Writing from a Martial Arts Perspective

While doing research for an editing assignment (having to do with heartbeats per minute under the stress of fear-induced adrenaline) I stumbled across this 2006 interview with Loren W. Christensen for Black Belt Magazine. Mr. Christensen is a retired police officer and a martial artist. He has written many books about the martial arts and here compares the discipline needed by a writer and that needed by a martial artist:

Writing is a continuous process of improving weaknesses, hiding those you can’t fix, emphasizing your strengths, trying new techniques and methods, searching for the most effective ways to have impact and, through it all, striving for the discipline to do these things.

The Japanese word sanchin means “three conflicts:’ the body, mind and spirit. Every time you train or write, you face a body that wants to snooze on the sofa, a mind that wants to vegetate in front of the television, and a spirit that wants to take the easy way. Facing these three conflicts is tough, some days really tough. Learning to fight them, learning to control them, and learning to conquer them is part of what being a writer and a martial artist is all about.

Read the whole article here. Fascinating.