The humanist movement is named so as it puts the person in the center of all things. I agree with them on this particular choice. You matter most.
Divide the choice into three smaller choices and find what is right for you right now:
- Find the right teacher for you.
It does not have to be a guy or a girl or with a special T shirt and an accent. Find someone that creates a good connection with you and teaches you to progress on your path instead of mimicking them and their ways.
Hint: If you don’t notice changes after a while, you are not learning.
- Find the right branch of Russian martial art for you.
Some focus on hitting, some focus on continuous movement and some on inner faith or culture. Find what focus you want right now and follow your bliss.
- Find what you need right now.
Go beyond what you want on the surface. Look inside and ask your close ones where you are lacking. Find the teacher who gives you access to undo your knots and mend tears in your whole.
A few more ideas to find and start in the Russian martial art:
- Make everything into breath work – it is not easy in the beginning and you don’t have to do it all the time, but at least once a day, focus on your breath in some way and it will pay forward in a long way. Waking the bridge between automatic and non-automatic functions inside us is the key to self-governess.
- Make sure you are healthy – Many young athletes can damage their health with enthusiasm and turning a blind eye. Older people do it with their egos and other silly stuff. Make sure your mind, heart and body are getting healthier and avoid focusing on getting from A to B. The journey is the goal.
- Gather a full suit of armour –Work on your ground movement, work on your walking and transitioning, work on your eyes, work on tension. Avoid focusing and drowning in one thing. You are buidling a full suit.
- Focus on the basics – Sure, Some skills are more showy than others but the basics cover it all by definition. Work on simple things each time and only once the soil has been watered, go for the more elaborate stuff. It will pay off.
- Ask questions – Why are you doing push ups ? Why are you grappling on the ground ? Why are you holding your breath ? The moment you start asking questions, you continue to grow. Understanding why will nurish your desire to progress instead of grind and you will learn things about movement, yourself and others that will not be answered any other way.
- Be honest – If you hit well in class when a person stand docile next to you, it does not necessarily work the same in a real fight. Rolling on matts or a guy called matt is not like sliding down the stairs on a frozen wet spot with your son in your arms. Be honest with your abilities and with your fears and pride and remember that the way you choose to see the world, is yours and yours alone. The world does not play along all the time.
- Have fun – If it is not fun or rewarding in some way, Change what you do or change by questions and thinking how you look at it. Otherwise there is no point unless your job demands it and even then, even laying in mud and crap can be fun with the right state of mind. You may already have it 🙂
The Martial Art of Walking 