The greatest advice I’ve ever heard in Combat
The greatest advice I’ve ever heard in Combat and in Life Mastery came from centuries ago by a Samurai named Takuan Soho in a book called “The Unfettered Mind.”
He said…
… “if your mind stops on your opponent’s sword, you will be taken by his sword”
There is GREAT Truth in this.
Soho knew this from being in the battlefield many a time with trained hardened sword-wielding deadly samurai warriors trying to KILL him.
If your mind “stops”, or “fixates”…
… your attacker chops your head off!
… you freeze up like a deer in the headlights and get run down by the oncoming truck
… you freeze in fear and terror get beaten to pulp or killed by the attacking street thug or terrorist
… you hesitate at the moment of opportunity you could have won by taking action!
It could have been asking her out, asking for a raise, going for the sale, or intuiting an opportunity.
Miyamoto Musashi said many similar things in his writings.
I often say…
“The Busy Mind will miss the Red Light (the Warning),
and the Green Light (the Opportunity)”
Have you ever noticed how opportunities passed you by, or how many problems in your life, were simply caused by too much thinking?
Countless!
Mental Chatter drains your energy and causes confusion and poor choices.
The less we speak out loud, the more we can hear.
The less mental chatter we have, the more we can intuit and see with our mind’s eye.
A quiet mind possessed by a man with dynamic intention and skills has the power of a laser beam!
That’s why the very first lesson I used to ever give a Martial Arts student (I didn’t care if they had 5 Black Belts and a lifetime of experience or if it was their first day)…
… is to sit and quiet the mind for 5 minutes a day.
A few got it fairly quickly, but most struggled for hours to get it!
I can’t count the number of seasoned Black Belts who struggled with this simple assignment.
And I can’t count the number of skill improvements and growth they demonstrated, and sincere thanks I’ve gotten from every student for this lesson.
Which is why I still give this assignment to coaching clients to this day.
Quiet The Mind
It is the first and most vital Skill of a Warrior.
Sincerely,
Scott Bolan
