Life Lessons from Marial Arts

So, I think I'm too philisophical for my own good sometimes.  See, I've been doing way too many metaphors in my head using my martial arts training.

First, my instructor in Taido was talking about open and closed stances. He didn't really get why they're called that. An open stance is when your chests are facing the same way. A closed stance is when your chests are facing opposite ways. To me, it's simple. I see them like doors, open and closed.

But I got to thinking. An open stance is a power stance. You use it to really wail on someone. A closed stance is a defensive stance used to set up something to do later, usually from an open stance.

So here's the life lesson part. How often are we in open stances in life? Do we go up to people, put our best foot forward and just go for it. When we're listening to people we like, we tend to have our chests facing the same directions. I mean, we lean against the wall and face the same direction. We sit together, facing the same direction. We're friendly.

On the other hand, in a closed stance, we're defensive. We're shut away from the person we're interacting with. We're there in body, but not spirit. The person really gets a feeling of tension and defensiveness. Our interation is limited by our body's posture.

Just like in martial arts, an open stance in relationships is powerful. In martial arts, you can use your whole body on the attack, swinging your hips and really getting power into your blows.  In life, you can really knock the socks off someone just because they felt like you really cared about what they had to say. It works, but don't trust me. Try it.

But when we go into a closed stance, we lose the power. We're all defensive, and no fight was ever won by retreating. The best defense is a good offense. You know all the sayings. But have you ever thought about how your body posture conveys your enthusiasm for the subject at hand? Are you, with your body, telling the other person that you don't really want to be here and are only here until you can escape?

In martial arts, there's a time and a place for closed stances. But in life, why are we closing off the very people that might someday be the biggest blessings we've ever gotten? Do you think Jesus stood apart from people, or did he approach. Well, just read the Bible and that question's answered. But I'm thinking that the simple stuff can sometimes have a huge effect.

So, here's the question of the day...
Are you approaching life in an open or closed stance?