What's The Point?

In the beginning, the artist usually starts training for self-defense. At some point, the artist is able to test his form in competitions. And if the artist is persistent enough, he will be good enough to teach his art to many people.

What if an artist got to a point where the idea of not being able to defend himself was laughable? What if he won some of the best martial arts tournaments in the world? What if he tried running his own school and realized that it wasn’t for him? What if God doesn’t want this artist to teach? What then? Why does this artist still train? It’s not for anyone else. If this artist continues, it’s because he is looking to perfect himself regardless of circumstance. His art has become part of who he is, so he can’t stop. His life and his art have become one, so to live is to train. Every movement is training. Every thought is training. Not every art form is performed with hands, weapons, or anything else. Some art forms leave the mind but miss the flesh entirely, except to speak.

The spirit of a man is the strongest part of himself. The will of a man is translated through the thoughts and the wisdom stored in the mind, and then it trains the flesh according to its will. But the brokenness of the flesh confounds the mind and it wrestles with the Spirit in times of weakness. This strengthens the man's spirit as his will overcomes the exhaustion of the flesh and the fogginess of the mind. Struggle gives birth to strength. Use the arts as a means to strengthen the "whole self".