Martial Arts: The Heart of CombatTo subdue the enemy without fighting is the highest skill.Gichin Funakoshi, father of modern karateThere is a great sense of powerlessness today. Im not suggesting that Totnes will be burned to the ground by lawless marauders; equally Chester is unlikely to be besieged for any length of time by invading Huns or Mongols. This, after all, is the 21st Century where we have become used to a certain level of peace in our lives. Wars seem to take place in distant countries, only sensationalised by the media. The most immediate personal concern comes from burglars or the aggravation of drunken louts heading home after closing time.My first experience of martial arts was in Hong Kong. My parents took me to Dr Mauricios School of Physical and Metaphysical Education. As a seven year old I had no idea what those words even meant. It turned out to be judo lessons and I loved them. Learning how to fall forwards and backwards without hurting myself and d eveloping some competence in hand to hand combat has stood me in good stead ever since. In the summer months when I fell of my bike, I instinctively went into a rolling break fall. What I found fascinating was learning how to use an opponents strength against them. You can appreciate how useful the basic moves I learned at judo classes came in at boarding school, aged 10. It wasnt that I needed to get out of many scrapes; when other boys saw how I got out of those scrapes, I was treated with greater respect.Back in Hong Kong at 21 years old I enrolled in evening Karate classes taught by a former Hong Kong champion. In the first class he asked me to punch him in the face. I wasnt that keen to die so I telegraphed a very slow punch in his direction. He laughed and explained that I had to punch him properly with his experience there was little chance I would come into contact with him. I tried again, this time with force; the next thing I knew was heading towards the nearest w all at speed. Id got it. With the flick of a hand he had merely deflected my punch to one side. Then he asked me to kick him in the stomach. You might have guessed it: instead of blocking my kick with his arm (meeting force with force can break bones!), he merely stepped back and lifted my leg further upwards as it came towards him.At 25 years old I relocated to work in Brunei, on the north coast of Borneo. My new instructor was a wonderful Singaporean Chinese man who had just come fifth in the World Karate Championships at Long Beach, California. A superb teacher he had a gentle approach that dealt swiftly and effectively with any egos. I was taught to imagine that every defensive block and every attacking punch be made as if it were in a real fight. Nothing was practice; everything was real.The training here confirmed to me what had happened all those years back at school: with experience in martial arts, a person walks so much more confidently imparting a subliminal messa ge to would be attackers.Miyamoto MusashiOne of the most proficient masters of fighting was Miyamoto Musashi. Born in 1584 in Southern Japan he grew up to become the most famous Samurai swordsman, learning every known style of sword fighting as well as developing his own.Before he died in 1645 Musashi wrote Go Rin Sho (Book of Five Rings), a paper on the tactics and strategies of fighting. In the late 1970s a US advertising columnist mentioned that the disciplines outlined in this document were responsible for the astounding success of Japanese businessmen worldwide. Although this recommendation caused the book to become an instant business bestseller, few readers really got anything out of it (myself included). Not really surprising as it had been written for Samurai warriors steeped in Buddhist and Shinto principles, in the code of the Samurai with references that were part of the Japanese culture of that time. When I read Boye LaFayettes interpretation Samurai Strategies, it all finally made sense.The principles instilled in me over my years of training are still as valid today as they were then. Although I have elaborated on some of them below, my interpretations do not need to correspond with yours. I have come to think of them as a blueprint for conducting my life.Invincibility is in oneself. Vulnerability is in ones opponent.Martial Arts is a context for bringing attention to that which we call our selves. It shapes us. If we truly believe well win, well win. Any seed of doubt and the result will be different.If you have fear you cannot fight with conviction.Carrying pre-conceived notions into combat is a limited reality that may well cause your defeat.As any man you must walk through the fire of destiny alone.This is how you uncover meaning in your life and achieve your highest potential. There are always people there to support you until a particular time comes when you must make the most critical decision of your life, alone.Preparati on must precede actionMusashi prepared himself for everything, every day. Developing lightning body reflexes and focusing the mind were critical to his success. When he was thirteen years old Musashi fought his first duel, killing an exceptionally skilled and renowned swordsman. Are you prepared for what may confront you today?All battles are battles of the spiritIn studying martial arts we are confronting ourselves, our fears and our need to protect and defend. We see these qualities coming from the outside, from others, when in fact it is ourselves we are looking at. Our practice becomes a mirror, a direct perception of who we are and not the image of who we want to be. Through this uninhibited observation, there is the beginning of the understanding of the self.Fear is your ally your heart beats faster; your responses are quicker and your movements are sure.Physically exhilarating situations release adrenaline into your body. This speeds up your heartbeat, increases your circulation and re-circulates stored glucose which provides a sudden burst of energy and strength. The term "fight or flight" describes the circumstances under which adrenaline is released. This early evolutionary adaptation allows you to cope better with dangerous or unexpected situations by quickening response times.