GOING DEEPER

 by Phillip Starr

I've been involved in the martial arts for over sixty years now and over the decades that I've trained and taught, I've seen a huge number of martial arts enthusiasts achieve a given level of skill and then give it all up. Why? What happened?

For most of them, martial arts was simply a hobby, not a lifestyle. They were interested in learning the various techniques, how to apply them, and then moving on to freestyle sparring. And that was it. They failed to understand that it's important not only to polish the techniques, which are the obvious and easily seen part of the discipline, but the INSIDE must be studied and polished as well. The “inside” isn't so easily seen and is often missed or just glossed over by students and instructors alike.

If the “inside” isn't explored and refined, one's art will be shallow. The serious student must determine to go deeper – to look beyond technique – and see what is there. This isn't to say that technique isn't important. It is, more than many people realize. But there comes a time when the determined, austere student must strive to go beyond technique; to see what is within and then beyond it. Polish the inside rather than simply admiring the beauty of the outside.

When I was younger I was overly-concerned with the outside and how it looked. But as I continued training, I eventually began to see that the REAL martial arts – the TRUTH of the martial arts – was on the inside. I then understood the words of Alan Watts who told me that any physical activity that is carried to the extreme can become a true Way.

It is only then that the martial way can be fully understood.