Hi Everyone,
Most every Sunday, my wife and I visit her parents and usually play that old word game, Boggle. We all have a lot of fun playing and at the same time, feel like we’re doing our brains a favor. None of us is getting any younger, and we all agree that the mental effort required to find words on each random shake (three minute time limit) helps preserve and keep our minds sharp. With Dementia and Alzheimer’s having become common terms in recent years, exercising the mind as we get older, seems like a good idea. I know I’ve even seen commercials on TV for different products and programs designed to help stimulate one’s mind. I guess that just watching hours of our favorite sitcoms or sports doesn’t require the mind to work very much.
We sometimes talk about karate being a way to strengthen one’s mind, especially when dealing with conflict or when under attack. Much of the value from the harsh training sessions back in the “old days” involve learning to deal with pain and fatigue. The benefit of perseverance lies in the ability to overcome obstacles and continue in one’s journey of the study of karate-do. There’s also the concept of “Mushin No Shin”, or “No Mindness” when facing an opponent with “No Mind”, which is supposed to sharpen awareness and response. So while karate training always appears to be physical to the outsider, the real growth is in the spirit and in the mind.
The art of Karate-Do is rightly thought of as good physical exercise, both for developing strength and flexibility. That being said, many folks, even long-time practitioners, may not realize that at its core, I truly believe that it is an important form of exercise for the brain. I’m no longer talking about the aforementioned strengthening of mind and spirit; but about a much more basic biological phenomenon. You see, every physical action that we make, big or small, begins, not in the muscles…but in the brain. A stroke victim who loses all mobility in one side of his/her body, possesses the same muscles/tendons/ligaments that were there, just a moment before the stroke occurred, but the connection to the brain has been lost. Without this basic mind-body connection, none of the physical actions we take for granted that occur every second of our lives would be possible. With that in mind, no pun intended, you should understand that every physical technique, combination or movement you try to master in the dojo really requires that your mind embody it first, then transmit it to the proper muscles. Therefore, there is no intense karate training that doesn’t also entail intense mental training on your part. Think about all of those techniques and combinations or lunges or kicks that you are having problems learning…it’s not just a physical issue, it’s always a challenge for your mind.
Now, not all actions are equal; some, like walking or running are very repetitive – hence, when one is jogging, it is possible to be thinking about the grocery list without falling down 🙂 To do karate correctly however, one must be focused on one’s actions at all times. In Karate-Do, so many of the movements require very rapid and exquisite coordination between the left and right hemisphere, using disparate actions, akin to playing the piano or the guitar. In addition to differing yet simultaneous use of one’s left and right limbs, there are combinations that require similar simultaneous movements of one’s upper and lower body at the same time. This means that numerous portions of the brain in both hemispheres, are firing off commands throughout the body, in order to produce each coordinated movement. No wonder we can spend our entire lives trying to learn and improve our understanding and execution of the art.
I hope that everyone realizes just what a big favor you are doing for your body, spirit, and especially your mind; every time you fire off your best gyaku-zuki/mae-geri combination!
Blessings, Wes