MARTIAL ARTS....Why Art? What Art?

PART ONE

Let me begin, by way of an introduction, by stating that what I`m not trying to do here is dictate what a martial art is or what it should be; what it is not or shouldn’t be.

Firstly, as with most things, even the term itself – Martial Arts- is just a name for the sake of convenience. Not only that, we then have a myriad of martial art styles…Karate-Do, Ju-Do, Aiki-Do, Kung Fu, T`ai Chi, Ju-Jutsu and so on. Each of these styles then branches off into sometimes dozens, if not hundreds of separate schools of thought or families. I might add at this point, that some of these styles have done this much, much more than some of the others. The results are still the same however – fragmentation and division. And more importantly, a loss of the real art.

Furthermore, we now have the relatively modern development of martial art competition, in which, the competitive elements have branched away from the more “so called” Traditional Martial Arts, to create a new, fast and exciting combative sport. And a sport it very much is, and there is nothing at all wrong with sport.

However, what I want to look at here, is this concept of the “way” of the Martial Arts. This so called spiritual path upon which we are said to find and tread within some of the more “so called” traditional arts.

It would be rather tempting at this point, to launch into a scathing critique of all the faults within the martial arts today and upon its teachers, our teachers and their teachers.

However, this is certainly not my agenda or purpose, and besides, it’s not really our teacher’s fault directly.

After all, it was they who passed on this knowledge to us, sometimes through great adversity; sometimes after being driven underground for hundreds of years, through great sacrifice and struggle always, to keep their arts alive. And they have passed it on to us for better or for worse.

But now it is up to us how and when we use this knowledge, if and when we are the receivers of it.

However, if we were to actually lose the true purpose of the Martial Arts, to the sole development of a collection of forms, or fighting ability and the domination of another person, even for sport, then we have not only rejected all that these people lived for and tried to pass on to us, we will have lost the art itself, irretrievably.

Without the art, we will have lost one of the most priceless of tools imaginable…An honest mirror, if you will, for an honest, personal self view. The effects of which, can be truly liberating.

Such practices can develop deep self knowledge and self awareness across physical, mental, social and emotional states of being. These disciplines and practices and ways of thinking have come to be called `spiritual practices`. So in the same context, can then be called `spiritual training`.

On the other hand, however, almost anything that is done with awareness and intention can be called a spiritual exercise.

Many people who run or walk have integrated this into their own spirituality. Listening to, and particularly playing music, painting, pottery and dance are also frequently mentioned.

Generally speaking, these all have in common, repetitive, physical movements that don’t require too much intellectual effort and are free of competition and stress.

The idea is to bring the whole self into a unified but open state. For most of us, this means stilling the mind and focusing the body. These activities are rarely ends within themselves. They are designed to make the person more receptive to what is outside the self or the ego.

In all true art forms, or disciplines we can call spiritual practices, we can, will or do experience a liberating but ultimately un-specific and un-defined form of self-expression.

It’s like, o.k., now that you’re opened up, what are you going to do

with it?

It is noteworthy that in China six hundred years ago, people made no distinction between the physical and spiritual well-being of an individual. They understood that spiritual turmoil causes poor health just as surely as do inappropriate eating and drinking.

The oldest known Chinese book on food, written by a physician at the Mongolian court, prescribes moderation in eating and drinking as well as in living…

He who would take good care of his health should be sparring in his tastes, banish his worries, temper his desires, restrain his emotions, take good care of his vital force, spare his words, regard lightly success and failure, ignore sorrows and difficulties, drive away foolish ambitions, avoid great likes and dislikes, calm his vision and his hearing, and be faithful in his internal regimen.

How can one have sickness if he does not tire his spirits and worry his soul?

Therefore he who would nourish his nature should eat only when he is hungry and not fill himself with food, and he should drink only when he is thirsty and not fill himself with to much drink…Being well-filled hurts the lungs and being hungry hurts the flow of vital energy.

For us to restore a proper perspective to our lives, we must be attentive to our health, and we must endeavour to follow a common-sense life philosophy – not some arty-farty pie-in-the-sky un-specific so-called spiritual practice.

Quite simply, practicing Martial Arts helps to counteract the distractions and obsessions of modern life by reminding us of our priorities in living. As Master Gichin Funakoshi, the founder of Shotokan Karate-Do stated, “The ultimate aim of the art of Karate lies not in victory or defeat, but in the perfection of its participants.”

Martial Arts can specifically target the “deeper” aspects of our

physiological, psychological and spiritual make-up; where we’ve come from and to where we are headed. Thus, we begin to get a clearer picture of our own nature, both as individuals, and as a species.

For example:

The physiological and psychological mechanisms responsible for the “fight or flight” response, is one of the fundamental instincts that has ensured the survival of all creatures that are alive today – and that includes ourselves.

The examination of this “fight or flight” response – through the martial arts…(i.e. by placing ourselves in theoretically threatening situations, studying our own responses, our own anatomy; the study of the same anatomy in motion; of two anatomies in motion together; combat and self-defense techniques, self-control and awareness)…is a very efficient and effective tool or vehicle to understand it, and for bringing this response factor into being a conscious, controllable and refinable aspect of our psyche ourselves. This directly affects our physical reflexes, and generally helps to bring in an element of self control into our survival mechanisms, and our evolution as a species.

Many people in our complicated, competitive society find it difficult to cope with adversity and the stresses that modern life brings. Hospitals are filled with people suffering from stress related ailments, and nervous breakdowns are common-place. So why do some people seem to handle life’s difficulties better than others?

The ability to cope with adversity is certainly no gift, nor is it programmed into our D.N.A., it is learned behaviour, and it is best learned when we are young, although it is never too late to start.

Training in traditional martial arts ensures that we make miniature mistakes, and are exposed to miniature disappointments.

These experiences enable us to deal better with life’s larger problems. The Japanese have always viewed Karate-Do as a means of survival on the battlefield: every punch or kick of an opponent is considered a potential death blow.

This wisdom was gained over centuries of war-ravaged history by warriors faced with the physical and mental extremities of front line combat. Karate-Do is more than just the mastering of certain physical techniques; the training is mental as well, and should teach what these warriors knew: discipline, confidence and control.

