"You haven't yet turned knowledge into wisdom."

Preoccupied with debating Socrates, stuck in my conceptual mind, I was idly flipping a squeegee that Soc had given me to clean a car windshield with when I asked him what he meant by the difference between knowledge and wisdom. He answered, "You know how to clean the windshield; wisdom is doing it."

We can know about any number of things, and gather facts and data and sophisticated information from other people, and from books, newspapers, and the Internet. But wisdom flows from life experience. Wisdom takes on the taste of sweat as we strive to overcome lower tendencies and live in accordance with universal laws - or "the House Rules," as Soc called them.

- From "Wisdom Of The Peaceful Warrior: A Companion to the Book That Changes Lives" by Dan Millman.

I've always been a fan of Dan Millman's works. I first read "Way of the Peaceful Warrior" years ago when it first was published, and have read it a number of times since, as well as Dan's other books. I was even fortunate enough to get an advanced copy of "The Journeys of Socrates."

I posted the above about Experience and Wisdom because it is so true in just about everything, especially the martial arts. You can read a book or watch a video about martial arts, but you won't truly know the arts or have the wisdom the arts provide until you have actually practiced the arts. You must DO them! It is only through doing, through practice that you will gain the wisdom your art provides. So study yes. Read yes. Watch yes. But then DO.

"Ultimately, you must forget about technique. The further you progress, the fewer teachings there are. The Great Path is really No Path."

- Morihei Ueshiba, founder of Aikido - from The Art of Peace