The Master of Zen

In “The mystery of Zen” the character is bewildered by the Zen master’s strange connection between him and the bow and arrow. Brought to light by this story, we experience the incredible connection between a sport, a man, and how the he uses his instinct to bring them together. Zen is a type of meditation intended to create a total togetherness with the body and mind. As part of this togetherness, the bow and arrow would be considered an extension to the body as made one with the mind. This technique involves the communication with both abiotic and biotic mass to create peace or balance with ones surroundings.

As an action is performed the master delves into a trance as he immediately responds to his environment in a fluid manner. The same view that is made to build this connection can also be used in other sports to reach excellence. Boxing is a sport that can be used as an example of the influence Zen can play on a not so peaceful sport. As in life, the most important fight you can win is the battle to resist mental defeat; this sport becomes a way of life. There are a few mental disciplines or practices the mind must follow to achieve success in and out of the ring.

In order to gain a hold on one’s own style of boxing, there must first be effort that results in a good physical core and stamina. This means one needs to dedicate time and effort to build strength before one enters the ring. One’s goal is to have achieved an athletic physique and mentally satisfying accomplishment that one aims for. However, the greater underlying achievement is the subconsciously built benefit which is time management. Creating a working system that one eventually follows almost as second nature.

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This first step to becoming a boxer is essentially the layout for any future endeavors. Although the tasks might be different, the key ingredient to having a successful anything is consistency. This step brought me closer to reality. It helped me accept the fact that success is determined by how hard one is willing to work at something to be good at it. I found out starting up that boxing helped build a good work ethic, and gave me energy to open up time in my day to build a solid schedule for work, play, and school.

The leading cause to this improvement was my hunger for building a foundation for a sport I was interested in. The second step I had to go through was learning combinations. This meant training my hands to move with my weight so I wouldn’t lose balance through the combination. Variations of light to heavy punches with timed duck and weaves meant I would need to go against my naturally unbalance motion to create a fluid and balanced form to stay on track. Prior to this training my body would prepare itself to go through at most a minute of intense motions I believed was exceptional.

However, these new movements were far more complicated and went on for five or so minutes. My body would naturally cringe from having to duck from right to left as I had only taught my body to move from left to right. My answer to the issue was taking very deep breaths during my pick and weaves to decrease tension and slow my heart rate down. After two weeks of intense training I had noticed my breathing intervals were further apart. I would take a deep breath by grasping as much energy as I could and then let it all go. I also noticed that I was more focused and alert at work and school.

Boxing helped me be more patient and calm while making decisions to accomplish objectives throughout the day. The answer wasn’t as simple as attacking the objective. A plan would have to be made and I would have to following through with it in order to win. This suited well for me because I learned to treat the obstacle somewhat like a match, as I would plan possibilities and measure the cost of taking one versus the other. Maybe I got into boxing in the first place because I knew it might clear my mind at work. Majority of the time, I had the responsibility to make executive decisions.

Sometimes I would be answering two phone calls while dealing with customers and making arrangements for shipments all at the same time. To say the least, being patient and making a plan worked best. I would take a break from boxing from time to time and still use the patience I learned from it to make the best decisions at work. After sparing a dozen matches and a dedicated routine, I began to look at my surroundings differently. The average boxer has a particular style that he constantly works on to reach the peak of perfection.

Some might have slightly different variations of the way they work but they are all essentially just cycles. My reaction time was fast and I was in good shape the only thing I was missing was intuition. When pushed to the brink in later rounds I would use the connection with my surroundings to change tactics. In business and school there is the ninety nine percent which is the effort you make to do well and there is that one percent that is intuition. The feeling that the decision made was the right one. It’s like that no worries type of feeling one gets after making a risky ecision, almost like a humble form of over confidence. The measurement of cost and benefit and then there’s that last nudge that tells you to make it happen. It’s fluent, as though you are one with that shipment that predictions say is too much for the margin. Knowing that when your body finally ducks under that over hand right, your own uppercut will connect with devastating force. Going through these experiences helped me understand how to use the benefits of intuition on a deeper level. The practices and fundamentals of boxing transcend to what makes a hard working person.

Adversity that needs to be overcome is answered with consistent practice of this sport. Many of the obstacles that one would run into in the business world and at school are confronted in different forms. The simple ground work of boxing is a universal map of how someone can approach and prepare for future endeavors. The connection that is strung tight with body and mind is important for attempting to accomplish anything. Relying on the self to make decisions sometimes without the resources necessary to make logical decisions requires this self-understanding and togetherness that can only be utilized by expressing the self.

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