The definition of “warrior spirit” is personal. It does mean different things to different people. You can be male/female, child/senior, ballerina or gymnast and yet a warrior. Yes, I am talking about winning the war in life.

A lot of clubs have their own club-creed about appropriate behavior as a martial artist. My memory is not good and it is fading with age, so I came up with my own simple list of three in what constitute the “warrior spirit”:

Heart (Treasure the moment and give it all)

  • Love and appreciate everything around you (e.g. people, opportunities, environment, nature, etc)
  • Open your heart/mind to learning – Love and admire people’s work, creativity and ideas and will open your mind to learn and absorb
  • Be passionate about your vision and dream – Love what you are doing
  • Know your goals and priorities so that you can put your whole heart into things/people that deserve help or are important to you

Responsibility (You are the driver for your own destiny)

  • Discipline to learn and train – even the best coach cannot make you great. You have to put in the work which will cause change in your body and mind
  • Accountability – focus on what you can personally change/affect instead of looking for reasons why something is beyond your control or why the world is working against you or it is all other people’s fault.
  • Others can help but without your personal commitment, all of it will fall short

Toughness (Fight for what is important despite its challenges)

  • Courage to act, think and adapt despite circumstances
  • Able to focus despite noises surrounding you
  • Willingness to face fear, uncertainty and pain
  • Persevere despite challenges and often failures
  • Be humble and throw away your ego so that you can see and feel with “clear eyes”
  • Be at peace with yourself by giving it all despite short comings, pressure/judgement from others

The following is about an ultra distance swimmer – Diane Nyad, age 64, swam 100 miles from Cuba to Florida.

Exercise
Pick on any of the above idea that intrigue you most (or what you feel you should improve on)

Warrior Spirit