“With one eye so firmly fixed on the destination, you only have but one eye with which to see the way there”….

This quote was one I heard many times over the years. Over time I’ve learned (and often the hard way!) that attachment to a goal can  hinder our progress because fixation  blurs our vision on how to get there. Like many other kids that were in my Karate class, I wanted to be the best Karate person there ever was. I was obsessed by martial arts, I checked out every book on martial arts from the library, even begging my parents to take me to the Downtown library so I could get more books. I was the first to class, the last to leave. As I got older, I eventually learned to slow down a bit  so I could enjoy the journey instead of obsessing with the goal of “mastery”. In hindsight, I see I missed out on a lot of things that I could have learned at that time….life lessons, different ways to practice, different concepts, etc.

Last night, I came across a situation that made me look back on those past days of “fixation”…..

An acquaintance of mine, whom I’ll call “Andy”, one who is relatively new to martial arts, is a great guy. He has been doing martial arts for less than 2 years, and he desperately wants to be good at what he does. Last night, he approached me and asked “Why do we practice forms?”. For a split second, I looked around as if there was a hidden camera somewhere. It was as if I was on a game show called “This is your Zen Moment”.

“Why do you ask?” I inquired.

“Well, Bruce Lee says that forms are useless. So I don’t understand why we have to practice them. What’s the point? How will it make me a better fighter? What’s to gain from it?” the student asked.  He sounded impatient,….as if he wanted an answer right NOW.

“Well, first of all, Bruce Lee didn’t say that forms are useless…he meant that closed minded attachment to them was useless.” Andy interrupted me a few times during that relatively short sentence to ask more statements, such as “I want to be able to not have to think about what strike or kick to throw next,” and  “I heard you say that forms will help with that, and I don’t see how if I have to memorize a set pattern”, and “How are you supposed to get ‘flow’ if I’m doing a pre-set dance?”

I sort of glared at him as if to say “if you want me to answer your questions, then stop interrupting me”.

I grinned, sat down on a nearby chair, and explained, “Forms are a way to teaching us how to flow freely from one movement to another, it builds cardiovascular fitness, they allow us to hone and perfect our techniques…” He tried to mumble in between my words, trying to get a word in.

Andy leaned in over me, I was cut short by “Will ya just answer the question?”

My “soft” glare turned hard. His dominant body language took me aback, and for a brief moment, I thought “How dare you try to lord over me!” I moved to the edge of my seat, as if you stand up quickly.

  “Back up, there buddy….” I whispered. I raised my voice to an audible pitch and said  “You ask me a bunch of questions, I’m trying to answer them, and here you are wanting one answer right now at your demand? I spent 30 years of my life trying to find these answers, and you want the answer on a golden platter after less than 2 years?....Do you or do you not want me to answer each one of your questions? Back up, and let’s try this again!”

Andy literally backpeddled away from me as his shoulders sunk. “I’m sorry. I should back up and re-think this….”

“Yeah, you do…” I retorted.

“I realize you have much more experience…” he said in an apologetic tone. “….and…. I guess I just want to know how to get where you are…..”

Still a little miffed at how his previous body language showed so much impatience, and took a deep breath and said “Bruce Lee did practice forms. He became so good at them that he began to think outside the box”. He researched many fighting systems, noting that while all of them have something of value when it comes to effective fighting, there were other things that were simply ‘ritual’.  Bruce was indeed good at (Wing Chun) forms, but his skill became what we know it today, because he allowed himself to think outside the box.”

Andy looked confused. “I still don’t understand why we have to practice kata though. Who’s really gonna fight like that? No one is gonna attack me on the street as its done in bunkai (forms application). What good is choreography if it won’t help you fight? I want to be as good as Bruce Lee”.

“You’re kidding, right?”  I was surprised that I said that out loud.  “Are you looking for an excuse not to practice forms in your class? Is that it?”

“No, I just don’t see the use for them….I just want to be a good martial artist, not a dancer”.  Andy said.

“Well, if you feel you are dancing, then you’re not doing them correctly.” I answered. “And, if you’re not feeling any physical gains from doing forms, your mind isn’t putting effort into them…and if your mind isn’t in the ‘game”, you’re gonna get hurt in a fight, plain and simple”.

I had to mentally pause there at that point. My mind raced backward to my younger years when I thought the same way as Andy.

“Let me give you a hint, Andy”…..know what your goal is, but don’t obsess on it.  You want to be good at martial arts NOW…and that’s messing you up badly at this moment! You’re forming opinions about the unimportance of forms practice even before you even learn to do a ‘real’ form correctly.  You know what forms teach you? Balance! Rhythm! Strength! Fluidity of movement! Intention! Commitment! All those things you would need in a real fight!”

 I added, “Be mindful in each class you go to, and fully experience each class. Each experience will gain you new jumps in progress. But there’s no easy way there. Ya gotta walk that path if you want to get there”.

I hope Andy learns to open his other eye. I’d love to see him excel in his art.