Five Marvelous Things about Physical Arts

First, they’re cool.  And if you know a physical art that you like, then by necessity you’ve made yourself cooler in your own estimation.  Woot for self-esteem.

(Oh, and by “physical art” I mean the set of physical skills that would include–to different degrees–kungfu, playing an instrument, skateboarding, calligraphy, and dance.)

Secondly, the experience of going from poorly or fairly physically fit to being physically fit is one of the most amazing things this world offers.  To notice new strength, pulsing new energy, new physical *and* mental abilities on a regular basis is…superherolike, even!

Thirdly, they do fantastic things to your vocabulary.  Often you get to learn all these archaic and/or foreign terms, and moreover you really learn them, complete with the somatic (moving, living) meanings.  Or if the art is more humble, maybe you still get to learn what’s really meant by “fakey pop shove-it”, which is also pretty darn cool.

[That "cool" (for your chosen hypothetical definitions thereof) is an inherent good is a given, by the way.  It must be, due to its being a direct descendant of Fun, and the inviolate Eighties Movie Theory of the Inarguable Superiority of Fun.  ...I'm only partially kidding.  In a sense the EM Theory is simply pointing out how we know in our guts that fun and cool -- interesting and enjoyable -- things are good, and how we lose touch with this intuition as we age.  When I'm up on one foot like Jet Li I know what it is to feel cool, and I know it's a wonderful thing.]

The fourth awesome thing about a physical art is that it makes you really aware of how much you could lose if you were injured.  This in turn makes you more careful about dumb shit (like wearing seatbelts), and also more grateful for how you’re able to enjoy your body now.

And that’s the fifth thing, in a sense:  You get to enjoy your body.  This is a particularly profound thing for a lot of women, I think.  For many women the body is a burden in one or more ways — whether or not it’s popularly perceived as “nice”.  But regardless of gender, I’m beginning to realize how little many people — even healthy people in generally good shape who have decent sex lives — really get to enjoy being in their bodies and using them really well. The experience of feeling like you’ve attained some mastery with your body is…well, it’s just as awesome as it looks in the movies, I think.

So there you have it!  Five darn good reasons to get into a physical art.  Here’s how:

1. Pick one you think is cool — seriously, that’s how I chose mine (in fact it’s how a lot of the high-up students in our Temple did), and I couldn’t have chosen better.
2. Then grab hold of your Art and don’t let it go.
3. Profit!  ;)