Category: consciousness

From Shock to Strategy: Harnessing Fight-or-Flight into Surged Clarity [Part 4]

Posted on Last updated on by joeharman8 | 7 min read | 183 views

The mind should be clear thinking and you should remain aware. In this way the quality of your behaviour rises to such a level that you are able to act properly without turning the power up to the max suddenly. When adrenaline then hits, it is just a bonus.

Any martial artist will tell you that power comes from a relaxed state. This is because there is a steady current which is working as it is, rather than needing any kind of external stimulation to get it going properly. So the mind should be clear thinking and you should remain aware. In this way the quality of your behaviour rises to such a level that you are able to act properly without turning the power up to the max suddenly. When adrenaline then hits, it is just a bonus. Put differently, your behaviour is at maximum capacity without being artificially high in any one dimension. It is for this reason that when it hits the fan, the martial artist is already doing something intelligent when they get an additional boost of adrenaline.

Let’s say you have a pair of speakers. If the speakers are high quality, you can clearly hear them at volume level 30. Another pair of speakers needs to be turned all the way up to 100 just to hear what’s going on.

Most of us grew up with the idea that stress helps us perform. But this only allows you to act in specific ways at an high level. For example, however you are get’s amplified in some way. Let’s say you have a pair of speakers. If the speakers are high quality, you can clearly hear them at volume level 30. Another pair of speakers needs to be turned all the way up to 100 just to hear what’s going on. They are low quality, and one dimensional in terms of sound At the same time, there is a lot of unpleasant noise and interference going on with the bad but loud speakers. On the other hand, all of the supply lines and working properly in the quieter set of speakers, not just one or two circuits. Because of that, you get a balanced, regulated, and natural sounding output. It is the same thing in martial arts.

When there is a love for whatever you are doing, and the reflexes and basic fundamental skills are there, I think you can perform a lot better and with less emotional volatility. This love for what you are doing replaces the need to become dominant over others and increase the voltage in a volatile way. For example, when you love what you’re doing, dopamine release becomes tied to mastery and meaning, rather than external reward or reaction to external stimulus. This will at least bring down the need for craving stimulation from the sudden onset of environmental cues, in order to get the system up and running properly.

In terms of martial arts, rather than hyping yourself up and glaring at people insistently, you can disarm somebody completely by the way you are. You can walk through the situation rather than feeding it. Then, the simple act of remaining physiologically relaxed and disciplined is enough to diffuse hostilities instead of butting heads and puffing your feathers. This is known as fighting without fighting. Even if for some reason there is still a great need for external stimulation, or you are addicted to certain behaviours, building a solid foundation for internal reward systems can greatly reduce this need over time.

You should act before such thoughts arise by having everything within your gaze and fixating on no detail in particular. This is how the way you look at people can influence your physiology and theirs.

You should not think “That guy is staring at me, I must act”. You should act before such thoughts arise by having everything within your gaze and fixating on no detail in particular. This is how the way you look at people can influence your physiology and theirs. When yo are broadly aware but not reactive, you can then shift the gaze seamlessly so that you don’t cause other people to see you as some kind of hostile competition. When you remain aware before some kind of emergency situation arises, you do not need to suddenly boot up. You only need to do this if your system is switched off or has collapsed for some reason. If you are steadily active, you not only are better at defending yourself, you are better able to absorb the energy of the situation so that you and it are one and the same.

Flowing Into Strength: Stability Through Continuous Awareness

A dead and inert tree would simply be blown over by a gust of wind. A strongly rooted and vibrant tree would absorb some of the energy from the wind, sway with it, and its roots would even benefit from the pressure exerted upon it by getting stronger.

When you overall system is balanced in in tune with the environment, there is a completely different response to emergency situations. First of all you are not shifting from zero to one hundred. You are also better able to withstand pressure. Let’s use the example of a tree. A dead and inert tree would simply be blown over by a gust of wind. A strongly rooted and vibrant tree would absorb some of the energy from the wind, sway with it, and its roots would even benefit from the pressure exerted upon it by getting stronger. In the same way, the martial artist sinks deeply into the posture and absorbs the energy of the situation, remaining flexible in body and mind.

The thing to remember is that when these self defence systems were devised, life expectancy was low in most cases. For example, in China life expectancy was around 32 years old as early as one hundred years ago. Obviously, the Chinese systems were developed well before this, when life expectancy was even lower. In other words, the kinds of survival responses needed when life was much harsher was a lot different to what is needed today. So martial arts in the modern day must be viewed in this context.

Conditions today are not as tough as they were in the past. Although we have learnt to complain about everything, there is not such a need for constant survival mode all the time. At the same time, if you don’t look at how things were done, you don’t have the drive to do better. For example, there would be no need to live well if you didn’t take care of the need to survive. In fact, living well is built upon a good foundation of survival which is proportionate to need. The tree grows out of a mixture of turbulent environmental factors as well as a steady supply of life sustaining energies. In the same way, the martial artist is able to empower themselves through turbulence as well as energy cultivation, which are always linked.

If a tree was in survival mode all of the time, there would be no flowers fruit. The survival aspect is the foundation, the root. There’s a lot of digging around and feeding going on there, at the root level. So the survival instincts can be seen as a moving foundation, rather than a secure structure which is fixed. The secure structure, which is fixed, is built once there is a strong foundation for survival to happen, which is fluid. So in order to fix yourself strongly, you must remain fluid yet immoveable.

From Shock to Strategy: Harnessing Fight-or-Flight into Surged Clarity [Part 3]

Posted on Last updated on by joeharman8 | 5 min read | 155 views

Previously, we looked at the need for the martial artist to maintain a certain level of activity across the brain as a whole. This means the survival circuits won’t get overpowered more than is needed. A stressful situation will not power the pre frontal cortex, but it will take away resources from maintaining it properly. Remaining aware before the event, and in a certain state of attentiveness, will enhance the pre frontal cortex. This means it is already up and running, ready to be stimulated by fight or flight.

The experience of stress can easily cause you to lose impulse control and to disregard the consequences of your actions, if the pre frontal cortex is off completely. The pre frontal cortex is just one example. In reality, this is just one region which is important among many. However, because activity here is related to enhanced awareness, this means you are already acting more holistically overall if there is activity there. If not, you are less able to read subtle cues or even broadly assess the situation totally.

