その蜘は素早い反撃をする
Sono kumo wa subayai hangeki wo suru
The spider responds with a swift attack
A martial artist is supposed to be decisive. When a suki (隙) or “opening” presents itself, a martial artist has to be able to act, but not just acting for the sake of acting. The act has to be decisive and precise. The faster that we can recognize an opening, process that information mentally and then act physically determines how successful we can be. Being able to see an opening and quickly understand it is called subayai (素早い) in Japanese. It is said that the conscious mind can only process 40 bits of information per second while the subconscious mind can process 20 million bits. We see the inherent strength in the subconscious mind in reaction times as a conscious reaction is around 0.20 seconds while a subconscious reaction is about 0.08 seconds. This is the reason why in martial arts training there is so much value placed upon repetition. Repetition is how we program our subconscious mind. After a certain number of repetitions, our subconscious mind takes over and that is when the movements become programmed into our subconscious. When does this happen? There is a certain point in class when we become bored. Boredom is a function of our conscious mind. Somewhere after boredom, our conscious minds relax and our subconscious minds begin to take over. Many of us have experienced this same phenomenon while driving. Some people call his subconscious programming “muscle memory.” Recently, I was watching the All Japan Kendo Tournament in 2007 that was filmed with a high speed camera. During the final match, at full speed, it appeared as if the Kendoists had hit each other simultaneously called aiuchi (相打ち) or “double death.” However, with the high speed camera, they were able to show how one kendoist reaction time was 0.0009 seconds faster. Something that quick could not be a product of that person’s conscious mind. Something that fast had to be programmed into his body with thousands of hours of subconscious repetition. In life and in the martial arts, when an opportunity presents itself, we have to be in the right mind to quickly choose the right course of action and that’s why a martial artist has to be decisive.
Today’s goal: What can you do repetitiously to program yourself for success?
Watch this video to see the lightning fast Kendo reactions