There's something about the martial arts that is perfect for writers: being willing to put yourself out there, always learning, adapting, working alone, supported by so many others, being pushed out of your comfort zone and into "the zone," open to all that you don't already know.
Allowing yourself to be helped & help others, to be vulnerable, strong, smelly, bruised, risky, embarrassed, knowing that you will screw up loudly & often and that that is part of the process. Getting knocked down and forcing yourself to get up again. And again. And again. Each time putting yourself back in the game because of something inside you--nothing else.
Knowing that mastery is never truly achievable, but just another step along the journey to an ideal of personal greatness that can only happen as long as you are on the path. One punch, one kick, bird by bird.
These are lessons that have served me far more than katas or belts, and I will never be able to thank my husband, my sensei, enough...although a lifetime just might do it!
