Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Don't Think, Do


I am not one who likes to live life through exhausting amounts of thinking. Quite frankly, it is a waste of time. Life is the here and now. I can only control what is before me, not what was in the past, and not what will be. My actions at the moment are my only concern; when that instance is gone, I move on. In this way my mind is never cluttered with over-analytical evaluations. People often think to the point that they frustrate and confuse themselves. They stumble over ideas and concepts to the point that they can no longer decipher what is real and concrete, and what is not.

Anyone who has taken two or more of my kickboxing/boxing classes knows that no two classes are ever the same. I compose each lesson as it happens, then I start over again next class. I laugh inside every time someone asks me prior to class, "so what will we be doing today?" Then my internal laughter becomes external as I reply, I have no idea, I have not started teaching yet. Some people find it very hard to believe that I create each class off the top of my head, but I do. I am secure and confident in the knowledge that I possess, and I act in accord with the situation at hand without hesitation or doubt. My instinctual style of teaching allows class participants to physically and mentally grow without the constraints of routine, stale, and boring formats.

I also apply minimalist thinking inside the ring. Once the match has begun and the first blow has been thrown, any thinking there was to do should have already been done. Fists of fury do not wait for you to decide what is the best course of action. One has to know and feel what needs to be done. Indecision and hesitation is a disaster waiting to happen when your sparring. If the knowledge that you need is not at the forefront of your mind, and you find yourself reaching back to remember what to do, you will get hurt. Punches and kicks can reach you in a split second. Opportunities to counter appear and disappear quickly. Blocks have to be fast enough to beat strikes to the point of impact. With this said, it is easy to understand why there is no time for over-thinking inside the ring. A good fighter remains in a state of readiness, so that their actions are in the present and not an after-thought that came too late.

Do not conceive to the point that you miss out on doing.

3 comments:

Elina said...

I would not advocate spontaneous thinking to all aspects of life. Sometimes, specific episodes in life require a great deal of thinking to avoid a great deal of regret in the end.

B-Flx said...

Spontaneous thinking is a generalization...it doesn't work with all aspects of life, but it does work with a great many.

B-Flx said...

Maybe Elmo will write a spontaneous post. ;)