Tactics- Perceiving the environment
Without observation and awareness of one's surroundings tactics will be of no use. Still- this simple aspect of tactics does not come natural to modern human beings and has to be developed through training. Although one can do many exercises to sharpen any of the five senses the key factor in the success of any of these training methods would be the mind. A pre-occupied mind is not aware.
The mind gets pre-occupied with thought. In a state of security and calm thoughts that arise are often of random issues which do not cause us any distress. In a crisis, however, our fears often take hold of us and affect our capacity to make decisions and act on them.
It's not necessary to tell any martial artist of the importance of sparring, but unfortunately few ever appreciate the value of meditation. Besides cultivating chi, meditation gives us the basic template for a mind capable of solving any problem, of overcoming any adversary and a state of fearlessness and mastery over pain.
With proper training this state of mind (what Bruce Lee referred to as "stillness") can be carried into any crisis we face and enable us to deal with it as effectively as is possible.
Only when one perceives one's surroundings in stillness is he truly perceiving.
The eyes should then be able to see all around without looking, the ears should be able to hear without listening. The nose and skin should be able do perceive the air without searching. Even the tongue will tell you whether food is safe to eat or tampered with.
When our senses are tuned we are able to perceive the problem in our environment and would we be able to rectify them.
During direct confrontations a larger part of the attention is focussed on the opponent. We are aware of the hands, the feet and the face. We take note of the movement of the shoulder and the hip. We can feel the push or pull of the opponent in contact with us.
Instead of dealing with problems the next post shall outline some the ideal situations that place the combatant in the position to seize victory and then deal with ways to get oneself into those situations.
The mind gets pre-occupied with thought. In a state of security and calm thoughts that arise are often of random issues which do not cause us any distress. In a crisis, however, our fears often take hold of us and affect our capacity to make decisions and act on them.
It's not necessary to tell any martial artist of the importance of sparring, but unfortunately few ever appreciate the value of meditation. Besides cultivating chi, meditation gives us the basic template for a mind capable of solving any problem, of overcoming any adversary and a state of fearlessness and mastery over pain.
With proper training this state of mind (what Bruce Lee referred to as "stillness") can be carried into any crisis we face and enable us to deal with it as effectively as is possible.
Only when one perceives one's surroundings in stillness is he truly perceiving.
The eyes should then be able to see all around without looking, the ears should be able to hear without listening. The nose and skin should be able do perceive the air without searching. Even the tongue will tell you whether food is safe to eat or tampered with.
When our senses are tuned we are able to perceive the problem in our environment and would we be able to rectify them.
During direct confrontations a larger part of the attention is focussed on the opponent. We are aware of the hands, the feet and the face. We take note of the movement of the shoulder and the hip. We can feel the push or pull of the opponent in contact with us.
Instead of dealing with problems the next post shall outline some the ideal situations that place the combatant in the position to seize victory and then deal with ways to get oneself into those situations.
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