Dreams

OK only you guys would understand-or maybe not and just think WTF. My old sensei used to say that after a while in karate, you will notice that you will begin to win the altercations in your dreams. My BS flag immediately went up, but as months went by, I found this to be close to the truth. As you reprogram your body and mind, so go the majority of your dreams. Last night I had a VERY vivid dream and woke up immediately knowing the strategic error I made.

In the dream (already sounds like a biblical story huh) I ended up in a situation with three attackers but only fighting the main one. At first it was hand to hand and then weapons. He was bigger and meaner and truthfully I was scared, but I was the better more experienced fighter (thanks peers). We would engage-I would take damage either getting to the inside OR waiting for his first weapon move--, then I would gain the advantage, make some good strikes or cuts, then step back to evaluate and to see if it was enough for him to quit. It wasn't. This happened about 3 or 4 times and the fight ended up pretty much a draw with a LOTS of damage to both of us and neither physically able to continue.

I immediately woke up knowing my mistake. The mistake I kept making was in paying the price to gain the advantage, then giving it up each time to evaluate his willingness to continue -- also in being a nice guy and not wanting to inflict more damage than the minimum necessary. I kept wanting to do just enough to make him quit. In reality, I had no hope of reading his mind or properly estimating his determination. I kept over estimating his "quitting point" because I was using my life as a reference. The result was that we both ended up with a lot more injuries than if my definition of "neutralize the threat" had been "render him UNABLE to fight while I run away" instead of solely "make him want to stop long enough for me to get away". The bare bones mistake was the periodic stopping to orient and evaluate. A slight change in thinking but a BIG change in strategy and tactics. ( I do realize both definitions of "neutralize" have their place-for example had I been a woman in the dream (of course there would have been hella bigger issues with that one ; )

Of course this is exactly what I teach and talk about with my mouth almost every class. But sometimes the lesson has to be truly brought from your mind to your heart. There is mind faith and there is soul faith. Very rarely do we get a chance to move a belief from one place to the other without having to pay the full "moving fee" to get it there---but---every now and then there is enlightenment--(or too many Cheetos before bed). In either case, maybe it is just a step in my own personal growth, but I learned something I already knew.

Morning ramblings by Jeff