No boundaries! No ceilings! Limitless possibilities! These are the cries we read and see and hear throughout our culture today. Honestly, we are living in a world that seems to have endless possibilities. One of the greatest things about America has been that anyone from any social class can work hard and become great! I don’t want to deny that people have amazing potential, but I would like to challenge the belief that everything should be limitless - particularly in regard to learning.
One of the greatest tools for learning that we use in teaching martial arts is limitation. For instance, a few weeks ago, I had my students do an exercise while they were sparring. During each match, they had to choose a leg to stand on and a leg to kick with. The rules were simple: Keep the leg up the entire time and use only that leg to kick with. Now if you know anything about sparring, you may have begun to laugh internally. The mental picture of a bunch of students hopping around on one leg while trying not to get kicked, run into someone, or fall over is truly hilarious (and just as funny in person, I assure you!). However, there was a purpose to this drill far beyond its entertainment value. Each student had to work on their balance, control, and leg dexterity on a single side of their body. Their targets changed because of the position of their partners and their own lack of mobility. They were forced to think outside of their normal techniques and tactics. None of this would have been possible without limitations!
If you think that seems a bit far-fetched, try this. Grab a friend (one you trust) and head to the nearest park or cafe. You can even try this right now if you are in a safe place. Find a comfortable spot to sit and close your eyes. Focus first on your own body. Feel the rhythm of your heartbeat and the slow rise and fall of your chest. Sense your clothing and how it feels on your body. After 20-30 seconds, begin to focus on things happening outside of your body. What do you hear? What do you smell? What can you feel through the seat, floor, or table? Go ahead, I’ll wait…
Now what changed? Did you notice more or less? You probably noticed things that you hadn’t even realized your senses were taking in. Smells may have been more obvious, or sounds may have seemed strange to you. If you want to take this exercise further, you can limit a different sense or multiple senses at a time. Pop in some ear plugs and put on some black out sunglasses. You will find that each time you add a new limit, you learn something different about your environment or understand another sense more deeply. You may even find that you have anxieties or enjoyable feelings about things you never understood before. None of that would have been found without setting some sort of limitation.
Limitations have been given a bad reputation these days, but people of many cultures throughout the history of the world have chosen to impose limitations on themselves for the benefit of themselves, their families, or their countries. In fact, I dare you to find any great person who did not either have severe limitations placed on them by others or by themselves. Limits can be the stepping-stones for discovery and growth!
Here is a challenge, next time you are trying to improve something about yourself, try focusing on just a little part of the change. Narrow your focus. If you are trying to run faster, focus only on the first three steps. If you are trying to learn a language, focus only on the pronunciation or meaning of a few words and make them part of you. If you are trying to learn a new Poomsae/Kata, focus only on the footwork or breathing or strikes. Allow everything else to look and feel sloppy but make that one thing the very best it can be. Spend a day or two with just that thing, then put it back into the whole activity and see if you don’t feel an immediate positive change. Limitations may just be your pathway to success!