Chapter 32 Pause

In karate, regular practice, repetition and maximum exertion are essential if you want proficiency, but only up to a point. There's nothing to gain from overtraining. fitness is a product of work and rest. It's during the pauses that the body grows stronger. It's the same with all activities in life. Progress requires regular breaks. In fact, the best thing to get out of exercise is rest ... rest and activity; rest and activity. It's like a song chanted by every living thing. It's the soundtrack to life.

Rest and activity; rest and activity. It's the sound track to life.


The trouble is, in today's must-get-something-done culture we hardly find time to get sufficient sleep let alone rest. society doesn't encourage us to take time out and pause. Most of our time is spent chasing things, doing stuff and trying to 'make it'. And we have a lot of criteria for 'making it'. Money, fame, power and status are all measures of success. And most of us strive to meet these criteria. Make no mistake: having goals is important. There's nothing wrong with doing things. But you can slow down. You can take a breather. the wheels of the cart won't fall off.


Pauses are an integral part of sparring in karate. Watch a professional at work and you'll notice attack and defense don't always occur continuously. good fighters pause to look for openings, observe reactions and revise their strategy. In contrast, novice fighters pile in with a relentless flow of attacks. They soon get exhausted, and often they leave themselves open to danger. It's the same in life: we don't always achieve more by running faster or trying harder. Sometimes it's more productive to take a step back and pause.


Ever felt stuck in life? You know the feeling. you're trying everything to move forwards but it's as if you're spinning your wheels, nothing seems to work. most of s have had this experience. And the best thing to do when you have tried everything and nothing seems to work is ... nothing. Pause. Remain still and the right action will arise by itself. The 1973 film classic enter the Dragon portrayed this approach well when Bruce Lee found himself trapped in a life, not knowing what to do next. He sat down. Crossed his legs. And paused. Then after a short while his escape route appeared. sometimes we just need to accept the current situation and see what comes up. Action that arises out of this foundation works. In stillness there's clarity.