11/10/2022 0 Comments Peaceful warrior socrates![]() ![]() Through Dan’s relationship with this mysterious man who doles out wisdom left and right–such as, “You are not who you think you are”–to a confused and, at first, resistant Dan, Dan learns to master his fears, become the moves of his routines, and overcome a potential identity crisis involving the loss of his Olympic dream and his future as a gymnast. Socrates teaches him how to quell the demons with Eastern philosophy and a range of Zen meditation techniques (which sometimes come off rather “Karate Kid”-like). ![]() Yet the plot of “Peaceful Warrior” turns instead on Dan’s chance encounter with a man at a local gas station whom he learns to call Socrates (played by Nick Nolte). In my case, as the mind games got overly intense and the fears grew too enormous to withstand, I eventually quit. ![]() I remember playing these moves over and over in my mind, imagining myself crashing in all sorts of horrible ways–in a manner similar to the visions Dan has of himself falling from the rings and mangling his body. I remember vividly the fears I associated with particular flips on the beam with the enormous concentration needed for vaults and with hitting the spring board just right, to get enough height. It is not uncommon for gymnasts to conjure up all sorts of demons regarding especially difficult moves, as is the case in the movie, where viewers are privy to the nightmares Dan (the main character) has about his routines on the rings. Olympics TV broadcasts often glorify gymnastics, sensationalizing the extreme disappointments and the exciting and unexpected successes (especially of the women), but fail to truly explore the mind games competitive gymnasts face on a regular basis. As a former serious gymnast myself, I was impressed with the fact that “Peaceful Warrior” faces head on the fears–both real and psychological–that gymnasts struggle with, especially as they move higher up the competition scale. ![]()
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