https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Hzgzim5m7oU I believe the key to developing mastery in anything lies within our own minds.
“Watch your thoughts, they become words; watch your words, they become actions; watch your actions, they become habits; watch your habits, they become character; watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”
People often misattribute this quote to the philosopher Lao Tzu but it is still is apropos regardless of who said it originally. These words deftly explain how our minds are the key to gaining mastery.
It is said that, "The mind is a wonderful servant but a terrible master" which means, therefore, that we must master the mind before all else. The best way I know of to master the mind is through meditation. In meditation, we learn to quiet our minds by mainly focusing on our breathing and by not allowing our minds to hold on to our thoughts. In Vipassana meditation we learn to not judge our thoughts but to just observe them and let them pass by. They refer to this observation in Buddhism as equanimity. In swordsmanship it is called the "immovable mind." If we hold on to the thought or judge it, then we are "reacting" and reactions are usually done mindlessly. When we can observe the thoughts without judgement and allow them to pass then we can act accordingly and thus mindfully.
There are a lot of parallelisms between meditation and daily life. For me, one way meditation is similar is when an "invisible" wall appears while meditating. It feels like I can't go on physically or mentally and the frustration calls me to give up. Of course, this wall is not real and more of a mental block but it feels as if I cannot or are unable to go forward and get to the other side. This invisible wall is a creation of my own frustrations, judgements or fears and it usually causes me to end my meditation session early. In our daily lives it is the same barrier or obstruction that we feel when we think of something that we can't do, have or achieve. Intellectually, we might know that it is possible, but some feeling makes us believe that it is not. We have all felt it as we looked across a room at someone that we'd like to talk to, but felt that somehow we "just couldn't." That feeling is the same feeling that I feel at some point in my meditation. What I have found is that the best solution is to not to struggle with it, but observe it, accept it and allow it to pass. I cannot explain what it feels like when the "invisible" wall falls away but it is something like a sense of stillness that is also weightless.
In budo, we are striving to reach the the pinnacle of our training where the mind is "immovable." Mastery is nothing more then the ability to mindfully surmount physical or mental obstacles that arise with poise and equanimity.
“Watch your thoughts, they become words; watch your words, they become actions; watch your actions, they become habits; watch your habits, they become character; watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”
If we understand these words correctly then we realize that the key to mastery lies in how and what we think or as Vipassana meditation teacher S. N. Goenka said, "Mind matters most."
Here are some good articles on meditation if one is interested in learning more. http://www.techinsider.io/what-the-worlds-happiest-man-taught-me-about-human-nature-2015-10
http://www.dhamma.org/en-US/about/art
http://time.com/4108442/mindfulness-meditation-pain-management/