The Building of a Moment (Part 2)
Here is the final part of Sandor’s article-
~Enjoy
Review where we left off
Ultimately, the one who masters the moment and the following moments, up until the conclusion of the fight, will be the last one standing…
However, even if one is dominating in a fight, at the instant a moment is lost to the opponent that is the time the contest turns. Think of the “lucky” punch. While the apparent dominator of the fight may have clearly been in control each round he lost that particular moment and then lost the fight with one punch. Even if that punch didn’t knock out the person that was clearly winning, it may be the punch/moment that turns the momentum of the fight the other way.
Consider all the martial arts theories, concepts, styles, and techniques that are out there. While they all have something to offer, whether it is truthful, an example of half truths, or just flat out fiction, there is something that can be taken out of all of them and used to improve ourselves and expand our knowledge. Thus, another tool and/or experience, to expand our options, in which to practice with and learn to use or avoid…for the proper moment.
Watch two professionals fight and focus on how fast the strikes are, the subtlety of footwork and feints, study the blocks and the dodges. These are people who have put not just hours or days into each of those things…but years of their lives just to master that single movement for that isolated moment in which they slipped a punch, countered an attack, and moved in and out of striking distance. All three systems; mental, physical, and emotional, working together in a continuous fashion.
So, while you’re standing on the mat or practicing at home and are asking yourself, “why am I doing this over and over again?”, think of yourself as building an impenetrable castle and all the things that need to be brought together to make for one solid monument of motion in time and space. Your blueprint is the realization that an instant is made up of limitless possibilities and an eternity of learning. The brick and mortar is the repetition of patterns and the mental imaging of each movement dominating that singular instant.
Think of how hard one has to train to build up for a moment in which anything can happen at any given time. Now, start building for your moment.