In shadow boxing, it is the outline, the shadow itself that does the moving around and is the focus. You yourself act through this shadow form, like an energy that moves through a body or object. In this way, shadow boxing can be understood as a kind of projection of the self into a form which is both within and outside of you. It is therefore a way towards unity of inner and outer reality. It is also good method for breaking down the excessive focus on the shell of physical form, which can lead to a n inner transformation.
Shadow boxing requires no equipment, no gym, no training partners, and can be done anywhere. As a staple exercise, there is nothing better in terms of practicing martial arts movements. It is a way of developing an intuitive feel of how movements should work from the inner, intuitive perspective. You just move around in the style of a dance. It is not a dance to any music, or with a sparring partner, it is simply an expression of energy for its own sake. This can be channeled in multiple ways. This style of dance, which is combative in nature, is the feminine aspect of the masculine, the beauty behind power, which without this complimentary aspect, simply diminishes into ugliness in the end.
Due to the general outline of the shadow, you are only focusing on the simple representation of the geometric shape which the body forms. From the physical perspective, this frees up attention and room in the mind to focus on other considerations, such as the bodies energy centres and lines. At the same time the shadow gives you a strand of nourishment for the mind, a thread to link itself to the body through intuitive feel. In general, people take this strand and increase the emphasis until it becomes the main focus. What was in the beginning a small aspect becomes inflated out of proportion, which leads to getting lost in the details.
You can learn a great deal from watching you shadow box. Shadow boxing as an exercise can be applied more broadly to dance, performance, and general day to day movements. From the perspective of martial arts, shadow boxing works to align the posture correctly so that there is a kind of ease of motion. This does not imply lack of effort, but an effortless effort. If you sense deeply within yourself a correct alignment, a stretching of the spine, your equilibrium will be spot on, whether you are bending, stretching, or upright. All that is required is to pay attention to the process of this activity.
When it comes to posture, it is not a question of always remaining straight. If you are thrown to the floor, or knocked across a room, obviously there is no question of remaining straight. Straightness of the posture is usually advisable as an exercise when conditions permit total relaxation and concentration, such as meditation or mindfulness activities in an uninterrupted setting. It is important to apply the ideas of mindfulness and meditation to non optimal conditions, not because this achieves the best results, but because it needs to be done to enhance the survival processes.
In general day to day conditions, it is a question of applying the principles of postural alignment to the dynamic environment. The environment shapes the individual and there is no clear distinction between the two in reality. One environment opens a set of possibilities, another a different set. It is not a question of better or worse, but of working with what you have in front of you. In this sense, perfection is the goal to aim at, but arriving there is a different matter entirely.
When you expect just to remain straight and upright all the time, there is an expectation which cannot always be met in anything other than a sterile environment. There is also a doubt when perfection is not met if that is an outcome which is expected. It is therefore advisable to remove expectation from the equation and simply aim at giving yourself to the process of self mastery and development, whatever actually happens. Then there can be no room for doubt, no expectation to be met, only a far off goal, a high ideal to aim towards. So, when there is no such expectation and you just aim anyway, there is no experience of disappointment. This takes work.
In film and television, watching silhouettes seems to hold a deep meaning, which captures our attention intensely. When the attention is bombarded by details, there is an overload and observation can get replaced by simply looking at the periphery without seeing. Much of the entertainment available today simply bombards the senses with excessive details and information which overloads the senses. Whether or not this is actually entertaining is for the individual to decide. In a small way, it is probably similar to the effects of drugs, which blow the senses away without the person preparing themselves properly. The individual does not need to apply themselves to such methods of instant gratification.However, there is an inner dimension which outer stimuli play less and less of a role, until they are eliminated entirely from the experience once you pass through the periphery. This is of course at the highest level of inner reality.
In martial arts, correctness of technique from the technical perspective is not wrong. Neither is it or a waste of time to pay attention to details. Paying close attention to detail is also a way in towards mastering yourself by showing the mind that it does not know very much and needs to keep quiet. By saying ‘No’ to the mind, that it does not know enough ass it is, you eventually control it to a certain degree. Otherwise there is a tendency to think that one knows enough already and arrogance can set in. It is then as if the mind has a will of its own. Therefore, to diminish that aspect of yourself which is already comfortable and lazy, whether that is through meticulous pratice, or enduring austere conditions, can be a way towards transforming yourself too.
