Martial arts and music: maintaining balance

Balance. Timing. Distance. Focus. These are all topics I hear about over and over from our Taekwondo coach; however, a few weeks ago during my son’s piano lesson I noticed he was hearing the same thing only from a different perspective. I had just written a post about how beautifully music and martial arts complement each other, so that idea was fresh in my mind. On that day, I heard our piano teacher’s instructions in the context of practicing Taekwondo, and then I thought about how much it relates to life in general.

Balance

I don’t play the piano myself, so when I hear our piano teacher talk to my children about “balance,” it has always seemed like a rather abstract idea. However, when I started learning Taekwondo it became clearer to me what she means. In Taekwondo, a lack of balance isn’t just awkward, even a slight imbalance will make strikes and kicks less efficient; you become slower to respond, which makes you vulnerable.

Likewise, imbalances when playing the piano can lead to unevenness in your music and even cause injuries, while possibly limiting the difficulty in pieces that you will be able to master. Balance is critical in both music and martial arts.

Timing

Poor timing in Taekwondo and other martial arts can, again, leave you vulnerable to an opponent’s attack and result in missed opportunities to score points yourself. Similar to the way that practicing the piano with poor timing can result in bad habits, failing to pay attention to timing in the martial arts can ingrain negative patterns that are difficult to change after long periods of time.

Timing is critical if you want to play the piano well. If your timing is off, the music sounds ragged and uneven—chaotic even. As described in this video, playing with good rhythm can be the difference between sounding like an amateur and a professional, regardless of how difficult the piece may be.

Distance

The importance of distance is easier to visualize. If you are too far away or too close you will miss the target, whether it’s the correct key on the piano or your opponent’s scoring zone. Unsurprisingly, it’s difficult to achieve the correct distance if your timing and balance are wrong.

Focus

Both Taekwondo and music require focus to coordinate complex movements and responses. A martial artist must “read” an opponent’s body language and anticipate offensive strikes in order to respond in a way that is effective, also while maintaining balance, timing, and distance. In the same way, the pianist must read the music and translate that to movement in the arms, wrists, and fingers, also while maintaining the appropriate balance, timing, and distance.

Of course, focus is an important skill that improves over time with intentional practice in the martial arts and music alike.

Balance. Timing. Distance. Focus. Practicing the martial arts will make you a better musician, and playing music will make you a better martial artist. All these things will make you (and/or your children) more productive, confident members of society. I can get on board with that.