Simply because we get used to something does not mean it is good for us.
Humans are amazingly resilient and adaptable creatures with a great capacity to work through stress and pain as long as we feel like we are making progress because of it. This survival mechanism can be extremely useful when we need it for some specific task, but, like every tool at our disposal, it is not intended to be a one-size-fits-all solution for every aspect of our lives. Simply put, we are not meant to push though every difficult, stressful, and painful thing we experience just because we can.
Stress and pain are our mind and body’s way of telling us something is not right, of telling us to slow down or not to do something. They are indicators that what we trying to do, if we do it in this way for a long enough period of time, could cause us injury or even death. Undertaken for good reason, under the right conditions, and with proper precautions, however, working through stress and pain can actually make us stronger, healthier, and more resilient, but only so long as these periods of work are bookended by a proper amount physical and mental rest, recovery, and nutrition.
Without reprieve, stress and pain over long durations actually make us weaker, more fragile, and vulnerable. While we may come to not notice it, if we experience the same stresses and the same pains constantly, day in and day out, we put ourselves in a position to be blindsided by other physical, psychological, and emotional dangers because we have become unhealthily desensitized to their warning signs. It is actually in the space between, in the periods of physical and mental rest, recovery, and nourishment, that we heal and grow.
Holistic Budo: As it is in budo, so too it is in life. As it is in life, so too it is in budo.
Robert Van Valkenburgh is co-founder of Taikyoku Mind & Bodyand Kogen Dojo where he teaches Taikyoku Budo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
All photos by Robert Van Valkenburgh unless otherwise noted.
We must not forget why we started training martial arts and why we decided to stay.
It is difficult to explain to people who do not know, just how important martial arts are to the lives of the people who practice them. For many practitioners, martial arts saved us from ourselves. They saved us from isolation, loneliness, depression, and an otherwise unhealthy, self-destructive lifestyle.
More than just a hobby, martial arts give us a community, a sense of purpose, a feeling of belonging, a place where we can get away, challenge ourselves, work out, and put life in perspective. Martial arts bring people together from all different walks of life, socio-political and economic backgrounds, religions, and occupations. They unite us around the common purpose of mutually beneficial self-improvement.
For many of us, martial arts are our lifeline, our stress relief, our exercise regimen, our social life, the means by which we improve our mental, physical, and emotional health, and perhaps even our primary source of income. For some, the martial arts we practice are even our chosen spiritual path and the dojo our temple. It is not all that important for others who do not practice to understand these things, but it is essential that we who practice do not forget.
Holistic Budo: As it is in budo, so too it is in life. As it is in life, so too it is in budo.
Robert Van Valkenburgh is co-founder of Taikyoku Mind & Bodyand Kogen Dojo where he teaches Taikyoku Budo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
All photos by Robert Van Valkenburgh unless otherwise noted.
No one will like you less for saying you cannot do something than they will for saying you can, but not following through.
We all get overwhelmed and overloaded at some point in our lives, especially with the constant barrage of input and information we have coming at us every day in our digital age. There are only so many hours in a day and we only have so much attention to give. It is okay to admit that we are at our maximum capacity, that we don’t have the bandwidth to take on new tasks or responsibilities.
When we agree to do something or to take on some new responsibility, we are making a promise to both the other person and ourselves that we can and will complete the task or fulfill the obligation. If we value our word, this is a serious commitment. If we cannot follow through, not only does this harm our reputation and devalue our word, but we also fractures us internally, dividing who we think we are and who we want to be from who we actually are and how we show up in the world.
The more we overextend ourselves, the more we fail. The more we fail, the more fractured our self-identity becomes, and the more frustrated, disappointed, and angry we become at the world for asking so much of us and at ourselves for not being able to live up to others’ and our own expectations. Our mental health demands that we create boundaries in our lives to protect us from becoming overextended. It is better to say ‘no’ honestly than to say ‘yes’ and make liars of ourselves.
Holistic Budo: As it is in budo, so too it is in life. As it is in life, so too it is in budo.
Meditations on God 