If your broader awareness and overall system is more regulated, then you are more online than if you are functioning in a limited way. Then, your amygdala doesn’t get hijacked making your other systems go dark by acting in an all or nothing way.

If your broader awareness and overall system is more regulated, then you are more online than if you are functioning in a limited way. Then, your amygdala doesn’t get hijacked making your other systems go dark by acting in an all or nothing way. When you are functioning more holistically, there is simply no need for the amygdala to scream out and trigger an over zealous response because you keep to an even keel. Then, you are better able to respond totally, rather than partially but in an overhyped manner.

if there is a sudden intensity of adrenaline, and over time a pattern builds up repeatedly, then you start to associate such happenings with powerful activity. However, over time this records the integrity of the system overall. On the other hand, if you remain warmed up but not over heated, ready but not reactive, you train the system to stay regulated. This means that even under pressure you respond in a more measured way. You are then able to think on the move, react without flinching, and move more dynamically in general in response to danger.

In terms of calm, it is only the mind which should be calm, so that you don’t clench your jaw and shoulders. Such clenching leads to too much tension. When there is a surge of adrenaline, there is a rigidity and sudden tension within the physiological pathways. This is why they should remain free of tension first of all. This initial onset of tension can lead to becoming frozen in place, so the idea is not to be filled with tension before this freezing happens. This freeze happens so that you can momentarily stop and assess, rather than become immobile.

When you remain dynamic and switched on fully, you instead get heightened awareness and clarity. These pathways too can become flooded if they are active.

People who remain aware and switched on spend far less time in freeze states. When one becomes frozen, emotional flooding follows as a compensation for being frozen and mobile. So the idea is to limit this flooding. When I say limit the flooding, I mean limit the flooding to specific regions, so that your energy overflow’s across a larger reservoir. When you remain dynamic and switched on fully, you instead get heightened awareness and clarity. These pathways too can become flooded if they are active. This means you get powerful activity with minimal panic setting in, which is associated with emotional volatility. This is because the panic get’s drowned out in the larger context, which your awareness gets drawn to.

Different patterns of behaviour create different effects. If you remain razor sharp and clear without burning out, then this creates a sustainable pattern.

Remaining aware and sustainably attuned to the flow of the environment, one is able to feed the same pathways which are said to cause panic with a different kind of energy and rhythm. This creates an entirely different pattern of short term and long term behaviour, which is more like a sustained current than a sudden voltage. Different patterns of behaviour create different effects. If you remain razor sharp and clear without burning out, then this creates a sustainable pattern.

Staying Lifted: How Martial Artists Can Avoid the Post-Surge Crash

When there is not such an extreme shift during fight or flight, your energy also does not crash down to rock bottom afterwards so drastically.

If, during an emergency situation, the energy goes up from an already high level of functioning, this means there is less of a sudden shift. So the idea is to maintain a certain level of attentiveness and awareness at all times. When there is not such an extreme shift during fight or flight, your energy also does not crash down to rock bottom afterwards so drastically. So after the event, you land much faster to a baseline state because it is already higher than normal. This is the work of the martial artist, to keep their energy within certain parameters so that they are not impacted by drastic shifts so much. in this way, if you get heightened, you don’t crash and shut off completely afterwards.

From Shock to Strategy: Harnessing Fight-or-Flight into Surged Clarity [Part 2]

Posted on Last updated on by joeharman8 | 7 min read | 163 views

The body does not distinguish between overload or inertia, the quickest way to boot up the system is through the survival circuits.

In the previous post, we already looked at how fight or flight is expressed differently for different people. In order to reclaim fight or flight so that it is a more focused power, one thing is to remain switched on, but not hyper vigilant. If you are switched off completely, there is no hope of doing much of anything meaningful. To compensate for this off state, the amygdala will be overloaded the moment an emergency situation presents itself to you. in fact, the emergency response can happen due to overactivity or under activity of one’s attention.

Let’s say you were zoning out and then suddenly a certain situation triggers your fight or flight response. You would go from zero to one hundred just like that. On the other hand, if you were hyper vigilant over something, anxious about it even, then fight or flight would happen out of that. So there can be an unwillingness to prepare properly, creating a deficit, or there can be a total lack of awareness. In either case the void of energy needed to mobilise for action will be filled by the survival circuits so that you become primed for action. This can be helped by harnessing other aspects of the system, such as awareness, so that fight or flight happens to that too, not just the survival circuits.

This has nothing to do with psychological misinterpretation of threat, the biological response to the void is very real. If you are under powered, fight or flight hypes you up. If you become one dimensionally aware of only your own immediate physiological needs, then this constriction of awareness creates an artificial sense of emergency. So the only way out is to remain aware of more than your immediate needs, the bigger picture, whilst remaining in a balanced state as much as possible.

With something as simple as catching a ball, you could jump out of your skin and fail to catch it if you were switched off or too tense. The body does not distinguish between overload or inertia, the quickest way to boot up the system is through the survival circuits. This explains why people who get struck by inertia end up in a similar state to burnt out people. If higher intelligence fails, which involves wider awareness and sense perception outside of immediate needs, survival takes over. If there is no survival instinct, fight or flight kicks in and fills the void also. This is simply the quickest and most efficient way for your system to get things going, which has worked throughout history.

Under powered or over powered, it just means lack of overall balance and nature takes over.

There needs to be a certain level of survival activity for there to even be a heightened intelligence, or a greater well being. This is important, because if you become either overpowered or too dim, the survival process initiates to prevent collapse or a vacuum being created. Under powered or over powered, it just means lack of overall balance and nature takes over.

It doesn’t matter whether it is the mind or emotions, if there is a deficit somewhere, the brain tries to keep up in the most efficient way, by reacting and powering the survival circuits to give you a boost. At the same time, this boost has its own consequences. Boredom turns into irritability, and emotional outburst often follow overindulgence. In other words, excess has its costs, and when something as costly as a survival reaction kicks in, there are usually deficits later on in terms of energy.

It is possible to make yourself in such a way that you supercharge aspects of yourself which generate the best returns. That way, you benefit from any kind of high energy state because you are ready for it.

