“Do not let the body be dragged along by the mind nor the mind be dragged along by the body.”
- Miyamoto Musashi
The best martial artists are masters of self-care. Self-care is “anything you do to take care of yourself so you can stay physically, mentally, and emotionally well.” On a certain level, the Japanese don’t have an actual word for “self-care.” Typically, they use serufukea (セルフケア) which is Japanized from English. Because they borrow a word, one could posit that they don’t have one because Japanese society functions as a group and thus openly spending time on oneself could be seen as being wagamama (我が儘) or “selfish.” Nevertheless, self-care is important because how we care for ourselves can be a window into our shinrijoutai (心理状態) or “state of mind.” When I was in graduate school for acupuncture, we learned in the Psychology of Patient Care to look at things like hygiene, physical appearance, and clothing as clues to ascertain the patient’s true state of mental health. The idea is that the more a person takes care of their physical appearance, the more stable their mental health is or at least how well they put up a good front. In the martial arts movie, Bodyguards and Assassins, the protagonist Master Li enlists the help of a despondent homeless person in the final battle. This bearded and disheveled homeless man is depressed over the death of his father and girlfriend and spends his days drinking, and doing drugs. As the two drink wine, they reminisce about their life sacrifices, disappointments, and the desperateness of the upcoming battle. A few scenes later the beggar is seen cleaning himself up. While looking in the mirror and shaving, he seemingly remembers himself. In the final battle, the beggar turns out to be none other than Liu Yubai, a famous martial artist who specializes in the use of the iron fan. He courageously and skillfully holds off a group of assassins before becoming mortally wounded. When called upon, Liu Yubai cleaned himself up so that he could face his death with dignity and die as a hero instead of a beggar. Seeing this, I realized that self-care is the precursor to self-dignity or the value we place upon ourselves. The act of taking care of ourselves is what creates self-dignity. In the martial arts, if an opponent can figure out our mental state, then they would know how to defeat us and so we practice self-care as a means to keep our opponents at bay. Self-care is one method of improving our minds and moods. Who doesn’t feel better after a shower, coming back from the dojo, or taking a break? Thus, self-care is not just about hygiene. Self-care is the dignity with which we approach the mundane things in our lives like brushing our teeth, meditating, or exercising, to name just a few. This could be one of the reasons why etiquette in the martial arts is so important. The idea is that those who have taken the time to master something as benign as etiquette probably have taken the time to master the intricacies of the technique because as Martha Beck stated, “How you do anything is how you do everything.” Thus, in the martial arts and in life, taking care of ourselves isn’t selfish, it shows how we feel about ourselves and demonstrates our true inner state of mind. We take care of ourselves to show others that we won’t go easily and that is why the best martial artists are masters of self-care.
Today’s goal: Take care of yourself because you matter.
Watch this video to better understand self-care.