Cutting class

Funakoshi Principle #8: Do not think that karate is only practiced in the dojo.

I dare say that this principle is akin to the things I have been noting on this blog for a while now. Life is a spiritual practice. There are times when we do "formal exercises" or training to sharpen parts of ourselves, such as practicing martial arts, but when you leave the classroom the learning does not need to stop. Life is your main teacher. By paying attention to the things around you, there are lessons everywhere.

I don't want to repeat this so much if it can be gleaned from past posts. Let me take another aspect of this principle.

In a sense, taking a martial arts class is the same exact thing as playing baseball, lifting weights, or joining a quiz game league: the more you practice something, the better you get... until you stop practicing. As long as you remain in the classroom, you will get better or maintain your skills. When you get out of the classroom, your skills can get rusty. So what's the point of ever really being in class, if its effects are not permanent and they only work so long as you stay in it for the rest of your life? Shouldn't the things that we can do in our everyday life and practice count for more?

As an example, why lift weights if as soon as I stop lifting weights I will almost immediately revert back to my baseline strength? I either have to lift weights for the rest of my life, or be happy with what I've got. If you like to lift weights, then that's great. It's about pleasure at that point. If you don't like lifting weights, why do it?

Ok, now that I've played Devil's advocate....

That's not to say that classrooms do not have a purpose. A sensei of mine used to say, "The worst you ever do in class is the best you will ever do on the street. The point of class is to work on your worst, and make it better."

What you do in a class over a long period of time affects your baseline. A few months of class will move up your baseline a tiny bit. A few years of class will move it up noticeably, but barely. A few decades will move it up a lot. Your baseline is what matters, not the limits of your skills in class.

Ken Wilber refers to this concept as "States" and "Stages".

A State is a temporary frame of mind or consciousness. When you practice karate in class, and you are having a good day, or a good year, you are in a very high State of practice, or a high state of proficiency. States come and go, however. Once you leave class temporarily, or for good, the State goes away, or you can revert to a lower State.

Stages are your baseline. Stages are permanent, and do not go downward easily. If you stop practicing forever, your baseline level of skill in karate is your Stage. Stages take a long time to advance. Moving up your baseline to a new level is a slow and arduous process that can take years or decades in the case of martial arts.

Stages can advance through normal activity in your life, not just class. That's the essence of what Funakoshi is saying. However, actively working on a Stage in a classroom setting can advance it faster.

A final disclaimer: This is yet another toolbox, a belief system. It is a series of labels I have put onto things that are not describable with words. Keep in mind things I've said on the blog about Oneness and a lack of advancement or striving.