Mental burnout leads to inactivity, in the same way as lack of purpose leads to restlessness. In other words, overactivity and under activity are two sides of the same coin. However, it is possible to make yourself in such a way that you supercharge aspects of yourself which generate the best returns. That way, you benefit from any kind of high energy state because you are ready for it. If you are adequately prepared, you are not caught out and surprised, you process everything clearly and act accordingly. This involves planning and preparation, and applies to sport as well as emergency situations. The idea is to think clearly, but not overthink, whilst acting as needed rather than underacting.

Gracefully catching a dangerous hammer being thrown at you uses the same internal wiring as flinching away from something desperately. The quality of expression is different in both cases, and they cannot happen ate the same time.

Rewriting the Reflex: Overlaying Mastery onto Instinct

If there were a hammer being thrown at you, you would be injured by the thrower if you were unprepared. Gracefully catching a dangerous hammer being thrown at you uses the same internal wiring as flinching away from it desperately. The quality of expression is different in both cases, and they cannot happen ate the same time. This is the reason for the beautiful forms which have arisen in martial arts. They wanted to capture this beauty in order to develop a different kind of energy within a survival situation. This enhanced energy could then be used just as potently as a desperate survival response within life threatening situations. This is why there was always an insistence on discipline and striving for more.

If the sprinter did not warm up, they would be able to produce the same power in a different way. None except the essential pathways for running quickly would be active. This would lead to diminished performance in the long term even if they got through a race or two without injury.

So there is no problem for someone who is ready to catch or even juggle a hammer. This is because they have prepared themselves, like a sprinter prepares themselves for a race by warming up the neurological pathways before hand. This turns a reflex action into an expression of self mastery. By warming up and getting ready beforehand, the sprinter is able to run gracefully as well as effectively, without overthinking or trying to warm up whilst running the race at the same time.

If the sprinter did not warm up, they would be able to produce the same power in a different way. They would be running in a desperate state, trying to warm up, prepare, and run the race all at the same time. This type of race can only be run in a state of reactivity, rather than complex and dynamic planning and execution. the survival response traditionally spreads resources thinly, so that nothing can be done optimally. None except the essential pathways for running quickly would be active in the purely reactive state, and these pathways would be doing the job chaotically and inefficiently. But they would get it done in a messy way. This would lead to diminished performance in the long term even if such a runner got through a race or two without injury.

Let’s say you become tired and irritable, and then someone annoys you in some way. All of a sudden you get flooded with adrenaline and kick off about nothing. If there is a steady supply of energy to those pathways which can become overreactive, such as the amygdala within the brain, then these sites do not race from zero to one hundred as soon as it kicks off. This involves activating others site’s, so that the adrenaline does not flood into one active place but across many pathways. For example, if there is activity of the prefrontal cortex, as well as other regions, then you end up in a more balanced and regulated overall state when survival kicks in. This leads to a more intelligent response, creating a greater sense of balance across several areas. Because of this greater intelligence, you are able to exert more and more control over your situation.

Each Breath Stirs the Tides, and Each Heartbeat Shapes the Shores.

Posted on Last updated on by joeharman8 | 11 min read | 115 views

“In terms of martial arts, this ecological growth means internal renewal and overall health improvements over time. So there is an incubation period which fleshes your system out as the energy settles in. It is not just a case of flooding yourself with hormones so that you can dissipate them in some kind of activity.”

In martial arts, people want to practice in such a way that they become physically capable and healthy, as well as mentally balanced. However, in practice this often does not happen in any meaningful way. When you look around, most of the martial arts styles out there are teaching tricks to get you out of a sticky situation. Or, they are teaching you to take part in some kind of elite sport which has no meaning outside of competitive circles. Whilst it can be beneficial to practice these tricks of the trade some of the time, most of it can be learned fairly easily, even on the internet.

In terms of output and fitness, the activity levels have gone up, but the internal development has not”

A few years ago, learning something like karate or Taekwondo meant you had to go to a dojo. Even then, most people quit without learning much at all. Today because all of freely available technical information which is so easy to find, you see lots of people able to punch, kick, throw, and all sorts of other things. The information is much easier to obtain and people are able to do these things even if they have never been to a formal class. Going to the class should create a conducive atmosphere in which you learn to develop as a person. However, all we see nowadays are classes packed with people going through the motions or getting hyped up and excited into activity in some way. So it has taken on the character of a nightclub in many ways.

The idea behind martial arts is to empower the internal side of the human being, not just to cover their external requirements. This is not happening at the moment on any large scale, even if there are more frequent training opportunities. So in terms of output and fitness, the activity levels have gone up, but the internal development has not. Without upgrading the internal side, the external activity will not develop in a self sustaining way or become meaningful to the individual. As people go through the motions, the body will just accumulate injuries and other stresses which will wear it down over time. This is what happens when martial arts turns into a competitive sport or business enterprise in the market place.

Just as the minerals from the sea rise and spread across the land, bringing nourishment to support plant growth, the hormones produced from the gut and elsewhere are distributed across the body to facilitate growth and repair.”

When you perform powerful activity, such as in martial arts, it is important that the energy is delivered from core of your being, extending itself more widely from there. Every action you perform has an impact on your own internal health and well being. During strenuous martial arts activity, the bloodstream delivers hormones to the organs and tissues, just like a river delivers water to the land. This ensures growth and renewal as the process of self development unfolds. Just as the minerals from the sea rise and spread across the land, bringing nourishment to support plant growth, the hormones produced from the gut and elsewhere are distributed across the body to facilitate growth and repair.

The gut is like the deep ocean vents, the activity of it creates currents and forces which lead to environmental change. This environmental change leads to ecological growth. In terms of martial arts, this ecological growth means internal renewal and overall health improvements over time. So there is an incubation period which fleshes your system out as the energy settles in. It is not just a case of flooding yourself with hormones so that you can dissipate them in some kind of activity. Doing so just puts you back to square one. Each individual will act according to their needs and compulsions. This might mean that some energy is allocated to physical activity, whereas a certain amount is also allocated to spiritual growth. For some people, martial arts means just moving around and expending energy. To others, there is more of a transformational element to it which ends with internal development.

Today, lots of people talk about medical interventions to correct poor health without any idea about how to kick start the internal health process. In many cases, these interventions can also be used to support internal growth, rather than constantly relying on external supplements. Internal martial arts means you manage your state of health from within, with or without outside help. According to the internal martial arts perspective, external supplements or external activity is just a way to trigger or kickstart the system predominantly. You can then do anything in a positive state.

