November 29th, 2009
It has long been a custom in the Martial Arts, that upon entering the dojang, students remove their shoes and place them in the shoe rack. Part of this custom is for hygiene and cleanliness. A clean dojang and well kept dojang is certainly better than a dirty one.
Even better is a philosophy called the Shoerack Theory. Students remove their shoes and place them in the shoerack for a more purposeful reason. They are also placing all of life’s challenges and any stressful thoughts or negative issues from their day, in their shoes before entering the mat. This allows you to give yourself fully to your training. Mentally, physically and emotionally, then after a great class, you will be able to better deal with any of the challenges placed in your shoes before class. Sometimes, you actually may find they’ve disappeared all together. Meaning that after a great workout and practice session, you have relieved yourself of all the stress you had before your class and/or relieved yourself from any negativity.
Martial Arts training is proven to be an outstanding way to relieve stress and cleanse your mind, body and spirit of any negativity. If you practice this philosophy every time you enter the dojang, you will find yourself in a better mood and you will also enjoy greater benefit from your Martial Arts training. This philosophy can also be applied to walking into your own home: mentally, leaving all stress and challenges in your shoes upon entering so you can enjoy quality time with your family and loved ones.
One way you can maximize the benefits of your Martial Arts training is to practice and apply the philosophies you learn in class to your everyday life outside the dojang.