyone who is determined to avoid hitting his/her limits absolutely will not.  There's only so far an instructor/trainer or training partner can drag us.  Don't get me wrong; it's extremely important that they're there, but I think their purpose as far as spirit is concerned is to buoy our intensity when it starts to dip.  I can psych up a group reasonably well, but the group has to be in a "psychable" state already.  So, intensity begins when you get your things ready before the workout, it should be coursing through your veins by the time class is bowed-in, and it should still excite you after class is done.  Believe me--if you ever have trouble sleeping, the post-intense class crash is glorious.

This week, in addition to some posting about workouts and progress in Operation Shodan Fit, I'm also thinking about musing a bit about the 5 precepts of Yoshukai Karate.  As you can see, I'm doing it non-sequential-Tarantino-style.  Today's precept, Iki o sakan ni subeshi (keep high-spirited), is the fourth.  I'm not doing these in order or importance--I feel that they are ranked in order of importance, but I'll get to that later in the week.  But, after a much-needed day of rest, I was able to start the day with a very intense workout, and I feel fantastic.  I'm hoping the new week is treating you all well, and I'll be back with more thoughts tomorrow!