Once you reach a state of good health and well being, you know by inference how to manage this and what to do as time goes on. It is like when you get to the age of thirteen or so you automatically begin to understand why people generally get married and start a family. This does not need to be taught by strangers. At the same time, there is guidance needed. When you study life closely, rather than just what is written about it, you naturally become aware of how to manage things.

Exercise, digestion and stress, all trigger hormonal development. In order to prevent dissipation of this internal energy, you need to a get a wide spread happening.

Martial arts schools these days are managed in such a way that you train in the evening and then flop in front of the television by the time you get home. So there is often no momentum gained from spring boarding yourself into activity during the martial arts practice. Most of the time a martial arts school means a recreational activity, so it is not quite right to call it a school. In any case, the norms of society are the same, you work hard and then you relax by drinking alcohol or taking intoxicants to subdue the system again. Otherwise, without the necessary teaching, people tend not to be able to sustain higher levels of energy for long without burning out. When people try to manage high pressure and energy states for prolonged periods of time without the necessary personal development, it is only natural to get into emotional upheaval trying to manage their overall situation.

Exercise, digestion and stress, all trigger hormonal development. In order to prevent dissipation of this internal energy, you need to a get a wide spread happening. If you are just enjoying the effects of your hormonal system as it is, then you are not creating anything new out of it. For you to exploit it as it is, it needs to stay as it is. This is fine, but the human system is capable of immense possibilities when you link the different parts of the system together in dynamic ways rather than separating things out for limited functioning. For example, just as the rising seabed pulses waves across the shore, the bloodstream has far reaching potential which can nourish and regulate the body. In Chinese martial arts, the Qi energy is said to circulate vital energy through the meridians and across the body. In modern terms, the hormonal flow mirrors this subtle current.

In the Eastern martial arts system, the subterranean forces are said to emerge from the depths, bringing clarity, focus, and wisdom. What does this mean? It means you have within you a tremendous pool of talent.

So when you are training in martial arts, it is not about becoming a killing machine irresponsibly. What you do or do not do may make or break peoples lives, or even your own life. What can build a healthy body if neglected can deteriorate the body. If you exploit one aspect of the body at the expense of the whole, the result is that you become a minus in terms of functioning. When competence is developed, you have a responsibility for yourself and others. Then, you have to put in a lot of effort to remain disciplined and on the path. When I say on the path, I do not mean sticking to a regimented or commercial style of martial arts. These are on and off systems which do not offer anything in terms of and how to navigate life at all times or in terms of internal development.

In the Eastern martial arts system, the subterranean forces are said to emerge from the depths, bringing clarity, focus, and wisdom. What does this mean? It means you have within you a tremendous pool of talent. The only problem is, these days people lack the organisation and discipline to sustain their internal energies and bring them past a certain point. They are like broken down cars, they bang and crash but it amounts to very little movement and a lot of expenditure. This is not a sign of life, but a sign of death.

Hormonal activity, muscular activatation, and breath work, can all be used as a means to create new possibilities. In this way you become a creator of form by working with the existing form.

When we think of martial arts masters, we tend to think of people capable of dominating others and fighting in a championship. But a master does not need to be able to get to the top of a hierarchy, they must be able to operate across several layers, which is something that has been missing in my view.

When you move, you do not need to move according to your tectonic tendencies. In other words, you do not need to be guided by instinct and reactivity, even if this generates a potential. Hormonal activity, muscular activation, and breath work, can all be used as a means to create new possibilities. In this way you become a creator of form by working with the existing form. This is what is meant by self sustaining practice, you turn everything into an inside job. You are then able to work with the tectonic shifts and core activity in many ways, as the hormones and neurotransmitters from the core become rising minerals able to spread in a far reaching way. What this means is that each breath stirs the tides and each heartbeat shapes the shores. The seabed lifts and extends itself to feed the landmass.

So the aim of martial arts, particularly the internal side, is to create masters who are capable of working across any sphere or life. Whether you are an established leader, an entrepreneur, or an office worker, it is possible to empower yourself with wellbeing, inspiration and competence so that you are able to fit seamlessly into any organisational structure you find yourself in. Otherwise it traps you in its walls, like a ghost in a shell. You can say that these walls are imaginary, because it is within your power to break free. If there is no such striving, then you might just gear yourself up to put up with things as you see them.

The world you inhabit gives you the energy to contain the kind of power needed to burst out.

Whether it is a dojo or business suite, the idea is to self organise in such a way that you become more than a scattered set of aims and intentions. Then, rather than working you, the waves around you are shaped by your internal resolve to transform the situation around you by starting with the core of who you are. It is at this core, the seabed, that power is generated from the weight and pressure of the world above it. In other words, the world you inhabit gives you the energy to contain the kind of power needed to burst out.

Oscillating Force in Martial Arts

Posted on Last updated on by joeharman8 | 4 min read | 102 views

“Energy transfer occurs as an
oscillation of dynamic energy”

If you perform a strike in an oscillating manner, the impact is often as though you were landing on the ground and absorbing the gravitational energy through your body. The only difference is that the impact is being absorbed through the striking limb. This means you can spring off of the opponent as well as stop them in their tracks with impact.


When you use an oscillating force, the energy you send into the opponent does not fully dissipate out of you and into them. It oscillates back and forth which gives you the ability to immediately spring into some other action, much like when you bounce a basketball on the floor and you dart off somewhere. This kind of rebound action is possible with the basketball because you send energy into the ball, which moments later is then reabsorbed by you after it hits the floor. When you correctly judge where it will go, you get into position and wait for it. It’s not that you lose the ball and gather it back again losing you momentum each time.


In martial arts, and elsewhere, a certain transformation of energy takes place from stored energy into movement energy. We call these different manifestations of the same force “oscillatory” energy. In martial arts, you hit the opponent or target and then re-position yourself during that moment when the energy is transferred into the target briefly. This frees you up for a moment to seamlessly transition into the next phase of action without having a large amount of stored energy to shift. This happens all at once without having to having to gather and reestablish yourself at each step, if it is done properly.


“A punch or kick is simply an inductor
which initiates the potential energy”.