Being meticulous towards every detail is certainly a good tool. Here, in shadow boxing, this meticulousness is applied to concentration so that every moment of practice becomes an opportunity to meticulously remain vigilant to the inner experience, rather than just the peripheral aspect. In general it is good to hold on to a single idea. For example, the boxing stance, when properly concentrated upon can reveal all secrets. One method is to simply tuck the chin and look up and forwards towards the opponent. By tucking the chine, there is a locking in of energy at the level of the third ear, which is at the pit of the throat, or the vishuddha chakra. By looking forwards and up, between the opponents eyes, you lock in to his intentions and read him completely. This takes work, but it is a great training tool to concentrate on intently.
In dramas featuring silhouettes, we recognise the characters and what they are doing, even though there are no superficial details. Our creative imagination, or attention towards simply seeing with our inner senses takes a central role in the experience. With the advance of modern physical science, and the diminishing importance of the inner reality, this emphasis is becoming less and less unfortunately. In terms of shadow boxing our shadow demonstrates to us whether or not what we’re doing is poised, graceful, elegant, and balanced. This is a subjective judgement which informs the objective reality. The shadow gives us an outline, the rest is invisible and for us to perceive with our inner senses.
The invisible, or the empty form, is actually the content and when we free up the senses to a certain degree, rather than overloading the brain with information, we can naturally orientate ourselves with increased awareness. From this basis, you can then generate powerful moves which are rooted in a solid foundation.
From time to time, find a space outside and focus on the way your shadow is moving as you also do. You will be able to see whether things are moving fluidly, with speed and precision. From this basis the details are added in terms of technical additions. Take the example of a drawing. If the artist simply adds all the details together to form the representation, it is likely to be skewed. It is not until the piece develops that this becomes apparent. Everything will look out of proportion because there was not an effective framework first of all. On the other hand, artists who roughly sketches the geometric shapes, making sure the proportions are right, then can add all the details they like. Therefore, the details must not come at the expense of the overall picture. Otherwise you end up with a nicely painted building that crumbles within a few years. It is often best to work instead with the outline, the scaffolding, which can be accurate before the picture itself has taken form as a finished piece.
If we observe music, there are scales and chords which go together. They can be ordered and played around with in an infinite variety of ways. The important things is to get the outline, the collection of notes, to come together in a coherent way. This acts as a scaffolding of sorts for the music to develop. Once you have done this, it is simply a case of listening to what you are doing and running with it. Starting from the root note, and getting back there in a cycle, you engage in making music. Of course there are exceptions, and the rules can be broken and modified when you truly know what you are doing.
Once you are focused on the framework, the general outline, and you intensely observe and concentrate on this, it is not difficult to know what to do and when. The difficulty comes when you begin to complicate things with preconceived notions and emphasis on excessive details at inappropriate times. in order to rest the concentration with such emphasis on details, the will power to work things out for yourself diminishes somewhat. Instead it can often be beneficial to turn up the intuitive sense full force, then you will see how the will works. After that you can edit the details, by adjusting the shoulder movement, the head position, etc.,.
The shadow never lies. It can also be beneficial to record yourself training, and see whether what your doing affects you deeply or not. Does it make a deep impression? If not it is unlikely to inspire anything in anyone else. If it is truly alive and intense, you will feel it just by watching yourself. You can then link this to what you feel within, reinforcing it, and create an overall picture of your training and progress in your minds eye. When you see your expression of ferocity or concentration, your physical presence at its most intense, you will know what to look for in a worthy opponent without having to wait for him to initiate his attack. You wont know how you know necessarily, but you just know. You will already have seen the level of intensity and demeanour of a highly charged and potentially volatile individual for yourself in the mirror. You will have felt this energy, and you will be able to spot whether the opponent is simply wearing camouflage if they appear calm on the surface. This is all from knowing yourself properly.
Martial artists take two major forms in general. There are those who take responsibility and manage their every gesture with conscious awareness. This is the Yin path, which aims at inner mastery of the energies. The Yang path on the other hand, aims at outwardly manifesting this same energy, often in a violent and aggressive way. This explains how one type often loses their mind by becoming mentally unbalanced and volatile, whereas the other loses his sense of ordinary self and transcends all this. Both penetrate the mind, but one is in better control of it. It is entirely up to you which path to take, both have been effective at different times and in different places. However, today it is beneficial to learn a certain degree of self control and restraint by simply striving towards what is best relentlessly. Then there is no time for wasting your life, because all you do is improve and progress ceaselessly.
If you watch your shadow in action, slowly you will begin to improve without knowing exactly why. The brain can calculate and function at a certain level in terms of technical knowledge, but the body truly knows and feels what is going on. It is not a question of validating this with theories made up by the brain. The brain can only question the bodys overall knowledge because it acknowledges its presence. It can make an enemy of this inner wisdom, or bow down to it. Either way it is there.
