Martial Arts teachers should treat the fight as something that is subject to nature, rather than conforming to a particular system of techniques. By being unmoved and unintimidated by systems, people would be showing the same indifference that nature does as to whether a system works or not. Nature works in mysterious ways, and therefore does not conform to standardised and expected outcomes, it is instead the “black swans”, the unexpected events, which are defining of nature and have the greatest impact.
Often it is better to train techniques, but in a different way, through our behaviour and impressions we convey to others. In this way, to a certain extent the inner work of martial arts always takes place in secret, and it is better to remain quiet about the work and experiments you undertake. This is why humility is important so that you have not outwardly defined how things should be in a world where the unexpected takes first place. The ultimate goals is that there should be no real contradiction between nature and practice.
Take the example of walking into a forest. If you trample in there and startle all the animals, they will run off or perhaps attack you or start growling. Well exactly the same thing happens in a bar, nightclub or the street. However if you walk through respecting those around you without drawing attention to yourself, and as if you are on a mission of your own, hostiles around you will be influence by forces emanating from you which they can neither see nor understand. Anyway, who can be sure that that intelligent attackers cannot understand this kind of language? But what do many people do instead? They walk around aimlessly in a listless fashion without purpose.
Of course many of the exercises in martial arts have therapeutic value, or increase fitness and capabilities, but this is not the same as preparing for a fight. Too much time is spent on useless drills which are forgotten straight away. What is the point in going over drills for years and then living in a state of mindlessness as to the impact one is having in his very environment, as if he has no power to influence events? Instead, if you can, it is better to moment by moment live in an environment that requires your constant vigilance and influence over events.
Much of preparing for a fight is realizing the futility of having one. It is more than likely a lot of people will think this is complete nonsense from a serious fighting point of view, but those who understand the laws of nature will agree. Instead of being determined to face off attackers left right and centre, often you would be better off influence the sub conscious state of those who might show hostility towards you, by holding yourself up as a model of strength and wisdom. This takes so much effort that you will be fitter and more healthy than if you ran a marathon if you do it properly with your whole body and mind! You will then not only embarrass anyone who challenges you (By showing an unscrupulous superior example) but will be in a position to defend yourself based on your enhanced self worth. It is this strength of character which will serve you better than any technical exercises, or more accurately – This character development is the solid stable foundation of successful performance under critical danger.
A lot of fights end because the loser doesn’t value himself, or the so called winner often is really a loser who, like a vampire, seeks out others to suck dry in order to top up his vitality. Be very careful therefore about embroiling yourselves in fights unless absolutely necessary.
When you have studied yourself and worked on yourself, you will be able to discern who is who, and like a radar dangerous individuals will light up warning signals in your mind. I advise against “proving these people wrong”, as descending to the level of barbarism can only end badly for you. In other words, if you have no choice, and someone is attempting to steal your inner light metaphorically speaking, then hit and run, trusting that your personal qualities will stop you taking things to far. This is why virtues and moral development was considered so vitally important to Masters of the past. But who ever thinks about developing the highest moral standards before taking on responsibilities like defending yourself or others? Unfortunately, most don’t have time for this most important of activities.
A fight brings out the worst in people, and it is not these potentials that need to be cultivated. Yes there is some preliminary preparation to take, trials that needs to take place, such as battle testing. There must always be a proving ground. But not at the expense of more important things. When we train for the love of it, we see it completely differently, and we make insights with other don’t make who are too “practically minded”. Why? Because training for the love of it puts you in a different perspective to others, who are just looking to survive rather than evolve their practice. This state not only influences your behaviour but your whole bearing, to the extent that even if you neglect physical intensive training slightly, because it is too tiring, you will still be highly energised and powerful.
It is often the case that people prepare all their lives for a fight and then buckle at the last moment not because of cowardice, but because they are overwhelmed by the ugliness of it all. You must not live in this ugliness. Yes, Nature never reveals this to us straight away, but it gives us clues that we should be repulsed by wallowing in conditions equivalent to a swamp, metaphorically speaking.
After an initial period of “fight or flight”, a massive amount of energy enters the system. This energy powers thought and behaviour in many ways. Naturally, you have to keep an eye on this energy and make sure it does not sweep you away or drown you. Accept this as inevitable, and soon enough optimism and strength will replace initial feelings of anxiety, which prepare the body for action. In this state of high activity, anything you do will contribute to your own fitness and health more than lifeless “fitness routines”, which often tire people out and kill their enthusiasm, their vital forces. This exercise can be done in any situation that brings about stress.
