Potential…..
When practising martial arts and for life in general, we must always have the potential for hard or soft. This is the deeper meaning of having a ‘soft front and strong back’.

To have potential is a state of mindfulness, to have a mind that is aware, focused, sensitive and intense.

Aware of what is going on with our own mind, emotions and body and of the situation that we’re in with everything and everyone around us.

Focused on what is important inside that awareness.

Sensitive to our situation and of that of others and ourselves.

Intensity is the guardian that doesn’t allow distraction or apathy.

Then we need to train the ‘switch’. The ability to instantly switch from empathy, compassion, patience and kindness to resolve, determination, power, strength and dispassion when needed, with the potential to go from one to the other instantly. This is a rarely trained skill and where most people fail in an emergency.

We train this skill in meditation, exercises, dojo courtesy and good manners alongside hard, realistic training, with the ‘switch’ often being the bow between practitioners before attack and defend and the bow at the end to return to the softer skills.

Within every millimetre of movement in a kata or form is the potential for that ‘switch’ to be activated if attacked from any angle at any moment.

It is the small white circle contained in the yin part of the yin/yang symbol and the small black circle contained in the yang part.

This mind full of potential then needs to be carried into everyday life so that we have a strategy of being able to relate to life in a skilful strategic manner unhindered by distraction or laziness.