Western versions of Karate are often practiced more as sports – and spectator sports at that. Soft to full contact is allowed, and participants tend to use flashier, less stable techniques. The use of pads in full contact karate removes the art even further from the realities of a combat situation.

In contrast, Japanese karate-Do allows no contact and no grabbing. Rather, students are taught to focus punches and kicks just short of their targets. This type of practise teaches students to judge distances between themselves and their opponents better than if they spent time simply pounding into bags or opponents.

Moreover, our conditioning training is of immense spiritual benefit. Whereas one who practices hitting something or someone every day may be conditioning themselves to hit as a response to conflicts in daily life; Karate-Do training however, teaches students sensitivity and control.

Attempting to understand the deeper parts of ourselves and of our place in nature, including this “fight or flight” response, is very likely the reason why art itself came into existence in the first place.

This process is common to all true art forms; however, martial art can meet this head on, so to speak. This self-examination and refinement is a vital step in our evolution. Consequently, it is a tool that can specifically re-enforce and guide our evolution, as men and women, as sentient beings, and as a world community.

Given these descriptions, we could confidently conclude that the art of the martial arts, is a rational art. An art-form that adheres to certain parts of our highest nature – the abilities to think and reason things out, to experience. As such, this means that we are discussing an art-form for the whole of human-kind. An art form that cannot be owned, or claimed to be the property of any particular people or culture. Although, admittedly some forms of martial art have travelled through certain regions of the world– and back again-

for a very long time indeed.

Their methodologies or their “brush-strokes may differ somewhat, even when compared to a relative or neighbouring school, however, if these are true art forms and not just a collection of old and pretty things, then their practitioners should be recognizing the obvious facts that their results should be on a parallel with all of the others.

Unfortunately, this is not always the case. As a general rule, the art of the martial arts has long gone un-claimed and fallen into dis-use; and the martial arts community has broken down into family/style isolationism, while at the same time, these very families and schools have either fragmented through internal splits, broken down entirely, or perhaps most distressingly, have veered way too far from the original path.

This is where we can see the ugly side of the so-called traditional martial arts. It is not the art itself that is ugly, it is the excess baggage that people bring with them that starts the rot setting in:-

Aggression, anger, racism, money-grabbing, personal agendas, prejudice, hero worship, idolatry, family position and cultural snobbery, bullying and ego-centric, un-ruly, un-checked, un-qualified, un-supervised mobs of people claiming to be the holders of some mystery or another, you name it…

-Ancient combat secrets-

-Ultimate combat style-

-Secret spiritual Chinese/Japanese/Indonesian Double secret Death Ninja Deadly Ancient Mysterious from a Temple Doubly spiritual Better than yours Martial Art.

Well, all of this may very well be true; however, are they really martial arts?

Before you decide, let me tell you what you will need to make a martial art your own property and personal practice and art form.

First and foremost, is your humanity. Then you have to be willing to lay aside your ego, your sense of self, or your current opinion of yourself, to expose the real you, your soul, if you like, to the experiencing of combat in it’s purest form, and more profoundly, life itself in the here and now, as it happens. To see life as it truly is,

without flinching or trying to hide away, and most definitely without our sometimes ignorant fixed points of view. At this point, the individual can come to their own conclusions, drawing from this clear vision of ourselves and nature, and from the truths to be found there.

It is the artistic activity itself, not the art form – that permeates into the deeper places where all art forms meet, mingle and become one. The place where you experience things – inside;

The place, really deep down, where your soul and the rest of creation meet and join; the overall outcome being existence, reality, you.

This may well sound just a wee bit esoteric, or maybe a little bit “way out” to those among us who would consider the “art” of the martial arts as simply a way of pumping up the body and the ego, and learning how to dominate and defeat an opponent. For a start, real martial art does not “pump up” the body or the ego. The fighting part, obviously, does enter into the martial arts. However, the primary aim of the artist is not simply effectiveness and efficiency in combat, although certainly this can be a useful vehicle or tool to achieving our highest goals; in much the same way that a boat can carry you across a river. You certainly don’t try to pick up and carry that that boat with you for the rest of your journey. Most certainly, you leave the boat on the banks of the river, to be used the next time you might need to cross the river, or indeed, for when you just want to get some rowing practice in; ultimately making your future journeys smoother sailing.

So there are higher aims for the arts. I’m sure that you’ve heard of things like “the need to find yourself”, “acquire personal liberation”, “self knowledge” and the big favourites “express yourself” and “personal development”. But really, what does any of this actually mean? Especially, once again, what does any of this have to do with the martial arts?

Unless you speak psychology-degree-student language, which is just as abstract as any of the weird and confusing ideas bought to us by the New Age movement for example, these terms, the “find yourself” terms – are essentially complete and utter nonsense.

Problems like these are inherent with so many cultures, creeds, colours, races, and nationalities, all who may or may not share a common language. And when we do share a common language, verbally expressing our ideas our ideas or feelings can not only seem futile, but the words are most certainly lost in one way or another; through miss-translation or miss-interpretation, or even through complete lack of interest – for one reason or another.

However, when these ideas or messages are sent on the correct frequency of communication, anyone can tune in and understand the messages they receive. That vehicle or tool that sends and receives on this frequency for us – is art. Although art can be an excellent teaching tool; Art’s most fundamental reason for being is to show us something. Show us a definite image of ourselves, and of our place with the grand scheme of things.

Now that we have come to understand that art helps us to bring out our ideas, dreams and concepts to such a level that another person or indeed ourselves can immediately grasp it’s meaning; it must be therefore the role of the artist not to give us more words and concepts, but to provide an immediate and definite experience for the viewer. It is in this way that art can be a wonderful means of interpretation.

This experiencing relates directly to us, for instance, the honest feelings of the artist in regards to a certain aspect of life or creation and existence.

Once you see what is possible, that your canvas is limit-less, so to speak, when you realize the potential of art for communicating efficiently and for self-expression; you will see what a

perfect educator and a means to liberation art can truly be.............

MARTIAL ARTS.....Why Art? What Art? PART TWO

Many cultures from around the world have mythology and fables that very often are very similar to one another, if not identical-

give or take a name or location or two.

