Plateaus and challenge
In the beginning of our training in martial art, we have clear, specific, attainable goals such as learning the required techniques, forms, etc. The content and methods to be learned and the rewards, such as rank advancement, were concrete and externally motivated.
Take, for example, the process of learning a new piece of a form. We first learn to make the large, more dramatic movements. Progress is easily measurable, because you can see yourself being able to remember and perform the movements. The ego is fulfilled through rank and progression. But as you work towards the mastery of a technique, loss of ego attachment is required.
Some martial art students quit training when a goal is attained, or when a plateau is reached. What happens when a dog catches the car he’s chasing? What does he do with it? What happens when one feels that he really does know how to defend himself adequately, or gets really good at performing the full curriculum with a high level of skill?
Once the forms are learned the goals become more subtle and the rewards more intrinsic. The further you advance in the art, the more numerous and trickier the plateaus seem. Subtleties such as timing, blending, sensitivity to others, energy extension, and ultimately wisdom, are more difficult to measure, and their sense of achievement, harder to gauge.
Mastery is maybe the trickiest plateau. Instead of realizing that martial art is a life-long process, a person believes they have reached all of their goals. This is a very dangerous plateau, and one that needs to got off, before it becomes too difficult to.
The last plateau you’ll find yourself on is the one that requires you to come down off the mountain of enlightenment you’ve obtained and share what you’ve learned with others. Although it may not seem like it, this mountain top you’ve worked so hard to obtain is just another plateau. At this stage, in order to progress, the movement is no longer upwards within yourself but horizontal, moving outwards to others, and that may mean taking a few steps down to meet those awaiting your teachings.
