One of the things that I learned as I was away this summer was that your environment can heavily influence the way you think and appraoch things. Also, environment can influence the way you train. Just from a physiological and psychological stand point, your mind is cleared when you are away and can focus yourself. Martial arts on the beach, at sunset, was a very fun experience for me. I think it is important to find these places that transport you to allow yourself to be able to take your training to a different level. In my time away, I was not able to train as much as I would have liked, but I enjoyed the psychological break, which is important for maintaining perspective.
While I was out there training, however, it was a unique experience. The peacefulness and quiet allowed for me to feel transported and experience new kind of focus. Also, the feeling the sand beneath my feet, I was given a new experience in how to negotiate a different kind of surface. There are also other surfaces to that you can experience to give training variety. variety in training keeps you sharp and gives you different experiences to draw from. This is important. Sometimes we get into routines and forget to allow ourselves to experience other things. Each new experience is a chance for new knowledge. That is an important concept in many ways.
The photo posted here looks peaceful and the experience was every bit of what the photos is saying to the viewer. It was an amazing moment. Carrying moments like this one with me are invaluable for so many reasons. I strongly recommend that anybody interested in bringing variety to what they do or train try changing up their environment to some place that is different and more peacful. It will bring some much needed refreshment. It did for me.
Just a note about the photo - this photo is taken by my wife at sunset. Gina is becoming very good with her camera. I have appreciated her efforts to photograph my martial arts endeavors to help with the blog here. A special thanks to her for helping out!
Have a good day!
Jesse
