Learning subtlety in all things


Those of you who have been following this blog for a while would know that I value relevance over effectiveness.

I have a very simple reason for doing so. I simply do not deem a martial art effective if its teachings are not relevant to everyday life. This is because fighting in itself is subject to the same laws that govern the universe as is everything else under Heaven. 


Understand this and debates over which system should be studied or which technique should be preferred becomes of very little concern to you.



I have once again found a lot of photos with which to decorate my post so that it looks a bit more appealing than just a mass of text that I want to drop onto you during the weekend- so I'll just ask you to enjoy the photos as you scroll down to what I have to say...



Scroll on...


Okay! We are here!

The idea to write a post on subtlety has come to me during this week. I have realised how I had yet to apply one very valuable lesson from the martial arts to my daily life.

When we fight we do not want to telegraph our intent to our opponents before it gets carried out. For a student of internal arts like myself it means that one needs to develop impeccable control over one's energy. The result is an absence in the change of one's facial expression when he's about to hit, absence of telegraphing as a shoulder that pulls back or a visible shifting of weight.

It means movement that is light, decisive and unencumbered by thought or emotion.

As Bruce Lee would say: "I do not hit- it hits for me." :)

Still- throughout my life I have been an open book all along. Part of this was that an earlier version of me was not always brave enough to speak his mind and did not feel free enough to act as his heart dictated.

When I have finally developed the courage to act on my emotions and to say what is on my mind I wasted no time enjoying this freedom and taking every step possible to protect it. Still- I found that in life itself I have always found that someone still had the better of me. Details are not important here, but suffice it to say that this is the expected result of wearing one's heart on one's sleeve. This is true in work, family life and in matters of the heart (of which Crouching Tiger's Bei Lao Ye once astutely observed even the greatest heroes to be a consummate idiot...). 

Keeping one's thoughts to oneself or not showing your anger at something that annoys you- regardless of how brave you feel- is not weakness at all. It is smart.

Sure- there are times when immediate action is required, but many a soldier will tell you the disadvantage of giving away your position before you have begun to engage the enemy.

An enemy that sees your attack coming will not stay in place for it to find its mark. To add insult to injury- an attack's failure has a demoralising effect on the attacker as well. 

Just as we can maintain control of a fight as long as your opponent does not know what you will do next so our lives have a way of spinning out of our control when those within the circle that pressure us (I won't really say "enemies", but definitely people who can willingly or unwillingly do us harm) can easily perceive our intentions.


So- if you find that you are still an open book. Take some advice from Lady Gaga and work on that poker face. It will change your life for the better. :) 










Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Blindfold training

Image
Now here's something I have not yet written about. :D I have been interested in the Zen side of Japanese martial arts since the age of 16. It was about at this age when I began with Qigong as well. As a young karateka back then I did not have the confidence, strength or aggression of my classmates and looking back- I think it was a good thing. Because of that classes scared me. Now- had it not been to exposure to the mental training techniques provided to me by Zen- I would not have seen this hostile dojo environment as the ideal testing grounds for the things I have read. This is one major factor to which I attribute my development as a martial artist. One very important training tool that has always served me well and that continues to do so to this dat is Zen Meditation. This, in itself, has provided me with a number of benefits about which I can write in detail. One of those- was the development of intuition and sensory acuity. It is actually wonderfu...
Read more

Tai Chi Movement #3- Wave Hands like Clouds

Image
I have just started searching for examples of this movement on the internet and realised that among all the people doing Tai Chi out there I might just be the only one who would apply Cloud Hands the way I do. I have found different variations of the movement itself as well. This makes my writing about my version and its application a bit unfair as you will be missing out on some really elaborate applications. Now- how I always did this movement is starting from a posture like the Lute Playing posture like the picture below- or the Spread Wings posture like this: From either one of these ready postures I then rotate my front foot and let my body follow while my leading hand makes contact with an imaginary thrust and I then complete the rotation by passing the attack while I guide its force past me with minimal effort and my free hand follows the blocking hand to wind up for an outward strike. When the rotation and step is complete I shift weight ...
Read more

Learning a Martial Art- some basic guidelines

Image
I think we have by now come across a couple of people who are studying some martial art or the other on their own. Back when I tried doing it at the age of 10 I used a book and later more books followed. Well- even after I did join an actual dojo more books followed even then... People are quick to say that you can't learn a martial art from a book. That is understandable. I for one know that you can't work as a lawyer if you have only gotten your law degree. In fact- few people feel as incompetent as a bright graduate starting out as a candidate at a law firm. The main reason why martial arts can't be learnt by reading alone is that experience plays a large part in developing the skills that any martial art has to offer. Knowledge is not enough. Nonetheless- self study is possible. We may argue about to which extent, but the history of Chinese and Japanese martial arts feature instances where people studied a scroll or a f...
Read more