-----Sometimes you need to yield to succeedA samurai fights as if seeking deathThe finest general first enters the mind of his enemyIf you can face the darkness, there are no shadowsIt is the journey that is to be exalted, not the prize at the endLasting victories are won in the heart, not the mindPart Two: The Spirit of Combat continues with a description of some of the ancient cultures, their beliefs and what made them so distinctive.Graeme DinnenRecommended Reading:Samurai Strategies by Boy Lafayette De Mente: Miyamoto Musashis strategies for winning are as valid today as they were in 17th Century Japan. Prisoners of Our Thoughts by Alex Pattakos: If you se ek meaning in your life, you will find something valuable in this book.Karate - The Art of Empty Self by Terrence Webster-Doyle: The art of karate is not a means of self-expression. It is an opportunity for self-understanding, of going beyond ones self.
Better still enroll in a local martial arts class and get a sense of the real thing.
Too many of us are ruled by our heads and lose all reliance on what our body tells us. This wonderful story from Charlie Badenhop explains it so well:Learning how to learn
The more I absorbed the teaching of my Aikdio sensei Koichi Tohei, the more I realized I needed to adopt a different style of learning.Tohei sensei is charismatic and spontaneous when he teaches and sometimes he would get a bit frustrated watching students attempting to write down his every word. Once he playfully said to a student, "Perhaps you should read my book before coming to class again, then you won't need to take so many notes!" And guess what? The student actually wrote down those words!
"The reason for coming to class," Tohei sensei would say, "Is not to take notes. The reason for coming to class is to learn how to trust the intelligence of your body. In Aikido you have the opportunity to learn with your body, while your thinking mind acts as a passive observer. Notice what happens at such times. Do you fall into a pit of internal dialogue and hesitancy, or do you perform with confidence?""If you want to begin a process of transformation, you'll need to push past the barriers of your thinking mind. You'll need to have a sudden, and perhaps unexpected experience, and then allow your learning to gestate over time. An understanding of what you learn with your sudden experience can only come later. Much later. So you better become comfortable with not knowing, and not understanding, while remaining confident you are indeed learning."
"You see," he would sometimes say, "People rely too much on their rational mind, and don't believe they're learning unless they immediately comprehend what they've learned. I think you foreigners use the term He's in his head' to show that a person does not fully comprehend what's happening."
"You, for instance," Tohei sensei said while motioning towards one student, "You've been in Japan for a few months now, and you've learned the words for "good morning", The problem is you don't bow when you speak these words, so the meaning of your greeting is not received by others. I think this is because you were so busy writing down the words you didn't even notice the bowing. You were too busy being in your head. No matter what the topic, if you don't learn with your body as well as with your thinking mind, your learning will have little value."
"Many of you ask me over and over again to further explain what I've just said. I on the other hand believe that additional explanations tend to lead toward additional confusion. You want to learn first with your head, and practice only after you've understood. This is exactly backwards to the learning process I'm suggesting. You need to trust that your body is indeed intelligent, and that you are indeed learning, even though your rational mind has yet to make sense out of what you're doing. All of the talking and note taking you want to do winds up confusing you and makes your learning process more difficult than it needs to be.
"Learn with your body and then practice over and over again. Through practice you'll refine and come to understand what you've learned. Your Aikido practice is like what happens when writing a book. The author writes a first draft of a chapter, and then edits it nine times or more. That is one cycle of writing. In the dojo, you learn something new and then practice it ninety-nine times. This is one cycle of learning.""There's a time for putting down your notes, and for most of you I'd say that time is right now. If you truly want to improve your ability to learn, you'll need to think less, and do more."
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