In Pursuit of Mastery

“Cook Ding was cutting up an ox for Lord Wen-hui. At every touch of his hand, every heave of his shoulder, every move of his feet, every thrust of his knee-zip! zoop! He slithered the knife along with a zing, and all was in perfect rhythm, as though he were performing the dance of the Mulberry Grove or keeping time to the Ching-shou music. ...

"Cook Ding laid down his knife and [said], 'What I care about is the Way, which goes beyond all skill. When I first began cutting up oxen, all I could see was the ox itself. After three years I no longer saw the whole ox. And now-now I go at it by spirit and don't look with my eyes. Perception and understanding have come to a stop and spirit moves where it wants. I go along with the natural makeup, strike in the big hollows, guide the knife through the big openings, and follow things as they are. So I never touch the smallest ligament or tendon, much less a main joint.

"A good cook changes his knife once a year-because he cuts. A mediocre cook changes his knife once a month-because he hacks. I've had this knife of mine for nineteen years and I've cut up thousands of oxen with it, and yet the blade is as good as though it had just come from the grindstone. There are spaces between the joints, and the blade of the knife has really no thickness. If you insert what has no thickness into such spaces, then there's plenty of room-more than enough for the blade to play about it. That's why after nineteen years the blade of my knife is still as good as when it first came from the grindstone."

- ZhaungZi

As students of a martial art, it is only natural that to master our art is among our goals. Some years ago in his book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell hit upon a trend among top performers in virtually any field: they had accumulated over their lifetimes, at least 10,000 hours of challenging practice.

Every since he published that book, students in search of mastery have been busy at work trying to figure out how to accommodate the maximum number of practice hours in the minimum amount of calendar time.

This is human nature I guess. I shudder to think though at the wreckage caused by the single minded focus on one aspect of life at perhaps the expense of many of the others (which are in the long run probably more important).

We have a new entry in the “How to be a Master” literature.

Robert Greene, the author of The 48 Laws of Power (among others) has published yet another beautifully produced book on the very subject of mastery and how to acquire it. The name of the book is appropriately, Mastery. He includes the "10,000 hour rule," but puts it in context.

Below is a basic outline of his points. This link will take you to a page that expands a little on each of them.

Find your life’s task

                Rather than compete in a crowded field, find a niche where you can dominate

                Rebel against the wrong path and use that anger to motivate

                Love your subject at a very basic level

Find the Ideal Apprenticeship

                Engage in deep observation, practice incessantly and experiment

                Value learning over money so that  you’re not a slave to everyone’s opinion

                Revert to a feeling of inferiority to truly learn

                Engage in intense practice and tend towards resistance and pain

                Rely on trial and error more than anything else

Absorb a Master’s Power

                Choose a mentor who will intensely challenge  you

                Absorb your masters’ knowledge completely and then transform it

                Create a back and forth dynamic with all of your relationships

Master Social Intelligence

                Accept criticism and adapt to power structures and society

                Meticulously craft your persona

                Suffer fools and learn to exploit them

Awaken the Dimensional Mind and be Bold

                Absorb everything and then let your brain make connections for you

                Avoid putting things in familiar categories

                Don’t let impatience derail your plans

                Value mechanical and abstract intelligence equally

                Avoid “technical lock;” or getting wrapped  up in technical artistry instead of the real problem

The Final Step: Fuse the Intuitive and the Rational

                Shape your world around your strengths

                Know that practice is just as important than innate skill