Trusting the technique

In kendo and other Japanese martial arts, the concept of technique (waza) is important beyond being a mere skill for overcoming the opponent. In practicing budo, the martial way, there is a notion of faith in the technique. That is, we can concentrate on perfecting the skill instead of focussing on the end result.

I believe this concept translates to other disciplines. It is certainly applicable in visual arts. In fact, the final image (a photograph, a painting, etc.) is often different from what I had imagined before starting working on it. To me, this is one of the most appealing features of the creative process.

In scientific research also, we don’t know the end result (this is the nature of research), but we trust that the process developed by the generations of earlier researchers, combined with our own experience and skills, would lead to a productive outcome (i.e. improved understanding of the physical phenomenon.)

The issue of valuing productivity over presence, which many authors and philosophers discussed over the years, is also related to the lack of trust in the established system, the process of developing one’s skills. This leads to the current popularity of “life hacks“, looking for shortcuts to overcome inertia and inefficiency of the conventional ways of doing things. Eastern martial arts are in the unique position in this respect. Their systems of training, which are deeply rooted in philosophy, have been polished over many generations of practitioners. Knowing that countless numbers of them paid the huge price (sometimes, their lives) for evolving the system to the current level, makes trusting the process easier.