For example:

Hindu mythology tells us of the fable of a huge net full of jewels, and the Japanese by comparison, in their mythology, tell us their fable of a spider’s web covered with dew-drops, shimmering in the first light of the morning’s coming sun, very similar indeed to how the gem stones in the Hindu version of this fable were said to sparkle and shine.

These stories are perfect examples of art as a metaphor.

Our world, our universe, is seen – or a least portrayed as a great spreading net or spider’s web, with, at every cross joint – a jewel of one kind or another, be that jewel a morning-dew drop or a mineral or gemstone. And most importantly, each jewel not only reflecting every other jewel, but itself reflected within all others.

This image, this metaphor, is a powerful one. It reveals how the ocean’s flavour can be found within a single drop of rain, or how the whole history and mystery of life can be contained within a single coil of D.N.A.

I suppose at this point we could come up with a huge list of analogies and comparisons to this metaphor. Also, there are many different mythologies and old texts that reflect these themes.

One piece I will throw in finally to illustrate this point, comes to us through Celtic mythology. It is a piece of prose that can be traced back in written form to 600 B.C. Ireland, which I feel perfectly encapsulates the flavour of this reflective metaphor.

The Song Of Amergin

I am the wind that blows across the sea,

I am a wave of the sea,

I am a sound of the sea.

I am a stag of seven tines,

I am a hawk upon a cliff.

I am a ray of the sun,

I am the fairest among flowers.

I am the wild boar.

I am a salmon in the river,

I am a lake upon a plain.

I am a hill of poetry,

I am a spear-point in battle…

I am a god, who kindles fire in the head.

Who but I can unfold the secrets of the un-hewn dolmen?

Who but I make known the ages of the moon?

Who but I can show the secret resting place of the sun?

This piece is clear evidence that separate and diverse cultures came up with different ways of expressing the very same observations of the same truths, and that can be a subject unto itself, furthermore, there are many fine books on those very subjects if you would care to do some further reading on comparing themes in diverse world cultures and mythologies. It may be interesting to note here, that of the cultures we have briefly looked at here, all have strong links in their history with what we have come to call Shamanistic practices. And, of course, the ability to “be in” everything in creation is a key component of shamanism.

But let us away from the practices of the shaman, and catch up with our main subject; we will go into the meaning and importance of these metaphors in a little while.

What I would like to take a look at here is the actual vehicle or tool, of carrying these ideas and concepts to us: the art of translating these ideas into “pictures” that we can readily understand.

Art should be a “thing” that hits you where it matters the most. It is not intended to go straight to the logical part of your brain, to be dissected, interpreted, appreciated or rubbished. If this is the case, then the viewer has completely missed the point and the artist’s expression or attempt at communication with you…is lost.

Art should speak directly to you, inside; the same you that laughs and loves, cries and gets angry. Art can be an expression of these very feelings and emotions, and like them, they are definite experiences. It is later when the brain comes along and sorts out all of this information and comes to its conclusions.

Art is an excellent tool for communicating moral standards to us, in a way that can be easily understood. Through art, one can almost taste the essence of human life and the world in which we live, and indeed, of the total and the absolute.

The artist doesn’t just promote the body or the soul or the senses, but every conceivable aspect of our existence.

What I really like about the spider’s web and jewels in a net fables, is that they state quite clearly in understandable terms – as something we can imagine quite easily – some of the most personal and psychic experiences of human-kind throughout the ages.

Here, we learn moral truths that are profoundly applicable to every single one of us – as human beings, to the earth and all of her creatures, and to the universe that sustains us all. It is in this way that we can liberate ourselves from seeing only one small side or aspect of life. The desire for power and glory, money or great knowledge, or indeed to become the greatest, biggest and baddest fighter, are all examples of this partial or blinkered point of view.

To become “enlightened” within and through the martial arts, firstly you need to shed everything about you and your life which obscures this true knowledge from you. At this point, the room for personal growth is boundless, as we begin to cultivate the whole rather than particular little bits. In this way, we are cultivating all of the little bits and pieces anyway, as the whole and the absolute, the total, flows into and merges and unites all of those seemingly separate aspects.

What we can see here then is that all things are related and dependent upon each other, and the metaphors we have been discussing are just symbols that portray this inter-dependency. This is where art’s simple beauty really lies. It can take you from where you are and take you to another place, to many places, and then back to from where you started. But now look at all the experiences we might have had and all the things we will have seen, and all the places we will have been. Not only that, you will now have an insight into the “way” of it all.

Again, through art, any single human expression can truly transcend space and time. Pieces of art, produced dozens, hundreds or even thousands of years ago, can still to this day, have some very profound effects upon us. Indeed, much of our understanding of the earth’s ancient cultures comes to us through the study of the many artistic expressions that they left behind; from buildings and graves, literature to cave-wall paintings and from the sculpting of the land.

Through these things, we have come to understand both an individual’s and a whole cultures religious and philosophical concepts, personal feelings, hopes and fears of those who will have existed up to tens of thousands of years ago.

So, now knowing that art can be a vehicle for us to achieve these things, it is therefore up to us – right now, through our own

work and efforts – to give our world new meaning and new form.

And it is not only martial arts that can be employed like this remember; any art form can be used to express ourselves in this way: a way that will bring new meaning and understanding of the importance of the world. This is where the significance of our earlier metaphors lie.

Here, for instance, is the “jewel” of our self, and here, is the “jewel" of the martial arts. At first, passage between the two may be un-seen, however, over time, as one’s art is developed; these two jewels begin to react with each other and begin to get polished. When a higher point of refinement is reached, we begin to see a reflection of martial art within the “jewel” as it were, of ourselves.

Also, within ourselves is a reflection of the world in which we live. Reflected within the world’s “jewel”, is the solar system which contains it, and the “jewel” of our sun is reflected within all.

Ever onward does this process lead us, through the linear measurements of time and space and the universe which houses, nourishes and sustains it all, and everything else in-between.

Therefore, the artistic process demands that you see deeper and deeper into your chosen subject, and in the case of martial arts especially, that subject matter, is ourselves.

