I want to talk to you today about the power of love and how it can be used as a force in Martial arts practice. This is closely linked with art and other inspiring forces. Typically, when people have a score to settle they go about it by dominating each other and resorting to violence. They think that once they crush the opposition or humiliate them then that will make them all powerful, and the evidence of this will be in the fact that the reign victorious over the loser. The result is that far from accomplishing anything, the situation often becomes more complicated and the oppressed ends up triggering a counter attack of some sort on the oppressor, often later on. This can be seen throughout history between battling Nations.
As long as people continue along these same old lines, then nothing much will change, on the individual level or otherwise. And peoples practice in Martial Arts will consist of just training scenarios where the opponent lashes out violently against you; the innocent party, whilst you hit back violently against your better judgement. That is how people often think of themselves in Martial arts, the victim of some oppressor who is out there to get them and they just train with this in mind. In this way they gradually distance themselves from control over events. Whilst practically speaking this is a good start, its very narrow and self limiting from my point of view at least. Many schools of Martial arts thought have taken the aspect of war as a reflection of life itself. And people give this their all, often because they have lost their zest and love for life as well as the art it contains. Or simply because they are bored.
I am well aware that there are dangerous people out there, of course. However, the deeper meaning of all the training is often lost. “We haven’t go time for anything deep” you might say. Well maybe not, but the pathway should be there for those who do, or decide to later. When someone attacks them in the street people do everything to defend their life, provided they have the right attitude. They run off or give their wallet away. Or they hit out and get clear. When their backs are against the wall, they always chose life because the dangers become obvious. But otherwise, they often go about wasting their time idly, even undermining their health and life by overdoing in one area area, and neglecting another.
Martial Arts, what does that mean? All actions in life belong to the domain of art, or at least it can do. And also, the Martial aspect, meaning war, belongs to every domain in life, there is no pursuit which is purely war like. This is what has not been understood properly. There is no need to go undergo initiation by war, as in the past. No, life presents enough problems, which if identified clearly can produce a lifetimes worth of study, reflection, and work even if you achieve nothing. By all means, engage in self defence practice just like everyone else, but its not the be all and end all. Instead of relating constantly to doom and gloom, life can be seen as an arena in which you artistically create and give vibrancy and poetry to your every action, provided you have the means. Martial Arts practice is just a way of giving material expression to the problems of existence, via body language, gestures, and every other kind of action. In this way you can overcome problems of all sorts, and learn to see practice as a wider reality than just physical training.
Now, of course when one starts out in Martial arts they are often not aware of the effect their gestures, glances, and behaviour have on the equilibrium of others around them and the environment they operate in. Nor do they think about acting poetically with grace and art in order to combat the drabness they often see around them or in themselves. There is plenty of work to do in this arena, and it is worthy of the highest esteem. Often people consider their everyday actions unconsciously, and go about performing them like automatons, treating others the same. They do not realise what powers love of life and vibrancy of action can have on other people and themselves. And so they end up fighting over women, or barging each other out of the queue, and interactions descend into simply a matter of survival of the fittest. But what kind of survival is this?
Clumsy and awkward gestures that people have never thought of working on can set of all sorts of reactions in others. And then, the hostility thus provoked in others is highlighted as an example of how danger is everywhere, and you are given all sorts of techniques to put others in their place. And so you see people putting others in their place just out of some instinctive need to protect their turf. No one would deny the importance of the instincts, but in my view they must provoke us into surpassing ourselves instead8. And so, if you need to by all means put others in their place, however people often don’t think about preparing themselves to even be fit judges of who should be put in their place and how.
When you go round looking for trouble, then it begins to appear everywhere, because when people are met with a militant attitude or demeanour they become defensive even if they were not beforehand. Whereas, when you appear vibrant kind, and full of love and positive energy, the same influence is projected onto others. This is an area human beings often neglect and have failed to explore, how to provoke positivity in others as an art. What could be a better cause than engaging in this kind of fighting, against all that is negative and hostile? And so in my view, prepare to fight and defend yourselves as always, however give some thought at least about this battle. It is possible to think of every gesture and action as a form of important training, but lets leave that for now9.
