The Sound of Your Spirit

This post kind of ties in with the last one regarding 'The Zone'. I was reading a bit about Japanese Calligraphy the other day and was struck by a piece on the Japanese term "i" which roughly translates as "intent". As is usual in Japanese writing the character is made up of a compund of two other characters, "sound" (which is in turn composed of "rise up" and "mouth") and "spirit". So the character "intent" literally translates as "the sound of the spirit". I think this is quite interesting; your intent to do something is quite literally the sound of your spirit taking shape. Without spirit there is no real intent. In this case I interpret spirit as your character, energy and belief rather than a religious drive. So David, you cry, what the heck has this Eastern rambling got to do with fencing? Well Grasshopper, I have noticed that in a fencing club fencers who are really into their fights are the ones who are most likely to utter a shout or cry as they attack or hit. A fencer who is not absorbed in the moment, perhaps restricted by other thoughts and concerns about work, dinner, technique etc will not make this spontaneous signal of intent. I think it is also linked to the fact that some Tennis players (I write this as Wimbledon takes place) tend to grunt or shriek as they hit the ball. It has been suggested by some commentators that this is contrived to put off their opponent as it never happens during practice. I would counter that it is only during real contest that the intent manifests itself. So next time you find yourself in The Zone do not be embarassed by your voice. It is the sound your spirit makes when it is truly engaged.