We will always find that the deeper we look into any particular subject; all the more potential arises for learning about many things. More importantly, the more we look, the more we will come to see that “we” are another magnificent part of this beautifully intricate, ever-shifting, ever-evolving universal web of life; where absolutely everything is connected and inter-dependent.

For an obvious example of this, we only have to look up into a clear night’s sky – at the moon, in orbit around our planet.

The moon’s presence in our sky exerts a very real influence and long-time recognized physical force over our planet, its oceans, all of the earth’s creatures, and along with them obviously, ourselves and our own inner tides and rhythms.

Anthropologically speaking, human kind’s earliest expressions of religion were based upon the moon’s influence over us, both subliminally and physically, in recognition of the moon’s influence on the menstrual cycle…

A heavenly body exerting its influence over all of the earth, and most immediately, a life-giving influence over human-kind – is very likely the origins of the notion of a “life giving presence in the heavens.” Our own simple expressions of physical fact and subliminal experience and learning.

The night, the moon especially, has been more influential in shaping human culture, than even the sun. Think about it for yourself. In normal conditions, we are creatures of day-time habits.

We get our work done, and we busy ourselves by the blessed light of the life giving sun. But when our work is done, and the daylight hours are gone – things begin to change.

We will want to wind down and relax, get cosy and close ourselves away. Or maybe we will want to be entertained or party, especially in the natural conditions of the moon giving us enough light to be outside during the night.

Either way, there is a “letting go” of ourselves. We give in to the pleasures of life almost. Night-time, moon-light, star-light hours in front of a roaring fire, dreaming, drifting. Eroticism, heat passion, dancing, before inevitably, we all give in to sleep, with its dreaming. And when day-break brings the sun, all of these are daily banished.

Art then, is the great communicator of truth, a teacher. It is never and never has been “just a pretty thingy!”

Now then, even though specifically we are discussing the martial arts; the vast majority of “martial artists” do not and generally would not and never consider themselves to be artists at all. And in most cases, I couldn’t agree more.

What they are doing is practicing a sport or learning how to fight apparently, and both of these look a little bit like martial arts to the casual observer. Here however, there will be an actual emphasis on the sole development of a particular element. For example; fitness, sport, weight-loss, self defense, mindless violence, you get the picture.

Then again, we still have to be aware that the word art itself is contained both within the words “martial” and “art” of course.

What these people are practicing, is mostly all contained within the martial arts, just like a single wave is a part of the ocean. It is merely a matter a perspective, or point of view. However, once we are aware of the higher aims, to ignore the cultivation of this within ourselves, in favour of cultivating only our fighting ability or ego-embellishment, then we can liken this to a master painter spending his entire career trying to decide which brush and which colour to use first. It just doesn’t happen like that. Art then, is a vehicle through which we are able to fully express or communicate to another soul – the essence or totality of our own very existence.

So the more we look and the more we polish these “jewels” of ourselves and our arts, all the more then we will potentially be able to see – sparkling away there, on this great, big spider web.

How can it be then, that there are so many amongst us who would have us call them “Master”?

This title is indicative that one has learned absolutely everything that it is possible to know; about absolutely everything, apparently.

How on earth can this be?

The web of life goes on into infinity – as we can so poorly conceive of that – and beyond, is ever growing, shifting and changing. Just like our own lives, an on-going process of evolution; from day to day, moment to moment. How can one be the master of all that, of all that is to come? How can one be master, when we are all still learning until the day we die? This is the day when maturity comes to us all. Until that day, we are al not us in the process of maturing.

O.K., so you might be slowing down in one way or another as you are getting older, but you’re still learning, aren’t you? I sincerely hope so!

Knowing this, martial arts can help us discover how to expand ourselves, and how to make the most of ourselves. Yes indeed, we can begin to master our own lives, the lives we have lived so far, and prepare for what is to come. There is no other kind of mastery.

Art therefore, and once again martial arts especially is an art of life.

The way to approach a martial art in relation

To this self expansion, is to firstly get rid of the narrow-sighted “opinion”, that martial art is all about beating someone up on a very basic and brutal level, and to recognize that it can potentially be so very much more for you.

Martial art is really all about defeating your own limits. Defeating an opponent or merely sparring or actually fighting for practice with a partner or opponent must be seen as simply an exercise. An exercise that can provide you with self-knowledge, in the same way that you might “work out” for the sake of getting some exercise for the benefits it can bring; this form of exercise then can also help to develop you into a better person – for your own sake primarily.

The martial artist should see the fighting as a means to achieving higher aims and goals. A vehicle or a tool for achieving an honest understanding of yourself, and the expressing of it.

However, martial arts training may very well provide the tools or the “brushes” required for this art of self-mastery, but it is the responsibility of the artist to learn how to use them properly for their own means.

Remember, with this self-knowledge comes the indisputable fact that all knowledge – is in some way or another, knowledge of the self. And all of a sudden, with our examinations of words and concepts, we’re back on the spider’s web again. From where, we can see that we are all a part of everything else. And like we have just seen, if we look deeply enough into anything at all, we will eventually come to see within it a reflection of this world, this world, this life, ourselves, to discover once again, that we are a part of this great, ongoing, evolutionary process of creation.

In relation to this, what I’m about to say here, may very well make a martial artists ears pick up a little, even so, I’m addressing anyone who wants to listen; it is merely that I will use terms that may be used in relation to training in the martial arts – and I do mean for this to be understood and taken in the same way…

It is your responsibility to learn to apply the appropriate applications, based upon your own perceptions.

The way to achieve all that we have discussed through a martial art is, through simple training. Lots of it. Long and hard.

Certainly, all of the benefits and rewards to be found within the martial arts can come only through hard work. Unfortunately, lots of people begin training in a martial art only to discover that it is much more difficult than they could ever have had expected, and then of course they give up, with the usual comments such as “oh, it was no good” and such like. This is a terrible shame and most unfortunate, as the sweat and struggle of a good, honest training regimen is just the very thing that so many of the discontented people in today’s world may very well need.

In our modern world, with transport being faster and relatively cheaper than ever, and with most communications being virtually instant, people are finding themselves with more leisure time than ever before. Recreation and leisure industries are amongst the fastest growing industries on the planet today.

