How You Play the Game - A Fictional Story

It really is “how you play the game.” A practitioner of some note decided he wanted to be the best of the best. He set out to dominate the game of martial arts. He become aggressive and dominated as no one before. He would find challenge with other martial artists destroying them quickly and efficiently. He failed to understand the game, the entire game.

Then one day he was challenged by an older practitioner. The Old-Man fought him to a win by a very small margin. This excited the practitioner so he asked if he could continue the next day with another match. The Old-Man agreed. 

The next day they conducted the match and by another small margin the practitioner fell prey to the Old-Man. After several weeks of this the practitioner told the Old-Man that the next match would be different. 

The next day’s match went well but once again the practitioner lost again by an even smaller margin. This occurred for several more matches. At the last the practitioner told the Old-Man he had come so very close to winning that he was sure the next match would result in victory. 

The next match came early the next day. The fought and the practitioner was trounced badly in short order. This continued with the margin of victory widening like an ocean at every match. 

Finally the practitioner relented and spoke to the Old-Man. He said he understood what was happening and that he understood that the Old-Man at the beginning was taking it easy on the practitioner but the Old-Man said, “That is far gone from the point.” He said that the point is not to fight as tight, tough and aggressive as you can but to be bold. To be dangerous. But also to be elegant. He told the practitioner that any martial artists that is half awake can spot an opening and take advantage but to boldly go with a plan to turn that plan on its ear is a marvelous thing. To set a trap and know someone will come in wary, ready with a trick of their own, then beat them. That is four times marvelous. 

Martial arts is about the essence, the subtlety of the art. It is a mirror we hold to the discipline. No one wins a contest, the point of the contest is the motion, rhythm and cadence of the body, mind and spirit. A well played contest reveals the moving of the mind. There is a beauty to these things for those with the eyes, ears and feel to see, hear and feel this. 

The Old-Man gestured to the contest floor and said, “Look at it this way. Why would I ever want to win a contest such as this? The point is not to win? It is to play a beautiful game. Why would I want to win anything other than a beautiful game?”

Play a beautiful game! A cat does not think of stretching, it stretches.