Becoming strong does not mean that things get any easier. It means that you can accomplish more \u2013 but you still have to work your ass off \u2013 go home sore \u2013 get up tomorrow wondering why you don\u2019t just quit \u2013 and then do it again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The amount of effort one can expend before giving up. Let\u2019s call it willpower. Tenacity. Spirit. Balls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The brute force one can bring to bear on a task. Let\u2019s call it strength. I\u2019m talking about the martial arts here \u2013 so let\u2019s stick with strength. More generally, we might call it talent. Chops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The manner in which you approach a task. Let\u2019s call it intelligence \u2013 though that\u2019s a loaded term. I\u2019m looking for a better one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The repertoire of skillz that you bring to the table. Let\u2019s call them skillz. Techniques. Level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What you manage to accomplish is some multipler of these four factors. It\u2019s not that the Olympic athlete finds it *easy* to do what they do. It\u2019s that they combine force, will, intelligence, and skillz to their best advantage. Good coaches get this and tune the formula to maximum effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I have limited but growing technique at the martial arts. My raw strength is not great. However, I have a pretty good will and I\u2019m clever. So I get by. I rolled today with men much, much stronger than me. Every single one of them. There was some sort of navy seal pull-up contest after the workout that I don\u2019t even want to talk about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of the white belts don\u2019t have much technique. Some tapped because I got a solid choke or stuffed an elbow in their sternum and let them lean on it. I looked for those moves (on three guys today) because they were bigger than me, stronger than me, but seemed to be relying on strength \u2013 which frequently means that they\u2019ve been able to muscle people around in the past. That means their will might be weak and a bit of pain might do to them what *nothing* in the world will do the wiry, leathery dude with a quarter inch of callous on his knuckles and the crooked nose \u2013 i.e: make him give up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Others bested me for the first few rounds \u2013 and then I started winning because I had been letting them burn their strength before deploying mine. If I smell smoke coming off your skin, I\u2019m gonna give you a cardeo workout and see how long you last. I may not have built massive strength \u2013 but I\u2019ll go all day. Go on. Tire yourself out. That\u2019s intelligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Others \u2013 I couldn\u2019t find a weakness \u2013 and I\u2019ll be thinking about it and replaying our rounds for the next couple of weeks until another opportunity presents itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some are simply monsters across the board \u2013 and I was humbled that they worked with me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The best were doing me a favor \u2013 letting me figure out why they kept winning until I changed my game \u2013 and then finding another thing to work on until I figured that one out. I used to think that was a jackass move \u2013 to beat me the same way five times in a row. Now I know that it\u2019s an opportunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The line from the guy running the class was \u201ctraining is 50% helping your partner and 50% improving yourself.\u201d I believe that. The one, single, standalone, no BS quality of the best martial artists I\u2019ve met is that they know in their gut that by helping me they help themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Strangely, that\u2019s also a truth from the Buddhist teachings I\u2019ve read. It all comes together<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I got a minor injury today. Naturally it was from a white belt. The black belts rarely injure you. They have control \u2013 and they want that 50% that comes from working with a good partner. I try really hard to be a good partner \u2013 and in return I\u2019ve trained with some amazing people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is also true in my work \u2013 except I\u2019ve got technique \u2013 and strength might be better stated as \u2018persistence\u2019 or talent. In my domain \u2013 I\u2019m better than in this cross-class warrior stuff. I find things easy in my work that most people find quite difficult \u2013 so I go further. Perhaps I *am* that guy running the class and letting someone else work their stuff against me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Einstein said something along the lines of \u201cDo not worry about your problems with mathematics, I assure you mine are far greater.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So if you look at me and think I\u2019m a wuss on the mat \u2013 perhaps I am. I\u2019m training my will. I\u2019m working on strength \u2013 and I\u2019m not there because I imagine that I\u2019ll ever compete for a national title. I don\u2019t imagine that my raw talent set will take me to the top of the game \u2013 I\u2019m playing to the top of my effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you look at me and think I\u2019m a success in my career \u2013 perhaps I am \u2013 but I\u2019ve got it level set to \u201cjust as difficult as I can stand.\u201d Anything less would be laziness and a waste of the massive good fortune I experience. I found it hard to improve my skillz any more \u2013 so I\u2019ve started training willpower.<\/p>\n\n\n\n