On Focus

Last night while I was watching Robbie's Kum Do class, Master Hughes talked about taking Kum Do from Master Jun in Davenport.

"We spent weeks just doing this," he said, showing me the basic strike movement with the sword. "Master Jun was really into the meditation aspect of Kum Do. I don't really have time for that, being a Christian."

I don't doubt Master Hughes is a Christian, and perhaps he really thinks that meditation in martial arts is at odds with Christianity (I don't . . . ). But I would guess that's not the real reason he doesn't have time for meditation. I'd guess it's because he doesn't have problems with focus the way I do.

Master Hughes, like many people at our school, is a natural athlete. I would guess that when he does TKD, he loses himself in it. When he's doing a form, he's just doing the form, not getting distracted by others. When he spars, he just spars; he's not afraid of the person in front of him.

My focus has not been good these days, especially at sparring. I'm being distracted by my fear of a big person overpowering me.

I think I need to make time for meditation in martial arts to help me with focus. KickerChick suggested this in her post, and I would agree. I'm also going to take some time off and skip class Saturday--thanks for that suggestion, KickerChick! And thanks to all of you for the suggestions and encouragement you have given me both on this blog and in person!

There are times when I do "give myself to the movement," like Sensei Webster-Doyle's quote below says. I definitely do that when I break a board, and often when I do forms, though during tests, my focus is often broken by the chaos of doing forms in a group.

Just yesterday, I gave myself to the movement in ballet class, during the petit allegro. It helped that I LOVE petit allegro (no petite jokes, Bill) and the music was good! All that helped me focus.

I need more focus so I can give myself to the movement in sparring and lose my fear!