By Phillip Starr
Certainly, technique is essential and it must be learned correctly and thoroughly, so that one doesn't have to “think” about when or how to do it. Like a sword, it must be strong, kept sharp, and polished.
But what about spirit? I say that it is the glue that holds one together when the chips are down. Like Sylvester Stallone told us in his movie, “Rocky”, “It's not about how hard you can hit; it's about how many hits you can take and keep moving forward.” That's a fine expression of what we mean by “spirit.”
So, both spirit and technique are essential. Many moons ago, a young boy of 8 or 9 was taking out the garbage (one of his usual chores) when he was accosted by three slightly older boys who had been bullying him in school. The largest of the group called him a few unseemly names and began pushing him.
Unbeknownst to the aggressor, the skinny little lad had been practicing judo. Thinking that his grappling skills would enable him to overcome the bigger boy, the youngster tried to get hold of his opponent but his reward was something less than what he expected; he was knocked to the ground.
Scrambling to his feet, he tried two more times to take hold of his stronger adversary, only to be knocked down again and again. After being dropped a third time, he stood up again only to have the bigger boy push him away and say, “That's enough. I beat you...” But the bully was taken aback when one of his friends told him, “No, you didn't! That little guy keeps getting back up!” Fortunately, the bully simply shrugged off his friend's remark and walked away. And the smaller, skinny boy (who was me) stood there in confusion. I guess I had spirit enough but as my instructor told me with a smile, “Your technique needs some work.”
So, both spirit and technique are essential. Spirit without technique cannot truly be expressed. Technique without spirit is about as useful (combatively) as square dancing, Strive to develop both.
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