Our choices are greater than ever before, partly thanks to the information industries and the internet and media. Some still thankfully seek relaxation by practicing meditation and learning yoga, listening to music or reading, or even going down to the gym or participating in sports. Others unfortunately choose somewhat more destructive things to fill their time; turning to drinking alcohol or taking drugs, or becoming social recluses in their own homes by way of computer games or internet surfing, which from all accounts is mostly just a way of sharing pornography.

It is somewhat ironic that some of the wealthiest people in our society do very little work and have very little suffering in their lives, and yet they still find it rather difficult to enjoy their leisure time, and more so to actually relax properly. We regularly hear about the ridiculously wealthy injuring or killing themselves with alcohol and drug use, seeking even greater “pleasures” or perhaps that their lives are way too easy and virtually empty, and this can cause complete discontent and lead to greater anxieties. I wonder if, despite all of the wealth, they could enjoy a glass of cold water or beer after a long hot day labouring on a building site or slaving away in a hot factory and kicking back with a nice hot cup of tea after a long shift?

There can be no real pleasures in life without a certain degree of suffering. Hot sunny days every day cease to become a pleasure unless you are a lizard, but after that even a rain storm can be a pleasure, and after some cold, grey and dull days then we can look forward to and appreciate some more hot, sunny days again.

Such is the same with ourselves, with our bodies and minds and our spirits. To find the real pleasures in life and to be really relaxed, we need to experience some degree of discomfort. When the martial arts student understands this, their training becomes much easier. So martial arts training shouldn’t be torturous, but a joyous healthy pleasure.

Furthermore, evidence shows that the benefits of martial arts training, goes way beyond other physically demanding forms of exercise, be that running or athletics, swimming or aerobics classes.

To fully understand this, it would be useful to consider the lives of our ancestors before life became as comfortable as we have it these days. Before the days when clothing became a normal thing, and when fighting and struggle against fellow men and beasts alike – was a perfectly normal and natural part of life. And naturally, we will have suffered more knocks and cuts and bruises, wounds and broken bones so very much more then we do now.

Nevertheless, evidence suggests that our early ancestors recovered from their injuries and illnesses much more quickly than we do these days; they had a much better resistance to disease and superior powers of recuperation.

We should also consider some of the stories of how people respond to the hardships of war. During World War II between 1939 and 1945, most of the world seemed like a war zone, bombs were falling, bullets were flying, food was very scarce indeed and people feared greatly for their lives. But despite these hardships, or maybe as a result of them, not many were affected by colds or influenza.

Compare this with those of us lucky enough to live in relatively peaceful countries with all of our modern comforts, where most of us catch one or two colds or more every year. When people are faced with real concerns and dangers, they seem to become a lot less susceptible to disease and infection and with increased powers of recovery.

Modern science medicine and technology have done some wondrous and seemingly miraculous things to cure and protect us from disease and to keep us comfortable at home, work and at play;

But compared with those who are in life or death situations, the things that we are concerned with seem to be most trivial, and we are all the weaker as creatures because of this.

In order to develop more robust constitutions within ourselves, we need the stimulation that comes from experiencing

the immediacy of life with its stresses and dangers, and also in receiving minor injuries, to “toughen us up” a bit.

Martial arts training can provide this kind of training on a regular basis in a controlled and trusting, friendly way. Even the most aware, talented or careful individuals cannot avoid the knocks and bruises of training. There is always a danger, and students of martial arts need a certain seriousness and intensity that other sports or exercises just do not require.

Through demanding no less than one-hundred percent of yourself, in your own efforts, you can begin to get a more real perspective of life, and thus find a better view of yourself; your strengths and weaknesses; and then more work, more self-refinement, until you feel able to express or communicate this through your art, when you become the artist. And this is when the real work begins.......

MARTIAL ARTS.....Why Art? What Art? PART THREE

As we discussed earlier, the only requirements needed to begin learning a martial art is your status as a human being, and also the acknowledgement of the obvious fact that you are no worse and no better than anyone else. And once we have started to shed some of those ego problems and pre-conceived ideas and ideals – then we can start to ask ourselves and each other – (if you are lucky enough to share your training with other people) – “How can I, how can we – fully and honestly express ourselves?”

“How can I be myself, to my fullest potential? How can we be ourselves to our fullest potential?”

This is exactly what all of those mystical types in the Asia have been doing for all of these years in their temples and schools…

Searching within themselves, stripping away the un-essentials of life; and helping each other achieve this in many different ways.

This is of course, not exclusive to Asia, indeed, the image of a holy person is very nearly always the same wherever you go in the world, or whatever culture from history that we could choose to look at. Why I specify Asia in particular, is because many of our modern martial arts have, as a general rule, come to us from pre-history down to the present, from these Oriental and Asian peoples.

Unfortunately, the martial arts have fractured and divided so much, that most of the art has vanished from the world – from a certain point of view. This basically means that the “jewel” of the martial arts is not being polished enough as a whole – on all sides- and other reflections are therefore being obscured and lost.

Instead, what used to be martial arts has become focused again upon individual segments. Still, if they look long enough and somehow keep on polishing that “jewel”, and we all continue to ask ourselves more questions; all the more clearly we’ll begin to understand.

However, there are seemingly many obstacles on the path to these discoveries. In fact, there is only one real obstacle. And that is yourself. It’s you; it’s your ego and precious self-image.

The image that you have of yourself, is, by and large merely illusionary, based, as it is upon sweeping and ignorant generalisations and delusion, or to put it in a nicer way – pure assumption.

Many of us are guilty of living this life only for our sense of self, or self-image – if we like it or not – indeed, if we even know it or not.

So many people are wasting so much of their own time and energy in the projecting of themselves to the world – that they are a special or indeed a terrible this or that, one thing or another – that at the end of the day, quite literally, there is no room at all left for the self.

We could all of us do with spending more time on centering ourselves and learn to expand from that point, and truly broaden our horizons – from within. It is in this way that we can discover and broaden our true potential; and then learn how to express and pass on this “purified” energy and knowledge of ours, as a means of communicating efficiently, which, in itself, is the very essence of art.