In basketball, there is a moment when the energy transfers into the ball and away from you physically. This means it turns from stored energy to movement or dynamic energy. Nothing is lost in this process. The energy is conserved and remains constant throughout the oscillation back and forth. For example, in martial arts you hit the target, and this same energy from the impact is then released back into your own system when you pull it back. This involves a certain perception which is felt during the impact of a strike and which continues after.When the martial artists feels and anticipates this felt recoil after the initial impact, they align themselves physically to take full advantage of this energy before it dissipates.


When you launch a kick, it is not that you just passively shape the foot to brace for impact. You should find that your foot or fist shapes itself spontaneously to the angle it lands on the target, just as it would if you were to jump over a fence and land on an uneven surface. Your ankle might have to adapt spontaneously to land on terrain that could either be softer or more uneven than expected, for instance. This would be automatic if you were alert and ready, and would minimise injury.


You wouldn’t want to land on just the ball of your foot if you were to absorb heavy impact, because the ankle would likely get sprained. You would want to transmit this force through the entire system and align the body accordingly. Here you are not looking to unload energy into the ground. If you are preparing for an almighty crashing impact, it is best to use the entire surface area of the foot properly and absorb gravitational energy in such a way that it does not damage the ankle. This is just one example.


In martial arts, you are not looking to strike the surface with a part of the foot or hand and just unload energy there. Only in a very rudimentary sense are you doing this.


The strike you are doing, whether this is a punch or kick, is simply an inductor which initiates the potential energy. When it comes to striking a target, you are simply shaping the striking limb so that the energy is transferred effectively throughout the entire system as a whole. This energy transfer occurs as an oscillation of dynamic energy.

Total Involvement in Self Defence

Posted on Last updated on by joeharman8 | 6 min read | 100 views

“it is possible for the brain to distort the situation when it becomes flooded and overthinks the situation. This should not happen where possible.“

The important thing is to remain in a state of total awareness. Keeping the hands up in a state of unawareness is just going through the motions. Even if you cover your face with your arms, peek through your guard with at least one eye. That way, you can see what’s coming next. If your guard obscures your vision completely, you don’t know who is around you, or what they are going to do next. It is for this reason the hands hands should be fluid and used in many different ways.

Putting the hands in the way of the opponents face or body runs interference on them. This creates a series of diversions. These can be fidgety movements with the hands and body, which divert the opponents attention away from you being attacked. Much of the activity involved in fighting has to do with distractions and misleading the opponent, rather than creating any kind of definitive outcome.

If you need to, you can simply stick your hand in their face. If you distract them with your hands by grabbing out at them or poking them in the eye, this buys you time to run off. This is a kind of strategy to find an opportunity to make your escape. It is not that you want to poke them in the eye just to cause harm or for any kind of outcome in particular. 

The enraged opponent always attacks meaninglessly. Meaningless aggression is one of the most powerful ways to attack. The opponent is distracting you with meaningless yet dangerous attacks. This is the basis of their power. You do not need to try and understand this in any intellectual sense. If some wild animals are howling in the night, preventing you from sleeping, you do not need to decipher what they are saying or doing. You just keep out of their way and keep a barrier between yourself and them. We know that wild animals make noise. 

Act to put a stop to the situation, or distance yourself from it, as and when required.

Just as a boxer sends out a series of feints to make the attacker back off or stop, the individual defending themselves does the same to buy themselves an opportunity to escape. A moment is all you really need. Wild attackers rarely know why they are doing what they are doing because they are acting largely unconsciously. This does not prevent them being effective. If you respond to the situation with total conscious awareness, rather than turning it into just a thought process, you are able to become more toally involved in the situation.

Nobody made the planets round. This is just the way nature made them. It didn’t require any kind of building process. In the same way, nature endowed us with the capacity to intuitively respond to urgent situations so long as we remain aware and pay full attention to the process consciously. Just as the planet is rounded by nature, we too become rounded and balanced by becoming totally involved. We can become aware of this or not. Like the planet itself, it is possible to be at it twenty four hours a day, by offering yourself to the process of ceaseless development and conscious awareness of this process.

Most fights happen because somebody who is acting out of a need to dominate others in some social situation goes up against another person who wants to deliver them justice. Who is wrong and who is right is just a matter of opinion. Two such individuals will naturally gravitate towards each other unless they are not in the same room. This is why it is always best to leave the situation if you can, even if you think you’re in the right. Never trust what you think about survival situations, just see them for what they are. You can only think logically by comparing yourself to another. Instead it is better to cut through this and act totally rather than as one side against another. That is the whole meaning of sacrifice, to commit to the wholesituation and act from there. It is only though bypassing limited thought processes and committing totally that something else more powerful happens. At the same time, such an act of total commitment creates the best possible conditions for the thought process to happen most clearly.

You need to focus when the danger becomes imminent, but also remain aware of the periphery. Where are the exit doors? Does the opponent have any friends waiting nearby to help them? When the opponent is very close, you become very heightened and reactive. Due to the intensity of the situation, blood rushes to the brain. This is usually accompanied by a fight or flight response. 

If the brain gets flooded with hormones and blood, the body can become drained. If this happens for prolonged periods, then over time distortions happen within the system. In this way it is possible for the brain to distort the situation when it becomes flooded and overthinks the situation. This should not happen where possible. Maintain an awareness of your stance so that you do not lose all the energy from your body. Then it can communicate intelligently with the brain. This is one important reason why it is important to focus on the Hara Centre, the body’s centre of gravity,and maintain equilibrium. Maintain a certain pressure and energy there by locking into the centre. 

It is often important to move off centre to avoid an attack, whilst at the same time re directing its energy. For instance, you can step outside by pivoting on the front leg as the rear leg steps around the back of yourself. This takes you out to the side. The front leg stays where it is as the rear leg steps outside of the opponents line of attack. You can either grab the opponents arm, or thrust it away with the palm. It is as if you are kneading dough. You do not slap the dough but you sink the palm hand into it, gripping it somewhat whilst at the same time applying a kind of pressing force down and away from you. This redirects the opponents force against their own equilibrium. The idea is not to dissipate this force but to make it oscillate back and forth from your own centre, linking you to to the target. This prevents you becoming too drained of energy, and allows you to use the opponents force against them.

