Fisherman, Bard, Cat.
What could be more romantic than a game of net, strings, and a ball of fuzz?
Before getting into the romance of the game, let's dive into why I think tennis is the number one sport of all sports to master, AND why it is such an important sport for Self Help (if not the MOST IMPORTANT).
Besides being a beautiful outdoor sport of finesse and exercise, that delicate spherical feel of strings on balls while dancing around with your love ones under the sun amid natural greenery, it has been overlooked as potentially the Most important sport, or in my opinion, the Best sport.
Tennis is a unique sport as it is more than a sport of simple movements and simple physics. It is a complex sports of string mechanics, spherical (ball) spin science, complex energy transfer physics. To play well, one must connect to all elements, one must feel Everything to its most distilled detailed iota, one must be one with Everything - one with the court, one with the ball, one with the spin, one with the racket, one with the net, one with the strings, one with the atmosphere, even one with your opponent!(or your love ones, especially their shoes!)
And it feels great to be outdoor to feel everything!
Separately, in my opinion, for a sport to be considered the best sport, it must be competitive - playing against an opponent, interacting with the opponent, in which the opponent's every move influence your next move. - versus say a solo sport such as golf, gymnastics, darts, archery, skiing, bowling, running, swimming etc.
Why? Because one must be able to handle, adapt and overcome pressure caused by outside forces other than your own. One is not just competing against oneself, but against others.
Having said that, in regard to human anatomy and mechanics, to play good tennis, one must utilize all parts of the body. It is an extremely physical, strenuous game, of arm, leg, hip and all other body part motion.
Which in turn makes tennis the most Mental sport of all sports.
To play well in tennis- meaning good competitive tennis- on top of possessing the entire prerequisite Menu (will expose later in article), the gravity of the harsh, physical strenuity of the game truly tests the highest limits of physiological capability and endurance .
Tennis is the ultimate game in physiology.
It not only test the limits of all Body - Mind connections, but also the full limit and potential of the human spirit - heart to Mind/Body. Nowhere in any other sports will you find better training ground for such.
Thus the most important sport in the Self Help arena.
And here is the Menu a good player must possess mentally, physically, and physiologically to play well:
1. Left Brain - SOLID REASONING
logical, analytical of risk/reward scenarios,
good hand eye coordination with all other body parts especially hip and legs,
being able to see, organize, execute based on structure/order/relationship between parts/weights of each component that influence timing/priority,
detail oriented, observant.
2. Right Brain- Imagination, Creativity
Creative, out of box ideas/solutions
open minded,
curious/inquisitive, asking the right questions
Imaginative, being able to Improv scenarios in the head,
creative and flexible,
Intuitive (based on tons of experience, the more experience, the more intuitive you get)
3. Productivity - Extreme Focus
extreme Focus, zero distractions,
maintaining momentum, pacing yourself-stamina
4. Passion - ENJOY THE PROCESS-MAKE IT FUN
self-motivated,unquenchable desire/thirst, Drive,
action-oriented, upbeat,positive,enthusiastic no matter the situations.
enjoy the process than the rewards.
5. Excel- CONSTANTLY IMPROVING
a person who researches and reads strong and wide,
one who believes in Excellence,
Ambitious, dreams big with vision,
purposeful, goal oriented,
perfectionist, strive to be the best always,
who reflects often on mistakes, planning on adjustments and corrections timely,
seeking advice and help- not stubborn or shy
6. Committed - NEVER GIVE UP
hardworking,
the strongest of perseverance, persistence even under the worse of situations,
discipline- doing the right at all times, always prepared of all scnarios.
7. Versatile - RESILIENT
resilient under pressure, staying excellent under mental, body, physiological pressure
a strong belief that NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE
Maximum flexibility under pressure,
strong self reliance, will power.
8. HUMBLE - CAUTIOUS/NEVER COMPLACENT
admit mistakes and correct quickly,
learning through failure, and success as well.
self-aware at all times -know ones weakness, mistakes and strengths at all times,
humble and grateful at all times = egoless,
cautious =respecting risk and minimizing the unnecessary risk always-never complacent
Constant positive criticism of oneself.
