Mind Vs. Body

[SevenStar]

that being said, you also shouldn't be a total ball of spam.

LOL, that almost made me spit my water all over the monitor!

[Oahngoji]

It can go both ways. One who has great strength + skills + mind control can easily beat a weak, bad mind control person. It varies depending on each person.

Fundamentally, the development of the mind is more essential in martial arts.

[Oahngoji]

It can go both ways. One who has great strength + skills + mind control can easily beat a weak, bad mind control person. It varies depending on each person.

But in philosophical terms, the development of the mind is more essential in martial arts.

[fightingsticks]

The mind, a body with out technique is useless, but a mind can use will to overcome a physical weakness, the body cant do the same for the mind.

[Ben32]

fightingsticks your correct in saying that.

[karate_woman]

The mind, a body with out technique is useless, but a mind can use will to overcome a physical weakness, the body cant do the same for the mind.

I partially agree.

I wouldn't go so far as to say the mind and body without technique is useless, as people who are being attacked are sometimes fortunate enough to have excellent reactions to their situation, to the point where the attacker is surprised and injured themselves. I'm not saying we can count on that to happen, but to say an untrained person is useless is a bit of a stretch (never underestimate your opponent!).

If we don't have the will, or mental prepartion involved to react appropriately to a situation, the training won't be nearly as effective. The body can be in absolutely wonderful shape, but if you aren't able to move it because you're overcome with fear, or uncertainty, it won't do you a lot of good.

Anytime I've observed people training in a sport/activity that they wish to be good at, there has always been some sort of mental preparation that the athlete/competitor uses to enhance their ability to focus. I've heard it referred to as "the zone". When I've experienced it myself it has most often been when I have practiced to the point where I no longer have to think about what I'm doing - I can just react and go with the flow. For me, that state is generally when my body is also in good physical condition.

I'd suggest trying to achieve a balance instead of worrying about what is better, but that's just my philosophy, and may not be yours.

[AnonymousOne]

Mind over matter ... hmmmm ...

What the mindsays (enduring the difficulty of brutal pain) doesn't matter

[Why_Worry]

Saying mind, i am assuming you mean chi/ki as well. So in that case i would deffinitely go with mind because as my senseis tell me over and over again "Muscle is limited while chi is infinite." If you get used to using chi then eventually since breathing moves the chi when you breath the technique will com eout as it has gotten used to doing and you dont have to put any effort into it. As Goju Miyagi said "Any martial artist worth the name could perform for hours without drawing a heavy breath." There is a story where he performed and did amazing things for 3-5 hours straight (i'm not sure exactly how long as the book said way past the two hour mark (it was a challenge)) without ever drawing a heavy breath.

But then again in order to train the chi to move your body you need to originally move the muscle along with the chi so it gets used to it, but for two skilled martial artist who use each i would said mind.

[Zaine]

the body...philosiphies wont do anything for you if your fighting someone

[elbows_and_knees]

The mind, a body with out technique is useless, but a mind can use will to overcome a physical weakness, the body cant do the same for the mind.

not necessarily. The mind can really only do so much in terms of overcoming a physical weakness.

zaine raises a good point as well.