Growing Through Turbulence

Posted on Last updated on by joeharman8 | 4 min read | 95 views

Wu the Master said:
“On that depository of corpses, the battlefield, if there be certain expectation of death, there is life; if there be happy expectation of life, there is death. The good general is like unto one sitting in a leaking ship, or lying under a burning roof; the wisest man cannot contrive against him; the strongest man cannot destroy his composure; and the enemy’s onslaught can be withstood. For procrastination is the greatest enemy of the general; disasters to the army are born of indecision”.

It is possible to feel at ease even if you are working intensely at maximum effort. It is just that you often need to wait for some time for this stillness to wash over you. for example, when the breath quickens after running up a flight of stairs, a balanced equilibrium is soon reached once the blood has circulated around the system and the body has caught up with the increased breathing rate. There is a process of acclimatising to activity. For instance, when sprinting it is normal to get out of breath. There is a certain period of quickened breath which occurs before the body catches up. When it does, balance is achieved from what initially appears to be turbulence.

When the body catches up and starts to engage with the breath, there is balance. The heightened frequency of breath translates into increased blood flow and wider circulation after a few minutes or so. This leads to enhanced fitness over time, as well as a sense of invigoration and liberation. This liberation is a consequence of pushing yourself beyond certain limitations, which initially starts with a sense of turbulence. Many people give up before they are able to push through this turbulence.

If you do not successfully synchronise the breath with activity, then there is often just hyperventilation, which can lead to physiological anxiety. In other words there is just a stimulus without the necessary corresponding activity. It is for this reason that heightened anxiety is often accompanied by a decline in physical activity levels in modern society. Modern society is going through a widespread increase in such conditions of anxiety largely because physical activity levels have declined so dramatically. 

Following exercise, there is a certain sense of ease, once the energy situation is worked out and you have ridden the wave of physiological change. If you want to ride a wave, you float on top of it rather than being dragged by it and shot off course. This involves moving with events, rather than being moved by them involuntarily. So you use the energy of the wave to get to new heights. For example, in sailing if only one end of the ship is moved by a big wave, the other sinks down and the ships ends up taking on water and sinking. The ship has failed to ride the wave. To remain one an even keel, the ship needs to sink into the water line evenly from both ends in a certain way. In the same way the martial artist should remain grounded and focused on keeping their balance whilst their heart rate is elevated so that they remain on an even keel.

An initial rise in activity levels is often the beginning phase of you later moving towards a certain inner stillness. Turbulence is a phase of any given high intensity situation. It is also part of your own reaction to the situation as a whole. However, the laws of keeping yourself balanced do not change just because the is moving through turbulence. For example, you cannot reach well being by bringing turbulence or chaos within yourself, only by keeping on top of it or outside of its direct influence. So it must be used and transformed.

importantly, turbulence is a necessary state for balance to express itself totally and dynamically. The initial instability of a situation is simply a call to action, and a phase to move through. It is a stimulus, much like when the sunlight warms the earth and causes the seed to crack open. It is only later that it grows to its full stature. This is why many people find balance and stillness through high intensity work and even chaotic situations. With an unwavering discipline and determination, they can enhance their own growth through what appears to be turbulent environments.

Posture and Energy Transfer in Martial Arts

Posted on Last updated on by joeharman8 | 6 min read | 114 views

The Back as a Spring: Energy Storage and Posture in Martial Arts

The back muscles are fundamental to maintaining upright posture and enabling efficient transfer of energy throughout the body. They counteract gravity’s natural tendency to compress us, allowing us to stand tall and balanced. So there is an upward extension of the posture against gravity. This frees us from becoming too pressurised. At the same time, without the downward pull of gravity there would be no me or you.

Understanding how the back functions as an energy reservoir is essential for mastering martial arts and cultivating both physical and emotional resilience.

Energy Storage and Posture

The back muscles play a key role in storing potential energy, which can be transferred dynamically during movement. This storage and release mechanism ensures that the body can perform powerful, coordinated actions. For the back to function optimally in this way, it must work effectively to hold the body in a relatively straight line. If the back fails to maintain alignment, slumping occurs, leading to postural imbalances and reduced energy transmission and efficiency.

Maintaining an upright posture ensures that the back muscles remain engaged, creating a stable energy line for movement. This alignment is not just a structural necessity but also an energy-saving strategy, allowing the body to respond fluidly to physical demands.

Posture and Striking in Martial Arts

In martial arts, striking requires a balance between forward motion and energy transfer. When extending a punch, there is a natural tendency to lean forward, compressing the chest muscles and abdomen. This compression relaxes the back and legs, facilitating the forward motion and transfer of energy. However, to prevent loss of balance and energy dissipation, martial artists counteract this motion by drawing the opposite shoulder back. This is one way to become more balanced.

For example, when punching with the left arm, the right shoulder extends backward. This creates a relatively straight line between the front and back shoulder, as one draws back and the other goes in. This coordinated action maintains structural integrity and ensures the efficient transfer of energy from the back to the striking limb. This concept of balanced motion reflects the broader principle of energy dynamics in martial arts.

Posture and Emotional Balance

Posture does more than support physical activity; it also influences emotional well-being. An excessive forward lean or slouched posture compresses the chest and abdomen, often heightening feelings of fear and vulnerability. Fear naturally encourages a closed, protective posture—a survival mechanism that can hinder both movement and emotional stability. At the same time, when the time is right one must be ready to fight for survival when necessary. What is not necessary is to make a way of life out of this need.

Actively maintaining upright posture counteracts this survival reaction, promoting a sense of calm and readiness. Martial arts has long emphasized the importance of balanced posture to mitigate the effects of fear. By aligning the body, practitioners align their minds, reducing emotional imbalance and fostering inner resilience.

The Spiral Motion in Martial Arts

An effective martial arts strike incorporates a spiraling motion through the body’s natural curves. When standing upright, the spine’s “S” shape facilitates this twist. For instance, striking involves a coordinated motion where one side of the body contracts while the other extends. This creates a dynamic, whole-body movement that channels energy efficiently.

This spiral motion can be compared to the actions of a javelin thrower, who loads their weight onto the leg opposite the throwing shoulder. By arching the back and extending the throwing shoulder behind them, the thrower stores potential energy, which is then transferred explosively during the throw. Similarly, in martial arts, this stored energy enables powerful, precise movements.