Although, before we are able to achieve this level of communion with other people, we need first to “find ourselves” – so to speak. In other words, we need to be able to communicate with ourselves, which can be done in very much the same way, using the same process. Obviously, we need to be able to communicate efficiently with ourselves primarily if we are truly to be artists; otherwise, if one can’t understand and communicate with the self, how is one supposed to express the self to another?

As we touched upon earlier, this artistic process can create masters, but only masters of the self and their own life’s sum. And then, the artist can share with whoever is interested, the total sum of who and what they are:- where they’ve been, what they have seen, the actual experiences involved, and everything they may hope for, or wish to become; not only that, but who, what and where they are now, and what they are becoming.

We can learn this, all of this, by looking through the “jewel” of the martial arts ourselves. As strange as it may sound at first, we can learn the best way to relate to life – through the training of our minds and the utilization of our own bodies.

Living in the moment, evolving from moment to moment with the freedom to observe oneself there – as you face your fears, learn new joys, your dreams and ambitions, and having the freedom to find your own true capabilities. And then learning how to express and communicate all of this in absolutely the very best way in which you are able.

Maybe we could make a start, by asking ourselves some simple, but maybe difficult and searching questions, in an attempt to blow away some of those cob-webs. For example;

“What is this feeling, really?”

“Do I really and truly feel this – or am I being emotionally swayed?”

“Do I really mean this?”

“Am I honestly expressing myself?”

This is really what being a martial artist is all about.

We use this daily – the life we have lived – and be ready for whatever life has to come. Masters of all art forms must abide by this process.

It has been said that “life is art”, well, through art, through this process we have been discussing, we can discover the art of life, or of living itself.

So art is a process through which we can find liberation for ourselves. It can be an enlightened work, never, not ever just a pretty decoration or defacement. Maybe then you can understand my disappointment when so-called martial artists argue and bicker (often violently) over their particular style or name brand of martial art.

O.K., so maybe the name brands help some of us to intellectually recognize the different forms, however, all art is art, and one may as well argue over which is the best ever brush stroke in the best ever painting in the entire history of human art, or which is the most sublime note contained within the greatest ever piece of music, ever, anywhere.

Again, this is like standing under the ceiling of the Sistine chapel and trying to decide which brush stroke is the best. Or like trying to decide which colour and with which brush you will use for your first ever brush stroke on your first ever painting. It is like having a mouldy old leaf, pressed inside a mouldy old book and convincing yourself that you live inside a vast and deep eternal forest.

First and foremost, when we look into the “jewel” of martial art, we see a reflection of ourselves, and, upon refinement, these images become purer and clearer, until we see that the whole universe that we see reflected, is a reflection that is reflected within every single last one of us; the earth and it’s other creatures are a part of this too, and none of us remember, are any better, or any worse than any other.

Indeed, we are all interdependent upon all other things; our own survival as a species and of our own planet depends now upon more people seeing and realizing these truths, before it’s too late.

Under the sky, under the sun, under God, there is only one family.

This is the “way” of the martial arts. The way of dynamic meditation, awake in the true sense of the word, and therefore mindful.

It is not something separate, or a bizarre hobby, it is a part of the totality of life itself.

So, as we have already discussed, the practise of a martial art leads to the cultivation of one’s physical well-being, naturally leading to healthy mental cultivation and personal awareness, and of course these are the key elements of meditation, thus providing the serious minded person with a framework for personal spiritual realization.

How can one possibly develop a serious, questioning mind and still accept the world’s many futile philosophies and ideologies?

All of these –isms, this-isms and that-isms are all products of the past, be that from time-immemorial, two thousand years ago, or merely last century or from the American tabloids this week. Some of them may well have created a false sense of order and maybe even bought a degree of comfort to their adherents at certain times; however they have more so been responsible for breeding more conflict than any other cause-more than natural disasters and mass migration and starvation – in the course of human history.

Once again, I'm with Mahatma Gandhii on this one. A devout Hindu himself, he still however maintained that....”Every formula of religion has in this age of reason, to submit to the acid test of reason and universal assent.”

Furthermore he also said, “Constant development is the law of life, and a man who tries to maintain his dogmas in order to appear consistent drives himself into a false position.”

How can we possibly be free of this conflict?

Some people assume whether consciously or sub-consciously that it is merely a matter of finding the correct system of belief; i.e. Any given religion or social group; but this will only substitute one set of conditioned responses for another.

Is there really any point then to clinging on to or indeed adopting an ideology or form of conditioning and becoming an evangelist or indeed, a recluse? It is little wonder that people can feel that “it is all futile” and completely pointless.

What then can one do? Now?

Turn to alcohol and drugs or suicide? Obviously not, self destruction is a rather negative thing, but then again, so is self analysis.

Self analysis, by its very nature implies that one part of the mind does the analyzing, and the other becomes the subject of that analysis. It also implies that one will need time to carry out the said analysis and also implies conflicting ideas – otherwise there would be little need for the analysis in the first place. The analyzer can only be the ego of the present, and the subject of the analysis can only be the memories of past events. However, the analyzer is never in a fixed position – there being a constant evolution and movement from moment to moment. Furthermore, the subject of the analysis is also constantly moving and changing as new experiences come in and older memories change perspective and sink into deeper long term memory. And because the analysis takes time, the process will never be complete and there will always be a gap between past and present states of mind and ego. It must surely follow therefore, that it is this very gap that is in fact the original conflict.

How can this gap then, which after all can never be closed, actually be finally resolved?

When the ego has nowhere left to turn, no more rationalizations to cling on to; when it finally knows it cannot resolve its own condition, something extraordinary can take place. When the ego cannot find answers from its own experience, from what it knows, then an answer can only be found in terms of what it does not know. This implies a psychological state which does not involve time, analysis, the ego or any conflict.

Real meditative practices do not depend upon any rituals or postures or sitting positions, or chanting words that we don’t understand or images that mean nothing to us, nor indeed does it depend upon a guru or so-called “master.” Such things are a projection of ego and are merely other forms of conditioning.