In this way you have to put the instinctive forces under the direction of intelligence. This is not the same as acting purely rationally without any feeling or drive, or evading danger by giving way to terror. No, instead you direct the fighting energies of the instincts towards intelligent goals, which shows the importance of moral development and reasoning in Martial Arts.
When someone is showing hostility towards you, or violence, the anger and aggression which goes out towards you can last for a very long time, years even, and this is how without realising it people succumb to stress related disorders. prepare well to defend yourself against this enemy. If not, After succumbing to negativity, it is fairly impossible to perform any techniques with confidence because instead of intelligence becoming a guide, forces of negativity often do so instead, overwhelming us. It is impossible to think lucidly when in a high intensity sate. This should be given a lot of thought.
Instead of reacting in the moment to hostility, why not act at all times of the day towards showing impeccable character and flawless moral standards. In this way the fight begins at the beginning of the day, before you have reacted or accidently triggered anger in others with clumsy gestures or a coarse attitude. So why not begin today, and make this the very basis of your self protection program?
That is why when training for martial arts there should never be anger and aggression which you relate to. No instead, you must distance yourself from these states mentally (whilst knowing they are there physically close by to use) and instead concentrate your energies and attention to a goal, like an archer aiming for a target. Otherwise it’s like burning coal to fuel a primitive machine which just hits things aimlessly. Wouldn’t it be better to use the coal to instead fuel a machine which is more efficient? This better machine is your brain. Don’t worry, on the way to your brain the energies must travel up through the hara centre, and nervous system, and in doing so you fuel everything else on the way to this intelligent command centre1.
But you will say “How are we supposed to train properly without exposure to violence?”. And I will say that feelings which evoke negativity will simply put people off training with you and besides you will learn very little in the long term. Anyway there is no shortage of violence out there, in peoples looks, gestures, behaviours… You just have to get creative.
Shouting at someone with arrogance hoping to intimidate them rarely works well, and usually puts the other persons back against the wall. As soon as some lunatic sees you shouting at them the first thing they will do is copy. It is then you who will have set things off. This is alright if you’re built like a tank and bent on having a fight, so I leave it to them. Think carefully about appealing to the better nature of someone who is showing hostility, and use the accumulation of energy in fight or flight to give expression to intelligent forces through words and gestures. And don’t bother saying anything at all if you don’t get a strong feeling of its vital energy.
Facing off with people now and then who are keen to make you look stupid, in a contest is of little long term benefit. It can be beneficial from the point of view of having overcome difficulty and challenge. But always remain suspicious of those who claim that an atmosphere of this type “builds camaraderie” and demonstrates “teamwork”. It is impossible for genuine comraderies to be nourished in an environment of petty competition.
A good training sparring partner leaves the impression that a proper exercises has taken place, which tests abilities, rather than having “caught the other one out” in a competition. Look at how children wrestle each other and give ground when their training buddy has clearly lost. One lets the other up again when he’s down, and each one knows intuitively who has got the better of who. They know when to give up, when to carry on the competition, and on it goes for years until both are highly skilled. They will show tenacity, and fair play without being instructed, and will push each other to the limits because neither takes advantage of the other over the spirit of the contest. All that remains to be added is increased determination and drive which comes with adult age, which is why you must train with sincerity, which will instruct you better than technical drills2.
Don’t get me wrong, competition and rivalries have their place but when engaged in constantly as the be all and end all, it tends to attach too much importance to short term winning. It is like being mired in poverty. You might learn a few things about toughness and making your way in the harsh world, but after a time when you get some money you will want to escape as soon as possible rather than live from hand to mouth for years on end. The dream of achieving great things, the high ideal, rather than the drudgery of everyday affairs is the most precious faculty to cultivate3.
If you think that life is just a battle to be lived eternally, and that everyone is out to get you then you will end up that way yourself. Whilst there is negativity to contend with at every turn, there is also a lot of beauty, positivity and inspiration to feed on. This is what will fuel your mind and inspire your practice to overcome difficulties, more than just will power alone against chaos. Many people say you have to be “as bad as they are”, and “fight fire with fire”. I am in favour of using fire, but not unintelligently. And so if you engage in mindless violence, for the thrill of it as many do, you are in great danger of being overwhelmed by criminal minded behaviour and habits. This is how many well meaning fighters end up in prison. You might not think this is a problem, but I have seen that when one puts in motion certain behaviours and states which are inherently unstable, they back fire, maybe not straight away but eventually.
References
1 The Hara Centre https://intuitivemartialarts.com/2020/10/25/the-hara-centre/
2 Facing Trials with Sincerity. https://intuitivemartialarts.com/2020/12/19/facing-trials-with-sincerity/
3 The High Ideal https://intuitivemartialarts.com/2020/07/26/the-high-ideal/
