Root Yourself in the Present (Patreon)

• If you’re new to LMA, start with our table of contents

Sometimes the mind is everywhere but here. Caught in what already happened. Caught in what might. But the things you can actually influence and manage exist here and now. The only place for action is in this present moment. Gaining control of your current situation means rooting yourself in your current conditions and returning to what's actionable. It's a way to rejoin the moment where you live, where perception is alive, and where movement happens.

This is the bulk of what I do when I'm cornering LMAists in competition. They can't make good decisions unless they're here now. They can't find their Way unless they are actually here.

Rooting through the senses helps you orient to your material conditions, reestablish your affordances, and quiet systems that are running too hot to perceive clearly. You don't just see movements; you sense them.

• Locate a few things you can see in your environment. This can include a person, partner, or opponent. I'll sometimes tell LMAists to look at my chest between rounds. It becomes a visual anchor for ease.

• Notice the sensation of your clothes or equipment off of your skin. Notice the air or temperature on your body. If barefoot, notice the texture of the ground beneath your feet.

• Tune into one or two sounds. This can include voices or crowd noise. Let them exist without judging them.

• What does the environment smell like? Does it smell like training? Is it the smell of competition? Add it to your sensory map. Let it become part of your memory for orientation. This familiar smell is a reminder that you've been here before.

• Notice your mouth. What can you taste or feel? How does your mouth feel when you're excited or at ease? Is this familiar?

Take two sharp inhales through your nose. One short, one long. Then exhale long through your mouth. Do that a few times. Then, slow it down. Shift into slower inhales and exhales through your nose (or mouth, depending on what's available to you).

These practices won't erase your thoughts, but they will return you to the ground where action lives.

Your thoughts are theory.

This moment is praxis.

– Sam