Proper Attitude

Good Evening!
Time for a great work out!
Get your body revving,
after all,
end of the month you’re going to be stuffing it.
You’re going to NEED a work out!
Grin.

Click on the cover to find the source of the martial arts…

Let’s talk about the proper attitude in the martial arts.

There were a lot of bikers
back at the Kang Duk Won.
independents,
Gypsy Jokers,
Hell’s Angels.
They made things fun.

You’d work a technique,
they’d offer a critique
based on how it worked in a fight.
Interesting stuff.
Kept it all real.

There was one Hell’s Angel,
and he liked to get drunk and run red lights.
He’d do this in a car,
get roaring drunk,
give somebody a ride,
and watch them shriek in terror,
while he laughed uproariously.

Now,
here comes the question,
why wasn’t he ever arrested or killed,
or suffer other tragedy?

Because he had the proper attitude.

Hard to swallow,
eh?
It’s like saying
being a homicidal maniac
is having the correct attitude.
Let’s look at it.

He was playing games.
He wasn’t being mean.
He wasn’t hurting anybody.
He had no intention to hurt anybody.
He’d plow through an intersection
right between the cars,
and…laugh.
No harm,
no foul.

Isn’t that interesting?

So,
what’s your attitude towards life?
I know a lot of martial artists are serious.
No laughing or joking,
this is serious business.
I remember one fellow,
who actually got upset
when I called the martial arts a game.
You ever think about the definition for a game?

‘a physical or mental activity or contest that has rules
and that people do for pleasure’

Or…

activity engaged in for diversion or amusement

Or…

often derisive or mocking jesting

Or…

a physical or mental competition conducted according to rules with the participants in direct opposition to each other

And so on.

So here is this guy,
makes up a game with potential death in it,
but because he laughs and has so much fun,
he never suffers ill consequences.

Now that’s martial arts.

And I want you to think of something:
when you are laughing and joking…that’s when good things happen.
When you are grim and serious…that’s when bad things happen.
And this is a pretty diehard 100% rule.

So I repeat the question:
What is your attitude?

If you don’t understand the point I’m making,
keep doing your forms,
you’ll get there.
That’s where the martial arts take you.

If you do understand,
then how can you achieve this attitude?
How can you learn to laugh at everything?
To hold to the idea that nothing matters,
so you might just as well laugh and have a good time.
Somebody dies,
they’re dead,
so why cry?
Rejoice in life,
because someday it’ll be you lying cold and stiff.