“The unexamined life is not worth living.” – Socrates

Let’s apply Socrates to our martial arts lives.

Early in my martial arts career, I attended a Modern Arnis seminar. I wasn’t a black belt yet. After Professor Presas demonstrated a technique, I approached a black belt to see if he wanted to partner up.

“No thanks. I don’t need to train.”

What?

Another example: A Modern Arnis seminar was scheduled to pay for Professor Presas’ medical expenses after he was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

A martial artist emailed the host, saying he intended to attend the seminar. He attached his martial arts resume.

The resume claimed 50 years of martial arts experience and listed various styles he had supposedly studied.

“Oh wow! What an impressive resume!”

Unfortunately, the guy could not walk and chew gum at the same time. This wasn’t an experienced martial artist training in an unfamiliar style. It was as if he had barely trained at all.

It seems to me that, while they are different, both were leading an “unexamined life” in the martial arts.

Start with the first dude. Had he looked into the mirror and asked himself what his martial weaknesses were? Probably not. His ego is the biggest obstacle to further elevation of his skills.

It all starts with examining himself with unsparing honesty.

Ditto for the second dude. His self-delusion is an obvious tell that he never evaluated himself. How many of you have watched yourself on video? I have, and it’s painful to watch!

“Holy mackerel, I look terrible there. Let’s effing fix this!”

From a martial perspective, one couldn’t do better than this quote:

“Honestly expressing yourself…it is very difficult to do. I mean it is easy for me to put on a show and be cocky and be flooded with a cocky feeling and then feel like pretty cool…or I can make all kind of phony things, you see what I mean, blinded by it or I can show you some really fancy movement. But to express oneself honestly, not lying to oneself…now that, my friend, is very hard to do.”

How many of you have looked at yourself in the mirror? Perhaps by taking a video of yourself as you work out?

Drop a line and let me know what you think.