Guest Author - Caroline Baker

We discussed in a previous articles, there is a courtship period associated with any artist’s time training in Martial Arts. At some point, that relationship may progress to the next stage.

The Honeymoon
As the relationship with Martial Arts continues, there may be a point you find yourself “married” to a particular art. This marriage may be sweet and fulfilling, entered with love and a welcoming sensation. It might be more shotgun in that you have no choice if you wish to progress in your studies. It might even occur without you realizing it has already transpired, you wake up one day and discover that you have joined with some Martial Arts form.

The wedding to your style might be elaborate, with many friends and family around. It might be rank promotion ceremony or some public event which you excelled. Or it might be more private, done quietly at your place of study. It might be a moment filled with tears or yelps of joy.

This is where the honeymoon period begins. Much like the initial courtship, you are filled with hope and expectations. You may find yourself talking non-stop about your love of the Arts. You seek out with new hunger everything you can about this style and its history. The key difference is that now you speak with a level of authority. This isn’t the “new kid” speaking, the one that barely understands what is going on, only that this is something they want to try out. This is a person who has dedicated at least some period of time getting to know the style and finding it at least somewhat attractive.

The honeymoon period is a wonderful point in which the Martial Artist becomes renewed and reborn in their chosen Art. The horizon opens up and suddenly can become filled with possibilities and opportunities that had not existed before. Where once the marriage seemed like the end of the journey, it now becomes the start.

It is also a period where a Martial Artist must be cautious. Egos get born during this period and, even with some experience under your belt, the practioner is still young to the Art. Without proper guidance and caution, this honeymoon can end quickly and disasterously.

Eventually, whatever the experience is with the honeymoon period and however long that honeymoon lasts, one will progress to the “hereafter”, the final all-encompassing conclusion to one’s journey into Martial Arts.

Other reading:
Read -- The Courtship
Coming soon … The Hereafter