It is quite normal to react to the hostility of others, and to some extent we all do it, but it is not something you need to go on wrestling with. There is no way to eliminate this innate tendency towards conflict with others, and it is a great power source for action if properly guided creatively – with love and art. Yes it is a force of nature for good, it all depends on your perspective and motives.
So next time you are tempted towards fighting someone, think of all the works of art which have been inspired by war and fighting, and the causes people have fought for, and how the world is a better place with spirted action of some sort or another; in other words channelled aggression. There was a time when the old philosophy of an eye for an eye was relevant, but we should move beyond it now in my view. You will then forget all about personal disputes and simply use a provocation or dissatisfaction as a way to drive forwards creatively with flair and energy to improve yourself, and as a result others. The threats of others then become a springboard to action rather than a pulpit. No one would deny the power of a negative attitude, but how often do people think of devoting their training towards doing the opposite?
Musashi said “If you mind and heart is not in accord…A little bit of crookedness in the mind becomes a major warp”. Now, it cannot be that when you meet anger with anger, and hatred with hatred you are applying a strategy which accords heart and mind. Its not possible, because then you a divided. Because, from the symbolic point of view, the Hara centre1 is linked with the mind of the warrior, and the heart is linked with the energies and feelings created by a dynamic equilibrium. This dynamic equilibrium accords with all that it artistic and harmonic, which is why art is vital to combat. The heart and mind is also linked with the solar plexus, and by establishing strong breathing and harmony within the system, the mind and body begin to function as one. This major warp Musashi speaks of is of course a crack in your armour, symbolically speaking, which lets in other elements that have a corrosive effect on the character and morale, in other words evil.
This is why the only way to combat evil is through positivity, dynamic creative energy; love of life. Musashi also said “the mind should remain unchanged” when practicing martial arts “treating them as ordinary affairs”. And so if we are to take these words seriously, then we cannot make violence and chaos an everyday affair, because then it will filter into our everyday lives and gain momentum over time. Actually, chaos is an everyday affair but it must be put to the back, getting weaker and less influential. Whereas if our everyday concerns principally involve developing energy and love for what we do, on the back of chaos, then this force to will strengthen over time. Gradually, the mind will remain unchanged even when engaging in fighting. Not overnight of course, but the best goals are those we never attain7.
Meanwhile, if you really want to win over an enemy, forget about him entirely and engage in this work nonstop. And then, when you have transformed yourself and have approached your goal more closely, your enemy will be forced to see how he has wasted his time becoming more ugly and vile, and will be ashamed by your example. People who are disgusted with themselves and who hide from others are not likely to defend themselves with zeal and motivation anyway. This is why they draw others into their lairs, or if you like their torments and pain. It is only from there that they know the territory and can operate. This is why, from the point of view of the observer they appear strong and domineering, but really they are holed up in a hopeless position and everyone is against them. And so if you engage with this kind of enemy, you are taking the position of the hawk. And to do as the hawk does, do not sit around waiting in the undergrowth learning how to fight like a rat, symbolically speaking.
“When you attain the power of the way, it becomes easy to handle.” says Musashi. Musashi gives examples of how using a sword is at first cumbersome, but later becomes easier. I would like to add that the sword of light is symbolic of combating evil, and I have suggested various exercises of the creative imagination.2. And using the image of the sword, you can imagine yourself fighting evil using a deeply meaningful image (the sword) that will make an impression on your subconscious mind3. The thoughts then work on the feelings, which create a kind of overall state. Of course, this is an exercise, but like any exercise it has physical effects that slowly begin to manifest. So instead of training yourself for years to become hardened and less receptive in the mistaken notion that this shows strength, it is far better to devote your efforts to cultivating a superior attitude, even though this takes time.
