9.13.2008

The Art of the Hands & Feet

So yesterday was board breaking night at my Tae Kwon Do class. And board breaking is always interesting - interesting to see, to watch, and even to do. There are several ways someone can break a board, but usually you use your bare feet or hands to smash through [& I won't lie - sometimes it can hurt!). So last night I decided to do a side kick through three boards, a round kick through two, and an elbow smash & palm heel (2 boards each). And I know, it can sound like a lot, right?

But I’ll let you in on something: just because we’re able to break boards at Tae Kwon Do, doesn’t mean we can. And at first I thought this was just one of my ideas, but then another black belt thought it also, “It’s your mind – it's what you think that is important,” not just our body’s ability. I mean, “Tae Kwon Do” means the art of the hands and the feet, but what controls the hands and the feet?

In other words, if we think we cannot break a board, even though it may be effortless to do so physically, then that will affect - and can make harder - the board break. But, if we tell ourselves that we can break a board, even though it may be difficult, we can usually break it with ease. That’s kind of amazing, when you think about it - how the mind & confidence hold the potential to make us so much stronger than we might be otherwise.

And this isn’t true just for Tae Kwon Do – it’s true for life. Sometimes we think we can’t do something, so we don’t - or we don’t accomplish something, because we can’t. It’s as simple as that, right? But it’s not. One of my favorite quotes (from “Batman Begins”) is “Training is nothing; will is everything.” And it’s true. Not that training is useless or meaningless – it’s not. It's just that training without being driven by the will is useless. We can be trained to write a poem, but if we still think we can't - then we probably won't. We can be trained for a job, but if we don't want to do it right, then we probably won't.

We can probably each make a list of what we think we can’t do, but we have to realize that’s what we think. And we have the power to change what we think. And, consequently, what we think is what we "know." We can all break through our boards if we know we can, even though it may hurt. We can do anything, as long as we believe we can - as long as we hold onto the thought that we can.

And so the art of the hands and feet is really the heart -
& not only what it believes inside of us, but also what we believe in it.

(Would love to hear your comments!)
{Become one of my followers if you want :) }

11 comments:

Glass Mannequin said...

Wow. You're right. I've never thought about it like that before.

OK, full disclosure, here, I've had a few anger management issues in the past and, on occasion, I've hit walls and punched holes through them. Once though. I was really mad and I decided not to punch my wall (it's always the same wall in the back of my closet) I hit door to my closet and I broke it off of it's hinges. It's shocked me and I tried again on my garage door (I'm handy with tools, I fix everything I break) but I didn't really expect myself to break it and I couldn't, even though they were the exact same and I broke the first one so effortlessly.

Glass

Romans 12:2 said...

One of my hobbies is scroll sawing, so I always have extra wood laying around. Just this week, I karate chopped a 1" thick peice of pine in two. I really amazed myself. It is like you said. I just made up my mind that I was going to do this(no reason whatsoever) and I did it.

♡♥-$u.™♥♡ said...

I would never want to try to break a board. I can already feel the pain in my elbow. Seriously, I am not even lying to you. I feel it downright pain. Oh, and Ike didn't hit!! No rain. Nothing!

Kirst said...

I like your post, and I'm so glad you enjoy my blog, I love when people tell me that.

? said...

Thank you for the post. I love the Tae Kwon Do analogy and I agree with you on the need to be true to ourselves, our hearts and minds. There is nothing we cannot achieve if we believe we can. It reminds me of what my father used to say to me and my response to your post below "unlimited limits" that nobody should put a stop sign right in front of our dreams and no one can remove it expect us. I think you are right and I believe there is nothing we cannot achieve and nothing we cannot become if we have the mental strength. Our minds can be an extremely important part of manifesting and creating the life we want now. This is amazing!

Mack said...

Thanks for the comment, I don't always get a lot. I love your blog on the power of the mind over what we are capable of doing. I've always been a big believer on the power of the mind to let you do anything, and the fact that we are capable of anything.

Anonymous said...

That is very true, and like you said, in life not just tae kwon do.

I'm a ballerina, and really, if you think "I can't do this" there's no way you're going to accomplish it. But if you're thikning "I can do sixteen pirouettes one after the other!" it'll happen.

ps. thanks for the comment on my blog! =D

Glen said...

Hey! Thank you for the post on my blog! I never really expected someone I didn't know to come by and read it, so it definitely caught me off guard, lol. And I read your post about music, and agree wholeheartedly. I don't know where I would be without music, and I've never been able to adequately describe it, but you nailed it perfectly!

Hanna said...

I used to do Tae Kwon Doe, and I personaly hated board breaking. Haha. But yeah, I only got up to my blue belt, but whatever.
But it's the same with skiing (that's my sport now) with races, or going up that last long hill, or completing the last interval on a grueling training day... it's all mental. And I still struggle with it. Say, during a race, I know that physically I can go faster, I know I can pass the girl infront of me, but you hit a mental wall. And you can't do anything about it. So you finish the race and find you have much more energy to spend. Until last season I had a race in Canmore, and was dead. I worked my body and mind to the limit. Sure the rest of the day was hell, but I was glad I'd broken through the wall.

original-knitter said...

Thanks for the comment on my blog! I loved this post, this one was great!! You really took something from your life and used it on other people's life!

Love your blog nice work!!

Glass Mannequin said...

yeah, when I first started dancing, there was no way I could do the splits but that was two years ago. Now I can get pretty dang close, though I'm a far cry from being able to do the other two ways...

=]