9. Detached - CALM/UNEMOTIONAL
unemotional in handling difficulties, staying calm, optimal under any pressure
no procrastination in adjusting to problems,
optimal mood-anger-stress management - emotionally stable always for clear thinking, optimal productivity at all times,
patient, total self control with choice - matured, never tempted or impulsively out of control,
Never reactive under pressure, staying calm to reflect quickly,
ability to let go of past mistakes quickly to focus on present.
10. Courage & being Assertive
knowing when to push the boundaries- adjusting risk tolerance,
being smart risk takers,
always ready for change-adaptive, not fearful of failure,
decisiveness and swiftness in execution, confident
not afraid of conflicts-high tolerance, facing fears to conquer, think with your head AND your heart, think super, always be positive-zero negatives,
End of Menu.
Whew! What a list! This list no doubt makes tennis the number one sport of all sports!
But wait! One could argue this Menu is the same for all other sports!
Well said. But clearly mistaken.
The strenuity of the physical aspect of the game - the racket swing weight, the constant shifting around of the feet, with full body weight transfer motion into every stroke- lift the entire Menu to its highest climax, to its maximum limits, truly testing the apex of the player endurance Menu limits under maximum stress test scenarios.
Tennis is the ultimate game of
Performance under Pressure.
It is under this strenuous condition, this beyond the limits zone, that the player must constantly perform optimally (however forcefully) within this Dwell, constantly subjugating this Dwell of hell.
Enough hell speak.
Now to the Romance.
Before getting into why Tennis is the most romantic game in the world, I will explain how this game mesmerized me when i was 13.
I will never forget that fateful rainy day I first played tennis. It was after year end school exam on a December 1984 day where friends got around in a friends apartment to relax and recreate. And you guessed it. There happened to be a tennis court around the Condo Community compound, and the next thing we knew after the rain stopped, we were whacking the balls around like no tomorrow.
Something magical happened there. I was never quite the same kid after that.
Days later, I quickly bought 2 wooden rackets to hit with my brother, and less than a month later, I lost 6-0 6-0 2 bagels to an European kid in my first 14 and under junior tournament, wearing a Yonex tshirt with a Lacoste crocodile pant and a brandless wooden racket named Shakespeare (no joke! $12).
What mysterious enthusiasm and skin!
It was truly a frustrating game to master. To make matters more complicated, the game was evolving fast in the 80s - from wooden rackets to steel, to aluminium, then graphite. And the way to play the game too. From Borg to Connors, then McEnroe to Lendl, followed by the more modern era of Becker and Edberg, then Aggassi, Chang, Sampas, Courier. What a decade of evolution! No other sports gone through so much change and evolution in the history of sports!
Lendl really paved the way for the modern game by whooping that big forehand around 1984. Followed by boom boom Becker with that serve in 1985. The game was changing so fast that nobody really knew what was the best way to play the game.
About a month after the 2 bagels, i got proper group training at school in the new year 1985, became second best player in my school by August of that same year, won gold in the following year, third in the last school year, was school captain in 1987, and tournament director/organizer in 1986 and 1987. What passion and madness?
My study very likely suffered, as i was supposed to be top 2 or 3 in study in the entire school, but ended up joint 10th in the last school year. Half the time and focus went into this mysterious game of tennis.
All I think about was tennis back then. Whatever magical power grasped me during that time period, I never understood.
Until recently. And thus this article.
Around November this year 2022, something happened. It was near the end of my self designated 2 yr training module of ALL strokes. It just occurred to me the answer to the mystery.
There is something about the scoring system: it is the only sports with the word LOVE in it, which means zero(or selfless). And I asked myself hard why the the Net, Strings and Ball has anything to do with the magic. I came up with the connection of the Net being Fisherman, Strings on the racket to a Bard playing guitar, and the furry ball to a fuzz loving cat.
Somehow, we were all once Fisherman (the strongman who takes care of family), the singing Bard (who isnt romantic once in a while eh?) who played catch with the cozy, fuzzy house Cat. We were all once beings of Love.
And if you clearly analyzed how the game is played- here comes that Ahh hah moment -
it is a communion of Love.
Strings spinning against the cozy, fuzzy ball producing that invisible love song, going back and forth with your love one.
What could be more romantic than that?
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PS. This article is finished on this last day of 2022. I really want to write this article for some time now to give Tennis its proper place.
Have a fabulous 2023 ! The Best is yet to be.
