The Martial Artist and the Martial Athlete

Does being a fighter make one an artist too? The answer is no. A combat sports athlete is one who trains for an event. His or her motivation is winning a contest. Competition is about challenging yourself to attain a goal. It is a selfish quest the feeds ones ego or builds confidence. A martial artist is one who trains for the sake of training. His or her focus is about an endless quest to perfect a craft. An Artist is training when there is no tournament or fight coming up. A lot of athletes do nothing unless they have something to fight for. A professional fighter fights because he or she enjoys fighting. They like hitting people and get a rush out of engaging in hand to hand combat with another athlete. Now, one can be an artist and an athlete. The artist is the one who will still be training and learning when he stops competing. He won't rest on his accomplishments from yesterday and will continue to perfect skills and learn for the rest of his life. I once asked world champion kickboxer, Jerry Rhome a question. I said, "Hey Jerry, I have see you drop a lot guys in the gym and in fights.  It must be easy for you to do that". He said, "No. I feel like I can always get a little sharper, improve my timing, and I still have to practice". And then he went back to hitting the bag. Always be a student. Study, practice, and never think it's over.