This is the secret of good over evil, it starts off weak, and is laughed at by others. But this is only because we haven’t taken it very seriously in all its glory. But later over time, once good has been developed and infused into everything we do, it can become a dynamic powerful force which we come to relate to rather than tension and violence which eventually depletes us. Yes, because even though dunking the child’s head down the toilet protects the bully from being bullied by others, this strategy later becomes self defeating, because later on as older more experienced animals, we develop appreciation for other activities we never appreciated before.
We cannot relate to hatred and disorder, or inner disharmony4, and expect to have very much inner power and energy. Younger animals can to a degree, untill they are weathered and destroyed as age and decline set in. And we cannot serve two gods, or deviate from what Musashi and certain Asian Masters call “The Way”, so we are forced to reconcile the two by meeting evil with good. Yes, because we often operate in an outer chaos, which compels us to act, which we mustn’t allow to enter our inner kingdom5. It is important to realise that this outer chaos isn’t something we should emulate, but somthing we should dominate with our attitude, thoughts, and behaviour via the will10. Yes because Will power is much more stimulated by good and creativity (once it is developed), in activities such as true art and love of life, than it is by merely preserving yourself against ills.
We must make love of life our everyday concern, and Musashi adds “when you have wide knowledge of the ways, you encounter them in everything”. In this way, the harmony we develop in the Hara Centre can be used as a potent weapon against the ravages of others. Our most seemingly insignificant gestures then become powerful weapons. And when this energy and harmony is aligned towards and reinforced by a high ideal6, with our thoughts working on our feelings1, the effects are unimaginable. In this way you can begin to see reality differently, wiping away certain misconceptions from your mind, until you are motivated only by strength and the dynamic energy of love of life, which is expressed through the equilibrium of the Hara Centre.
Once you begin to work at the intuitive level of the Hara centre, it will no longer be a question of accidently getting into a fight. You will be too pre occupied with the power to increase the good will in others and determine the outcome of battles by subtler means, such as personal magnetism and demeanour. If you work night and day to maintain an energy centre which will instinctively draw you away from harm and negativity, even in spite of yourself, you cannot go wrong easily.
This is what work on the Hara centre is all about, fighting without fighting. It is not a question of docility. Most people imagine their powers are limited solely to performing the act of hitting, with no thought about the qualities and character they should develop first. This is what Musashi must have meant when he said “when you have practiced the Science of Martial Arts, there will be nothing you do not see”. As you can see, by developing just physical combat techniques, you see virtually nothing. True martial arts involves developing your perceptions, attitude, and thoughts long before any fight takes place. But it never occurs to people to work on their state of mind dilligently, except in those schools of martial arts which are reffered to as “soft” and therefore ineffectual. The act of physical self defence is an all important event, and shouldn’t be just left to chance, as it often is.
References
1 Stay in the Centre https://intuitivemartialarts.com/2021/01/28/stay-in-the-centre/ and The Hara Centre https://intuitivemartialarts.com/2020/10/25/the-hara-centre/
2 The Imagination https://intuitivemartialarts.com/2020/10/04/the-imagination/
3 Signs and Symbols in Martial Arts part 1 https://intuitivemartialarts.com/2020/05/16/signs-and-symbols-part-1-the-way-and-the-number-ten/
4 Inner Disharmony https://intuitivemartialarts.com/2021/01/05/inner-disharmony/
5 Fight in Chaos, live in Harmony https://intuitivemartialarts.com/2020/07/12/fight-chaos-live-in-harmony/
6 The High Ideal https://intuitivemartialarts.com/2020/07/26/the-high-ideal/
7 The Marriage of the inner and outer forms https://intuitivemartialarts.com/2021/01/24/the-marriage-of-the-inner-and-outer-forms/
8 Reflections on sparring https://intuitivemartialarts.com/2021/01/31/reflections-on-sparring/
9 Embodying the technique https://intuitivemartialarts.com/2020/08/09/embodying-the-technique/
10 Will Power https://intuitivemartialarts.com/2020/05/10/will-power/
