Empty your cup:
Get rid of preconceived ideas.Learn from the scratch with a fresh mind.Learn each lesson as if it is for the first time.
Absorb what is Useful:There is no style which is the perfect style , there is no technique which is the perfect technique. All the atoms of the world are assimilated to make one complete whole.All things combine to make One.This is a primary principle of Taoism and written down in the brilliant text of Tao Te Ching.As a macrocosm of the Supreme One the world of Martial Arts follow these principles.
Every technique of every style is useful depending on the user and the circumstance. Absorb whatever is useful to you and discard whatever is useless.
Make whatever is useful strictly your own.This is the philosophy of Bruce Lee and his
Jeet Kune Do
Don't restrict yourself to one style . Grow in all spheres.
To continue with the previous points , never stop learning ,whatever be the style in front of you. As you continue to learn the same things over and over again new horizons will open out to you from familiar techniques and principles.Keep learning till you reach the point where you had started from and continue from there. If this seems obscure let me tell you a Zen paradox.
Before enlightenment, a mountain looked like a mountain and a stream looked like a stream. After enlightenment, the mountain looked like a mountain and the stream looked like a stream.To know the meaning of this look at what Bruce Lee
had to say about learning to punch and kick. Before I knew how to punch and kick , a punch was just a punch and a kick was just a kick.
After I learnt , a punch became something more than a punch and a kick became something more than a kick. Later when I had perfected it, a punch was once again a punch and a kick was once again a kick. This is no paradox , but the natural process of learning . At first Bruce had some preconceived notions of punch and kick which to him were punch and kick. After his initiation into martial arts under Yip Man
he had to unlearn whatever he knew about punches and kicks --emptying the cup.
And finally when he had perfected his art of punching and kicking, he had installed (sorry for the software term)the techniques into his nature ,thus having new conceptions of the punch and the kick.Yet, after this perfection,he
kept on learning throughout his life.
Know your LimitationsDo not over reach yourself.When a Sculptor makes a statue he does not keep on adding mud. He chisels away the unwanted portions. Knowing your limitaions you can also chisel away your unwanted parts to become a better martial artist. As you progress in life stop comparing yourself with the man you were ten years or so back. Accept your limitations as they are and make yourself more perfect in your present circumstances.
Go With The FlowThis is a guiding principle of Aikido and Judo.This can apply as well in the philosophy of learning martial arts. Going with the previous lesson, never resist the flow of nature. just as a swimmer can best swim if he goes with the buffeting waves of the sea, the martial artist can best perform if he goes according to the way his body and spirit responds. This is a further addition of knowing your limitations . In the two martial arts named , you use the opponents force to your own advantage to overcome him. In life and training , use the flow of nature to progress with minimum resistance.
Avoid Conflict:The one who wants to get into a fight is already defeated , since he is insecure. The one in full command of his Martial Arts Skills and Philosophy is fully calm and secure.So he is the last person to get into fights.That is the true meaning of non-violence.
Look At The MoonWhen a master points his finger at the moon , it is pointless to look at the finger.Similarly, when a master teaches a technique , just don't learn the technique but also look beneath to grasp the concepts beneath it.For example when a master tells you to stop a kick by hitting the opponent with the sole of your foot just below his knee, stop while you master the technique and consider that this is a concept
of Meeting it halfway,Stop-hit and Bridging the Gap and can be applied with modifications in other situations not taught in the training session.