To progress intuitively and naturally, you just have to up the voltage each time you practice. Not the physical voltage necessarily, but the intent and motivation to progress and grow. This is not a brain thing, or a bio chemistry experience, but an inner process which comes before these things and sets up possibilities for the body and mind. When you are fully in that moment you are working at maximum intensity at what the body already knows how to do, kick, punch, exert itself under pressure, etc., these things will eventually happen spontaneously. The brain will then learn from this whole body process rather than from a collection of peripheral considerations or cognitive processes.
When it comes to physical practice in shadow boxing, there are two main sorts. The first kind works on perfecting the physical forms of expression, rather than the space between the moves. This involves precision and attention to detail, which can broaden considerations and possibilities. The other type is working in the space between the form and expression, that is, at the energy level. For example, using the energy to perform movements in an unpredictable fashion, rather than within a fixed timeframe. You then become elusive and unbeatable, no one can know what you are going to do next, because you yourself have no such preconceptions.
It is possibly to remain consciously aware of every phase of the movement and to perform it in a mechanical mindless way. Or it is possible to stabilise and feel the energy flowing in the body so that in the blink of an eye you drop like a meteor from the sky when you feel the opportunity arise. This is true explosiveness, and requires neither muscular strength nor size, but is to do with a highly developed nervous system.This form of training relies on developing the bodies energies in such a way that you work at the invisible level of feeling the internal bodily states, which act as the guide.
Which ever way you train, when shadow boxing it is important to work in bursts of a few seconds at a time. You wouldn’t sprint for more than a few seconds at a time and this is the same. You may be forced to if your life depends on it, but to train this way wears out the system if engaged in too much. From time to time, as a personal test, it is beneficial to rev the engine at full throttle, but too much of that on the physical level becomes detrimental.
Working in bursts of a few seconds is also a way of integrating the movements to bodily rhythms. There is a rapid out-breath when punching. However the internal breathing of the diaphragm, belly, and body can be felt at a much slower pace or around ten seconds. Breathing is energy first of all. It is often good to focus on the out breath, which is important in delivering an outward manifestation of power. For this reason the out-breath is focused on, because it is easier to control with the conscious mind. The duration of the energy breathing might be more or less than ten seconds, depending on how well connected you are or how focused the mind and body are.
When moving around, you can do so in unpredictable ways, or according to a routine. Both are beneficial. One develops a basic imprint in the system, and the other pushes this imprint to new creative limits. It is not possible to create complex sentences without learning your ABC’s. The moves are the ABC’s, the circumstances and constrains placed on us in life allow us to create full scale meaningful sentences. These sentences are like combat scenarios, and by applying the basic theory to complex reality we have meaningful action and a context. By blending these two approaches, of basic exercises and creative expressions, you will be able to see what works for yourself by looking at your shadow as it moves, which is a viewable reflection and representation of you, much like the physical body itself.
So human beings are able to follow basic outlines or representations and elaborate on them. The tendencies and capacity for this work is innate to us. Once we see the shadow or an outline performing certain tasks, we simply mimic them and add a bit of our own ideas to them. For example, when babies learn to walk they do not have the capacity to fully comprehend the person its copying, or even what they are truly doing. Yet, it is more competent in learning than the adult, who often thinks of ways around persistent effort and uncertainty. The adult is therefore often a bad model to follow. The child however accepts reasonable guidance and does not worry about being dependant on this or that, it simply acts.
The baby doesn’t bother learning all the details, it simply starts with what it can do and ends up going from simple to complex as it develops, not before. It continues doing this as if its life depends on it, which it does. To the disciple in martial arts, his life too depends on this attitude, because otherwise the path is too winding and difficult unless they never give up and push towards the ultimate. This is why, in a sense, many master have literally wasted their life learning skills that they later forgot. Just by being willing to do this, the disciple is very close, just like the baby is when he gets up continuously after falling down from walking. In this sense, it is important to make every effort at every moment, no matter how pointless it all seems.
By viewing the shadow as a representation of the self, you remove all the nonsense of vanity and appearance. Carrying this level of weight can tire the system more quickly than lack of fitness or technical expertise. You want a free and unencumbered nervous system, which powers everything else. There is already enough rubbish to face in life and potential enemies, without creating inner enemies and obstacles. Some people are more aware of this than others, so if you have that sense of urgency, please do not waste any more time on anything except relentlessly pursuing whats best for you.
