I’ve been watching footage of a Tai Chi master who has won world titles in that sport, and it makes me ponder what motivates people to compete.
Contests are fun and motivating, and some sports beg for competition. This is particularly true of team activities where the whole point is to work together for victory. It’s fun to play catch with a baseball, but a baseball game is a whole different matter. People like winning and feeling achievement. We like awards and accolades. First place feels good.
Going back to Tai Chi, it seems a bit at odds with the basic concept of a martial art that is done slowly and with introspection. The origins of Tai Chi are from Chinese fighting, but the current application of Tai Chi is more to do with creating positive energy and calmness of spirit.
Leave it to humans to find a way to create winners and losers in everything.
Karate is no different in the sense that many of us practice this activity to improve ourselves. The benefits of karate include strength, stamina, focused energy and inner peace. On the other hand, many karate-ka want to win medals. There’s a branch of karate called kumite, which is sparring with others to make points and win matches. It’s yet another sport where the goal is winning.
I enjoy competition, but my motivation for doing karate is self improvement. There are many layers of performance in martial arts, and I’m driven by the desire to get better; my competition, however, is my former self. As we explore the depths of karate, consider what motivates you. I am impressed that our Breatkthrough group is always ready and willing to try something new and willing to stretch to find new limits. The winner’s circle is inside of you!
We will continue our Friday karate classes as usual with the holidays coming up.
Ossu!
Steve