BUILDING REAL STRENGTH

 by Yang Xuangxing

Many poems have been written about how much we learn through the experience of pain and how little we actually learn from joy or happiness. And I believe that, for the most part, they're true. This is especially true of martial arts and the development of real “strength.”

What I refer to as “real” strength (and so do many other martial arts teachers) is not the kind of strength that may be acquired by lifting weights and engaging in similar exercise routines. Rather, it is “spiritual strength”; the strength that enables us to push forward even in the face of great adversity, to keep moving forward even while enduring terrific physical, mental, or emotional pain, the willingness to come face to face with any and all obstacles (most of which we've made ourselves) and fearlessly engage and overcome them.

Strength – of any kind – is built through discipline, struggle, and discomfort (including pain). Without these things, progress and the development of strength simply isn't possible. If we only experience happiness, we learn and develop nothing. If we're always satisfied, we become complacent and get nowhere. In martial arts, real skill is achieved through constant struggle, which requires great discipline. And your instructor knows it.