In martial arts, it is essential to maintain the right posture so that you are not unnecessarily aggressive and fearful. If you spend too much time in a reactive state of stress and aggression, you run this risk of shortening and disturbing the energy pathways which enhances one’s health and vitality. These energy pathways have to do with the connective tissues and fascia around the body, which works as an integrated whole for energy movement.

The Back as a Spring

The back and legs function as a spring, storing kinetic energy that can be transferred throughout the body. This principle is evident in both martial arts and biomechanics. While the back itself does not deliver the primary force—as in the case of a javelin throw, where the waist and core initiate the motion—it plays a pivotal role in energy storage and transfer. To counteract the any excessive arching of the back, martial artists often maintain a certain pressure within the abdomen, which becomes distended as they extend the back.

This energy dynamics concept applies in live martial arts practice, where rapid movements rely on this stored energy, and in meditative or stretching exercises. These practices allow practitioners to generate and store energy within the back and spine, which can then be distributed to other areas of the body, including the brain and internal organs, for enhanced vitality and health. Of course, energy is also stored elsewhere too, but proper stretching and extension of the spine greatly enhances this quality of energy transfer.

Yang and Yin: The Back and Front in Martial Arts

In martial arts philosophy, the back is considered yang, representing strength, tension, and outward energy, while the front is considered yin, symbolizing softness, receptivity, and inward energy. This balance is critical for maintaining harmony within the body.

Do not think that the front of the body cannot be yang. As I said earlier, there is a certain pressure held in the abdomen which prevents the front of the body becoming overly relaxed. This spot is known as the Hara Centre, which stores a lot of the body’s energy. So by enhancing the posture, the martial artists also enhances the energy generation and storage capability of the abdomen and Hara Centre.

Because the back is associated with yang energy, it has a natural tendency to become overly tense if energy is not properly released. This is why martial arts training emphasizes not only strengthening the back but also stretching it. Stretching helps release excess tension, restoring balance and preventing stiffness or energy stagnation. By keeping the back flexible and strong, practitioners ensure that energy can flow freely, supporting both physical performance and overall well-being.

Balancing Posture and Energy

The goal of martial arts has always been to bring balance—both physical and emotional—to the practitioner. By focusing on upright posture, martial artists can reduce the impact of fear and create a stable foundation for movement and energy transfer. The back, acting as a spring, not only supports the body but also ensures that energy is stored and released efficiently via the waist and abdomen, allowing for powerful, fluid motion.

Understanding and applying these principles in daily practice can transform martial arts from mere physical training into a holistic discipline that enhances overall well-being.

Snake form Martial Arts: Flow and Alignment of the Neck and Head

Posted on by joeharman8 | 4 min read | 119 views

The forward rotation of the cervical spine, such as when punching or reaching forward, is a smooth and continuous motion enabled by the spine’s natural curvature and structure. This motion, centered around the cervical spine, allows the head to pivot forward naturally without abruptness, whilst maintaining proper alignment and balance.

To ensure fluidity and reduce strain, the head should lift subtly during this forward rotation, with the crown extending upward as if drawn by an invisible string. This symbolism of the string has been used in Tai Chi practices, as well as in Yoga. In Yogic tradition, this energy strand is referred to as Brahmarandhra, which describes a passage that is both an emitter and receiver of vertical energy. Physiologically, this upward lift of the head counteracts compressive forces, promoting a graceful motion that protects the spine and supports posture during activities like martial arts practice.

The curvature and the natural S-shape of a human spine, permits smooth and continuous motion by evenly distributing mechanical stress and allowing flexibility. For instance, when a person walks, the curved spine acts as a spring, absorbing impact and facilitating a flowing, rhythmic gait. Similarly, in martial arts, the flexibility of the spine enables the warrior to move gracefully and adapt quickly to changes in direction, enhancing their agility and smoothness of motion.

In nature, as well as in engineering, we see how structures are formed according to certain curvature rules. A tube or the flow of air and water naturally creates or forms a curve shape, flowing smoothly and continuously. Like the gentle arc of a river meandering through a valley or the streamlined shape of a wind tunnel, there is a tendency to avoid abrupt bends that would disrupt harmonious movement.

A water pipe with smooth, gentle curves resembles a snake standing upright, maintaining a flowing, uninterrupted path of ascent. Sharp bends would disrupt the flow of the water pipe, causing turbulence and dissipation of water pressure, much like a snake’s movement would falter if forced into abrupt angles. Similarly in martial arts, if you rush to abrupt conclusions unnecessarily, this apparent short cut can diminish one’s energies.

When you read a step by step guide on how to do a punch, it is as if there are only two or three stages to it. A step-by-step process is characterized by distinct, incremental stages, where each step represents a deliberate transition from one stage to the next. It involves pauses or plateaus between steps, allowing time for adjustment, assessment, or realignment. This is often necessary in the short term in order to learn certain rules. In a real life situation, you often do not have this kind of luxury to stop and pause. In contrast, a curvature is a continuous flow, marked by seamless, unbroken change that transitions fluidly without sharp stops or abrupt shifts. This is how the warrior trains in order to become infinitely adaptable and absolutely focused.

Curvature represents a dynamic process where each point is influenced by the momentum and trajectory of the preceding points, creating a smooth and uninterrupted evolution. This is in fact how one evolves, not in a step by step linear way. While the step-by-step approach emphasizes clarity and order, the curvature embodies fluidity and adaptability, often reflecting processes that evolve naturally rather than being consciously segmented.

Because much of the practice of martial arts involves conscious expression of subconscious energies, there is need to bring conscious awareness to this quality of continuous and adaptable expression of energy. The body can become a vehicle for this expression, or it can impede it. It is for this reasons that the symbolism of the snake, as well as the flow of water, is used in certain styles of martial arts to emphasis the quality of flexibility and continuity in spite of obstacles.. 

The hissing sound of a snake is produced by the steady, controlled release of air through its glottis, creating a smooth and continuous flow of sound. This is analogous to the snake’s movement, where its muscles contract and relax in a wave-like pattern, allowing it to glide effortlessly and without abrupt stops. The consistency of the hiss reflects the same principle of fluid motion, where unbroken flow ensures efficiency and minimal resistance.