To begin a simple meditative exercise, all you will need then is a bit of peace and quiet. Just sit in your chosen space and actually open your eyes and look at your surroundings. Pay attention to them. Merely observing. When your attention has had enough of that, then your attention won’t be distracted by them, just simply aware.

Then, try closing your eyes and observe your inner workings in much the same way in which you observed the outside. Watch the contents of your mind. It may be full, or indeed quite empty, but that doesn’t matter because it is the process of observing that we are trying to practice.

Just pay attention, and if you find that you are not paying attention – then pay attention to that.

This process is often described like it is as if you are watching from the very back of your head.

Again, the art of the martial arts, this process of dynamic meditation is a tool or a vehicle for navigating and travelling in a place that has no paths and no boundaries. It can mean living sanely in a world that is insane, to be free of society without being in conflict with or separate from it, without allowing the conditioning of other people to become your burden as well as theirs.

Being fee of conditioning does imply anarchy however, which after all is the conditioning of reaction. Nor does it mean allowing the ego to gratify itself regardless of the consequences, which seems to be a rapidly growing modern credo, thanks to a certain Mr.Crowley!

There has to be a practical, orderly way of conducting the practicalities of life – things need to be made and jobs need to be done. Like we have already discussed, we are all interdependent upon one another, and this is not only a privilege, it is a duty. It is only the arrogant who will claim independence of everyone else and be self-contained. But this does not mean that this is the same as psychological dependence.

To be free of one’s conditioning is to be free of all forms of psychological authority – the assumed authority of priests, governments, parents and teachers, institutions and role models and so on. It also means to be free of all followers, disciples and students.

The way of the martial arts and meditative practice implies a religious or spiritual way of life, though not necessarily in the conventional sense. Constant development is the law of life, and one who always tries to maintain ones dogmas in order to appear consistent will drive themselves into a false position.

That which is truly sacred is not found in buildings, going through the motions or ever growing collections of words. It is found by the sea and in rivers, where there are fields and trees, mountains and valleys. To quote the Mahatma Mohandas Gandhi, “I need no inspiration other than Nature’s. She has never failed me yet. She mystifies me, bewilders me, sends me into ecstasies. Besides God’s handiwork, does not man’s fade into insignificance?”

Only when one is dissatisfied with every creed, every belief, every ideology and every philosophy, can one then find the truth.

To be free of the past, one does not redefine it. One simply lets go of it. There is no effort involved in this – the effort lies in carrying the burden, not in the letting go of it.

Again, all of this implies a way of martial arts training in which there are no uniforms, no grades, no masters, no associations, no foreign terminology and definitely no so-called styles. It further implies an absence of any rigidly fixed patterns or syllabus, and furthermore we need to get of the typical modern western teacher/pupil relationships – something we will pursue further in a moment.

Above all else though, it implies like-minded people, who respect each other, training together, sharing knowledge and experiences – solving problems together, yet allowing the individual to find out personally which tools, concepts and exercises are the most effective. It is a voyage of discovery in which the only authority is the authority of one’s own experience.

No doubt, you will have heard somewhere, certain so-called martial arts teachers claiming that their particular brand of martial art is the “one true way.” The one true way of life, therefore!

Oh please!

I honestly wonder how many of them actually know at all what they are talking about, and what they are saying; especially after statements like that one!

These people, are performing movements that they just do not understand; repeating languages they cannot speak; and showing or displaying symbols that have little or no meaning to them – other than some miss-guided cultural mimicry, or even as a fashion statement or as an ideological image amplifier.

The perfect example of this little understood symbology is with one of the martial art’s very own symbols – which reflects the same themes as the Hindu net of jewels and the Japanese spider’s web analogies, and indeed, the myriad of cultures use of the Tree of Life.

And that symbol is of course, the Chinese T’ai Chi, or as it much more widely known – the Yin Yang symbol.

Again, this symbol shows (very well indeed) how ALL things are contained within each other, and could not exist without the other; even its own opposites – which is one of the most obvious ideas that strikes one when observing this symbol. Each is contained within the other.

Male is contained within female, light within dark, hard is contained within soft, high within low. Because without one, there would be no other.

Now, how all this relates to combative confrontation, is that-

“hard” seeks “soft”, and vice-versa, to make complete your counterpart’s offense or defense. This is a very natural process, and combat is no different.

There is constant movement, change and evolution – as the combatants struggle onwards:-

-forceful, leading to passive.

-from full, to empty.

And then back again, as a natural response.

It would be useful now to discuss the philosophy behind the teaching of traditional martial arts, for it is very different from the teaching methods with which many westerners are familiar.

From a western and modern point of view, the relationship would seem to be one of total subservience of student to teacher, but it is also a relationship that will breed an important kinship between the student and his teacher, sensei or sifu.

In our society, there are many experienced sports coaches and academic teachers who are clever and knowledgeable, but too often they spend very little time with their students. Teachers and students only interact on a technical, impersonal level. Suppose for example, that a maths teacher in a busy comprehensive school discovers that a student is using drugs outside of the school environment. Most teachers in such a position will think that their job is simply to teach an hour or two of mathematics in a week; they will not see it as any of their business to become involved in anything else that may be happening in their students’ lives.

Of course, this attitude can be self-perpetuating: students therefore will not expect their teachers to take any personal interest in them. In athletics also, most students want only the technical training and not any philosophy or discipline that may go along with the training.

This is the way that the martial arts are going in these modern times, some students feel that they have paid for technical instructions only, as if they could learn a martial art in the same way that they might learn and remember important dates in history. Many of these students show a complete lack of respect and courtesy to anyone at all, never minding the respect due to the instructor within the traditional martial art system.

Initially, the student of the traditional martial art will learn to show respect by acknowledging their teacher many times during instruction by saying “Yes, teacher!” To the casual observer, this may seem like a servant’s response to their master, or a soldier’s response to their commander. Some people would rather think that they know it all already and would rather make their own decisions independently; they don’t want to slaves to their instructors, and they tend to see this way of learning as undemocratic.

Well, at least on the last point, they couldn’t be more right!

Martial art training is very similar to training for front line combat in the army. You could also liken it to learning how to drive a formula one racing car or even playing professional league tennis. In each of these endeavours, if one has to think about things before moving and acting, then it is already too late.

