What is the measure of a martial artist? What does one look like? Bruce Lee? Jean Claude Van Damme?…….Not so much, really. In my experience martial artists come in various shapes and sizes, they have different backgrounds and interests. This can attest to the fact that there are thousands of different styles from all over the world that mirror the cultures from which they originated from. The stories of these martial arts and of those who founded them are often stories of struggles of everyday people who forced to be stronger than they thought they were.

That being said, Bruce Lee and JCVD both had to start somewhere, right? Of course, they were probably genetically gifted in some way but people don’t rise to the physical levels that they attained by resting on their laurels. If we look at the sign of Yin & Yang, most of us in the west see two extremes or opposites. If we picture this as a number line from zero to ten, I think that most of us see Bruce Lee as a ten or twelve, while we might see ourselves as a zero or even a negative number. Looking at ourselves in this comparative manner can rob us of our motivation to open ourselves up to new things such as martial arts, sports, working out, or even writing a blog.

I would like to challenge you, yes YOU, the reader, to look at the sign of Yin and Yang in a different light. Focus on the line in the middle, the line of balance and harmony. We are closer to where we want to go and what we want to be than we know. Even Bruce Lee struggled and it was these struggles that forged him into the icon that he is today some forty years after his passing.

It is my hope that whoever reads this finds the motivation finds the motivation to try something new. To step out of their comfort zone and grow into something closer to their own personal ten on their number line. For me this looks like martial art, to you, who knows, but you won’t probably get there looking at a computer screen, so go out and play,try, and yes fail sometimes. In slight pain there is growth…..now I have to go and punch something….thanks for listening.

Instructor Jamie Sparling