Sound and Form [Part 1]

Just as a snake’s body seamlessly adapts to its surroundings while moving, the martial artists also learns to use the breath and body to create an energy form analogous to that of a snake.

Fear: A Catalyst for Consciousness and Transformation

Posted on by joeharman8 | 7 min read | 100 views

Fear. Often seen as a shadow looming over our aspirations, it is one of the most misunderstood emotions. Of course, most emotions are poorly understood, but fear is frequently painted as negative—a paralyzing force to be avoided or suppressed. But what if fear is something more? What if, instead of a barrier, it is a signal, a spark that drives us toward greater awareness and growth?

In truth, fear has no inherent negativity. At its root, it is pure energy—intense, raw, and immediate. When approached with understanding and appreciation of its immediate nature, fear can be a gateway to transformation and an opportunity to enhance our awareness. When we say “immediate”, this simply means that it can trigger us towards an immediate response, rather than causing us to react and lose all hope and become powerless.

Fear Sharpens Awareness

One of fear’s most profound gifts is its ability to intensify our consciousness. Consider how fear feels: it’s visceral, immediate, and impossible to ignore. It demands our attention. Whilst we can ignore the reactions to fear by responding appropriately, we cannot ignore the energy it brings. And for good reason. The heightened sensation of fear sharpens our focus, making us acutely aware of our surroundings, our body, and the choices available to us.

For example, a deer sensing a predator experiences an acute surge of awareness. Fear doesn’t paralyze it—it energizes it. Its body becomes attuned to every sound, every shadow, and the terrain underfoot. To become aware of this is a sign of intelligence. This heightened state of awareness allows the deer to act decisively and respond to danger. There was a time when humans were also more like this, but due to over reliance on information rather than experience, this intelligence has been seriously reduced.

For humans, fear can function in the same way. When we stop resisting fear and instead allow ourselves to feel its intensity without being overwhelmed by it, we open the door to greater clarity. Fear forces us to confront the present moment with heightened perception, breaking through the mental fog of complacency or distraction. The immediate fear is then transformed into a greater possibility which no longer resembles the initial trigger which we mistake as fear itself. Fear is just an energy, it is neither good nor bad inherently.

From Instinct to Insight

Fear begins as a sensation in the body—often in the legs, preparing us to move before our minds have fully registered the situation. This initial trigger is a gift, urging us to respond. But when we ignore or suppress fear, it stagnates, taking root as doubt or anxiety. Limited expressions of Doubt and anxiety are more and more prevalant largely because we no longer employ the legs as we used to. Hunter gathers, as well as other kinds of physical works historically employed the use of the legs more than today’s workers. Such people were already is full swing and able to ride the initial feelings without buckling better than the generation today. Wee can learn these lessons too.

By becoming more conscious of how fear manifests, we can intercept it early, transforming it from an instinctual reaction into an opportunity for insight and intelligent action. This process involves awareness—not just of the fear itself, but of the environment, circumstances, and our inner responses. Fear, in this way, becomes the first step toward heightened consciousness.

Fear: A Transformative Energy

At its essence, fear is a neutral force—a burst of energy that can either hinder or propel us, depending on how we engage with it. If left unchecked, fear can grow into a weed that stifles our development. This is true of any other emotions, which can wither and die. But when we meet fear with awareness and purposeful action, we transform it into a powerful ally for growth.

Think of a seed buried in darkness. The soil around it might seem suffocating, but that very darkness contains the potential for life. The seed doesn’t linger in fear of its constraints; instead, it uses the pressure, heat, and energy around it to sprout and expand. The same is true for us. Fear, like the darkness surrounding the seed, can be a catalyst for liberation if we engage with it consciously.

Fear as a Tool for Movement

In martial arts, this principle is both practical and within our immediate experience. A moving target is harder to hit. When fear strikes, we must act—move our body, focus our mind, and channel the energy of fear into purpose. At the same time we can learn to move even before it takes root. This proactive approach keeps us dynamic, adaptable, and resilient.

Fear heightens our awareness of the immediate moment, making us conscious of our surroundings, our options, and our potential responses. This state of heightened consciousness is the key to transforming fear into a constructive force.

Liberation Through Fear

Fear, when met with conscious action, becomes not a foe but a teacher. It can be a harsh teacher, but if you listen to it It reminds us of our aliveness, our ability to respond, and our potential for growth. The path to liberation lies not in avoiding fear but in embracing it as part of life’s rich variety.

When we take responsible action in the face of fear, we experience its transformative power. Fear challenges us to go beyond our comfort zones, to move toward growth and expansion. Each time we act to take possession of fear, we reclaim our power and discover new dimensions of our strength.

Fear as the Seed of Growth

Just as the seed doesn’t hesitate in the darkness, we too can use the intensity of fear to propel ourselves forward. The seed doesn’t rely on perfect conditions or certainty—it acts, taking nourishment from its surroundings and pushing upward toward the light. If it somehow could think about everything cerebrally rather than making extreme effort, it would not act with such intelligence. Instead it would see obstacles everywhere. Today, many of us over think everything in this way, beyond the necessary levels.

Similarly, fear can nourish our growth when we stop resisting it. To resist is to separate and turn it into an obstacle. But this is a limited vision of reality. By engaging with fear consciously, we integrate its energy into our journey, using it to fuel our evolution.

The Gift of Fear

Fear isn’t the enemy; it’s an ally. Or, if you like, it is neither an ally or an enemy. Its intensity wakes us up, forces us to pay attention, and calls us to action. This is the same for any emotion looked at in its entirety. It is just that martial arts works with fear because of its associations with conflict. The next time fear arises, don’t push it away. Feel its presence. Let it sharpen your awareness and heighten your perception of the unfolding moment. Do not separate it into an obstacle to get rid of because this gives it a dimension of power which is not inherently within its reach. This is a choice. Use its potential for transformation rather than making conclusions about it based on short sighted vision.

Fear is the doorway to transformation. When we embrace it, we discover that it’s not a force of limitation but one of liberation. By moving through fear, we find clarity, growth, and the limitless potential of our own nature.

So, instead of fearing fear, let it become your companion—a guide to deeper awareness, conscious action, and continuous evolution. Through fear, we step into the fullness of life. This is one way. There are of course many others. The idea is to use far and its challenges and opportunities, turning them into the ever-expanding possibility of who you are meant to be.

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