Many of our skills depend upon our learned ability to react reflexatively, to act on instinct with no conscious deliberation.

We are told by modern medical science that such conditioned reflexes are under the control of the right hemisphere of the brain and that this hemisphere’s unique ability is spatial perception. In martial arts training, understanding the orientation of yourself in relation to your opponent and your surroundings comes from a sort of intuition rather that from conscious thought, and this intuition comes only when the brain’s right hemisphere has been trained and conditioned. Again, being effective in a martial art requires an ability to act without referring to the analytical left side of the brain.

How then, does one develop our brain’s right hemisphere?

At first, one is not taught specific martial art techniques through verbal communication. One might be expected to help with the cleaning of the training space, or to help with maintaining the surroundings in which one will be training and in which other people will already have been training. One will be expected to do these menial tasks without question but being mindful of the movements that we are expected to repeat again and again, which is of course what will be expected with the more obvious training techniques.

However, an unspoken communication will be taking place that leads to the development of the student’s right brain hemisphere. Through this `mindless` repetition of certain movements, one learns how to execute techniques reflexitively, without conscious thought.

Also significant, is that along with our fellow students, we begin to get closer to one another and feel a sense of kinship both with our fellows and especially with our teachers. We will work and sweat together, rest and recover and eat together. In this way we will learn about each other and the lives that our teachers have lived, and thus begin to respect, love and trust the character of our teachers in ways we never could have done otherwise.

Consider the father who tells his children throughout their childhood that he loves them, but is never at home to share mealtimes, or is never around to actually spend time with them.

The father may say “I love you”, or give instructions or advice to be followed, but the child may not trust the father completely; they will question both the statement and the fatherly advice or instructions to be carried out.

Consider, on the other hand, the father who communicates non-verbally the same message “I love you” by spending time with the children and by making them an important part of his own life. The children will trust their father’s advice and will be less likely to be suspicious of what their father tells them.

The feeling of respect, or love, or kinship between a son and his father or between a student and their teacher is not rational; it is intuitive and it shows development of the right hemisphere of the brain. Conversely, when no kinship exists between teacher and student, the student will use their left hemisphere too much. It is this left hemisphere that analyses, judges and questions the value of instructions, especially when those instructions promise no quick, evident results.

The feeling of kinship that exists between student and teacher in a traditional martial arts relationship enables the instructor to teach in a style that discourages the student from depending on their left (analytical) hemisphere.

In a traditional martial arts class, students will be shown a movement or a series of movements, which they then have to do their best to reproduce what they have seen. They repeat these movements on command from their instructor. There is little explaining of theory or application and questions from students are not encouraged. The knowledge that we are seeking here is, after all, not a verbal kind of knowledge that will reside in the intellect.

By the time that we think `punch` or `block`, `evade` or `kick` - it will already be too late.

What a person seeks in a martial art is to condition themselves to act or react in the most efficient way possible, without thinking. It therefore makes sense to emphasize actually doing and reacting rather than thinking or analysing.

The point is not that the student should be totally submissive to all of their instructors, never questioning anything an instructor says. It is simply that martial art requires us to condition our reflexes rather than to have a conscious understanding. One learns by doing, not by thinking, and this kind of learning is clearly facilitated by the traditional martial arts relationship between student and teacher.

No one can learn to deliver strong martial arts techniques by analyzing or reading words on a page, any more than one can become a virtuoso piano player merely by reading a beginners guide to keyboards. One’s mind and body must be conditioned first. Stances must be strong, and a student must learn how to relax for their techniques to be sharp. Every block and strike should be fast and focused, like a whip. This feeling of the limbs becoming like whips can happen only when the student is completely relaxed before and during the execution of the technique.

Relaxation is the key.

Not until the very end of the technique, does the student’s centre (the abdomen, about two inches below the navel) and their hand or their foot actually tighten. The feeling of going from total relaxation to a total focussing of power can be likened to sneezing.

Before sneezing, we usually experience a tightness in the chest; this is during the “ah…ah” stage of the sneeze when our bodies raise up and our heads tilt back.

Immediately before the sneeze, our bodies relax, and then,

“atchoo!” The relaxation before that spasm of the sneeze – and then the spasm – is just what good karate feels like.

Once again, I feel that I must stress that the fighting within the martial arts is merely a tool or a vehicle, albeit – a very effective and potent one, for the examination and the improvement of the self; and is one of many such jewels to be found within the martial arts.

If fighting is your game, then you had better get used to the fact that there is always someone better than you, someone faster than you, more skilled and stronger than you are, more ruthless, and so on and so on. Can you beat them all?

Do you really believe that just one punch from your `mighty and un-beatable` right hook will end a lifetime’s worth of conflict?

Well, until you have the endurance of a marathon runner, and you are able to use many spontaneous combinations faster than a normal reflex…

I believe it may be a good idea for you to take another look - maybe from a different point of view – at exactly what you think you are doing; especially, what you think you are doing with what you may call your martial arts.

Just like anyone of us, even if the individual has only been practicing and training in a martial art for only a short time; we have been given many of the tools that are necessary – for us to take the remaining steps ourselves – as we take up the `brushes` that we have for so long been learning how to use, with our basic training, sparring and form, and finally learn how to express ourselves using these skills.

This is how all martial art styles are one and the same;

The basic training, the form, and cultural emphasis may differ slightly, however, the possible, eventual outcome is always the same, and apart from all of the other benefits, we find freedom and liberation in human expression, through art.

But do remember, the day must come when we put down the practice manuals and our rigid forms and ideas, and let ourselves enter that ever flowing and changing, evolving and on-going act of creation – and express ourselves truly, in the way that our martial arts fore-bearers surely must have intended for us; by passing on their teachings and training methods – as a means of practicing their arts ourselves.

It is a beautiful gift to receive, when one can appreciate it. It is not so much that all of the art is gone, or lost…it is a matter of perspective.

In the martial arts today, and obviously in life generally, people are so very pre-occupied with their own separate little segments, of what, really should be a glorious, unified and complete whole!

Take a step back, take a deep breath, relax and take a good look around.

What do you think?