In the modern context martial arts training is a means to prepare for everyday life. The lone swordsman proved to be no match for modern artillery and military organization evolved along with technology. While samurai related training remains relevant for limited forms of interpersonal conflict, such as street crime, the larger utility is found in personal development.
Training with the sword, knife, staff, or empty handed techniques builds skill through repetitive practice. The emphasis on internalizing postures, movements, and basic forms is a means for programming the nervous system to respond instantaneously when called upon in moments of conflict. The responses need to be pre-coordinated so that no time is wasted on formulating a response. The Zen approach to samurai combat is summed up as having “no mind” involved in the action.
The mind-body system is a network of neural pathways centralized in the brain yet running through every cell, including the extremities. Conditioning takes place not only in the brain but throughout the system as a whole. This is why the samurai adage was to learn the techniques “in the bones”. Through building these neural pathways, the individual is bringing more of their potential on line and making it available for use in all realms of endeavor.
Repetitive practice adds layers of myelin to the neural pathways, increasing their capacity for pushing information through electrical impulses with greater speed. This network orders the sequence of synaptic firing that controls muscular contraction and directs movement. To move more quickly requires greater efficiency in the sequence of muscular engagement. This is why building neural pathways through deliberate repetition is so central to skill development.
The same principle is at play when deliberating cognitive functions. Physical training is the same as mental practice in the sense that acquiring skills, such as acuity and sharpness, requires deliberate repetitive practice to develop robust neural pathways to support desired goals. Whether it be learning a language, solving math problems, or recalling historical events, the process for maximizing mental abilities requires building a neural network through training.
The martial arts rely upon basic practices, or suburi, that help internalize certain skills. Mental training can also make use of suburi designed to build mental keenness. This is why I enjoy going through my mental suburi routine every day.
Just like brushing teeth, the habit of mental and physical training everyday supports a healthy lifestyle. I use Lumosity.com to fire up the internal neural network at the start of my work day. It challenges the mind while stimulating the senses.
Keep in memory (KIM) games, such as those used by military scout/sniper teams, have been made using web technology. Challenging the ability to recall the details of small objects in a field of possible distractions. Doing math under pressure appears to be my greatest opportunity for improvement.
Some days it’s frustrating and the body doesn’t seem to be responding to what the mind is telling it. Some days I don’t feel like going to the dojo either. As my teacher once told me, continuation is success.
Its not a matter of who begins the practice with the greatest talent, but one of who will put in the work to develop progressively through repetitive practice.