It's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game
Monday 16 May 2022
This well-quoted saying is attributed to Grantland Rice, an early 20th century American sportswriter. It speaks of a bygone age, before sport really became big, international business. When cricket was much a gentleman's game played strictly in whites, football was played by low-paid kickers and dribblers in very long shorts, and Wimbledon tennis was strictly for amateurs.
Does it have any place in today's highly-competitive, financially-aggressive world? Well, ironically yes, especially in good martial arts of all sports. At Meiji Martial Arts, we regard 'how you play the game' as very important. Attitude is fundamental. Unless you leave your ego outside, unless you bring respect, humility and camaraderie to the Dojo, you'll never make a great martial artist. Discipline, both physical and mental, is the foundation of the training, the achievement of your belts, and the character-building that enables you to cope with anything.
That's all very well when it comes to training, but what about competitive fighting, you may ask? Surely then the aim and ambition is to win? Of course it is, and you may find that a paradox, but it isn't. The formality of bowing to your opponent and touching gloves is a mark of mutual respect. You fight with joy, not hatred, determined to win but unafraid of losing. Grantland Rice had something to say about that, too:
Failure isn't bad if it doesn't attack the heart. Success is all right if it doesn't go to the head
Grantland Rice
The truth is, if we 'play the game' correctly, we get priceless rewards from both winning and losing. If we win, it's an acknowledgement that we have progressed, similar to acquiring another grading belt, a certificate on the wall, a trophy in the cabinet. If we lose, that is simply a stepping-stone of learned experience on the path to future success.
I learned much more from defeat than I ever learned from winning.
Grantland Rice
Win or lose, after any competition fight, study the video if it was taped. Don't look for the glory, identify what you did right, what you did wrong, what could be developed, and any bad habits. Work in conjunction with your Senseis and listen closely to their comments and advice. They've all been there!
Competition fights take up a small part of a martial artist's training. They're the exciting and scary part of the process, but in the much larger training environment, there is only one golden pathway - love what you do, love how you feel, love your fellow students, learn to flow like water, and simply enjoy 'playing the game'.