MONDAY MINDSET: FINDING YOUR RHYTHM

WEEK OF 10/21/24

 

Breathing is a rhythm.

Circulation is a rhythm.

The solar cycle is a rhythm.

The Earth’s orbit is a rhythm.

The universe, some think, also has its own rhythm of expansion and contraction — not unlike the heart or lungs.  As above, so below (and within).

So, what’s your rhythm?  Your specific rhythm?

Do we really need to “find” our rhythm?  I mean, it’s right there.  You live it.  You breathe it.  It’s yours.

You can’t really find yout rhythm, you can only feel it.  Feed it, nurture it, preserve it.  And too many athletes neglect this simple, fundamental, and paramount imperative.

It is the fighter who establishes and maintains his or her rhythm, and who denies or breaks their opponent’s rhythm, that wins.

Taking this from the figurative to the concrete, ask yourself this question when you’re training: am I breathing?  Am I intentionally breathing?  Am I breaking, or sustaining, my breathing rhythm?

Now, ask yourself this next question: does my movement sustain, or break, my breathing rhythm?  Am I holding my breath unnaturally?  Am I getting behind my breathing?   Because the simple truth is this: if you stop moving, you simply stop moving.  If you stop breathing, you die.  Which, do you think, is more important?

Feeling your rhythm, and feeding your rhythm, as you train and compete is a necessary requirement to enter the flow state.  A state of being where you are neither here nor there, but sort of everywhere, and your body is acting and reacting to the best of your training and ability.  Where efficiency is maxed out and your timing is impeccable.  That is the holy grail of performance and it’s built on simple, internal things like the synchronicity of your breathing, your movement, and your heart.

Just as we build outwards in the martial arts — new techniques, new strategies, improved attributes — must we also move within.