Category: energy body

The Slow Fire: Training Beyond Fear, Thought, and Survival – Part 3

Posted on Last updated on by joeharman8 | 10 min read | 31 views

Thoughts Are Weather, Not Orders

Cognitive capacity is largely determined by bodily state. Beyond certain parameters, your emotions push, but your body’s resources can’t sustain the pressure. That is, unless you are a suitable vehicle for this energy. In terms of martial arts and self defence, developing ones body through martial arts is a method of stress distribution and energy regulation. In this way the martial artists does not suffer stress but is able to transform what would be stress one person into an enhanced possibility within themselves.

Motivation energises the system, but regulation prevents depletion.You can shift the balance from a sudden reaction to danger, which brings a kind of explosive overwhelm based on limited perception and a cognitive representation, to a more grounded and body based response. You can do this by working with breath, posture, movement. This can be done without changing thoughts at all. There may still be thoughts going on, but the contents of the brain in terms of images, sensations, and thoughts is minimal and does not disrupt your attention.

In traditional martial arts, they did not bother thinking in term of just becoming smart or technically trained. Technical details which are stored in the brain as short term memory are not the same as working with the long term neural networks. The short term memory is often an attempt to represent what is deeply understood, often poorly. On the other hand, working with an externally structured pattern and replicating that is a good way to start but after a certain point it is just recalled knowledge, rather than an expressed intelligence.

“You can look at them and use them if you want, but that’s different from imitating these surface expressions.”

In fact, many of the masters of the past urged us to ignore our thoughts and treat them as superficial, passing like the wind. You can look at them and use them if you want, but that’s different from imitating these surface expressions. There is a lot of wisdom in this, because according to martial arts thoughts are not to be enshrined or suppressed, they are just passing events, like the weather to simply observe rather than take orders from.

We think that in some way if we are strong, determined, motivated, that this will bring guaranteed health and confidence. However, it is necessary to develop your system in such a way that it thrives on what it creates in its own way, rather than relying on outside happenings and events. You then develop a strong sense of discipline and internal motivation, which when developed in the long term, brings its own kind of unique prowess to everything you do. Then, rather than because you have undergone some kind of short term competence training and recalled some impressions, you are able to generate something of substance.

So why wait for this teacher or that training method to come? Grow them from within, according to a stable platform and they will naturally develop. A fighter who engages with the their own thoughts or those of others simply hesitates and loses timing. Thus, martial arts historically trained practitioners to let thoughts arise and dissolve without engagement, keeping perception grounded in posture, breath, and the environment. Then, the benefits of training occur without changing thought content. On the other hand, you can be extremely motivated and full of technical skill but still dysregulated. Confidence from surface level competence is fragile. Confidence from a deeply held and formidable structure is stable. This is true competence.

True prowess comes from developing a system that can self-organize, self-regulate, and self-generate. In many ways, mental health is not dependant on the thoughts floating around in your head. Instead, how you engage the nervous system’s capacity to regulate attention, emotion, and action independently of transient mental representations and passing thoughts is the way foreward.

So, what I’m talking about is not just winning a fight, a match, or just getting fit. This is bricks and mortar stuff, where what you grow is inseparable from what you yield. Your thoughts and emotions might bring rain with them, which actually causes growth. rather than removing these, let them do as they will non judgementally. When I say non judgementally, this has been corrupted and can easily lead you to becoming judgemental about everything and fixate on certain things. What I mean is for you yo develop a no mind mind set.

Tomorrows skills are todays crops, which require uncertainty and contradictory conditions, like any dynamic environment in order to thrive. Thoughts, like rain, may feel disruptive. But rain feeds the soil. If the ground is stable, regulated, structured, and integrated, rain produces growth. Understand this, so that there is an interconnection between what you do and how you are, rather than letting thoughts govern action by default.

When you perform intrinsically meaningful activity, that means there is no external motivation. Yes there are external things happening, but there is no carrot and stick. If there is a thought, then there is a thought. Either way, you act as needed, not according to the thoughts going on in your head. This requires a certain clarity, and a lack of distortion of the mind. When there is no distortion, perception and attention occurs faster than thought because it happens unimpeded. It is not that you must have some thoughts and ideas to have attention. There can be attention and perception unattached to thought. In such a state, response becomes immediate, efficient, and fluid — not because thought is suppressed, but because it is not obstructing perception.

So what drives this process of perception without thought? It is simply that you remain fundamentally engaged with the activity, whether or not there is any reward or motivation. It is not that there is no thought happening. Action is not independent of thought, but it is not governed by it. Just as the crops grow without being destroyed by the rain and wind, you too grow as conditions wash over you and you continue in your growth. Growth requires diverse conditions, and thought is a necessary part of this. True development does not occur in sterile mental silence. When engagement is steady and distortion is low, the system reorganizes itself over time. Then, growth becomes continuous and perception led.

Thoughts and emotions gain a dominant influence when regulation is lost and identification occurs. Action then becomes repetitive and rigid. Thoughts then become compulsive and identity forming, rather than just informational or integrated. Mindfulness helps without changing thought content precisely because your activity is not identified with thought but with action and perception. So participation in thought becomes a vonantary process. Then, rather than your work being rewarded by relief from hardship or effort, the process is the product.

“When there is no inner bargaining, that reduces stress load and there is greater yield.”

When you voluntarily become the effort, rather than the result of some reward, this is the same as saying there is no identification with thoughts. There is no transaction, nothing in it for you. and yet, this kind of action improves mental health and wellbeing without disputing existing beliefs or relying on transient motivational states. That means there’s no pay off. When there is no inner bargaining, that reduces stress load and there is greater yield.

Why Survival Is a Terrible Default Mode

If training constantly triggers survival responses, the practitioner becomes good at panic, not endurance. So don’t drag yourself through the process just to get to the end result so that it is over. Staying grounded and centred, rather than dispersed, and in a no mind state, these are all instructions for staying out of survival mode unless absolutely necessary. Training should bias the nervous system toward modes of action that support sustained effort rather than emergency mobilisation. This means that every moment of engagement is life sustaining and stabilising, rather than survival based. You then continuously ride the wave of your own unfolding success, whether you win or lose. This all develops your ability to sustain effort without collapse, and your capacity to sustain this is a consequence of the time you have spent cultivating this process.

What you need to do is to find what uniquely inspires you. You do not need to spend hours practicing skills superficially to be a good martial artists. You will only become a technician that way. When you spend intimate time on all aspects of life, such as the meditative side, how you work, how you recuperate around training these martial arts skills, then you will become better as a result. So you can do minimal physical practice, in a disciplined and sustainable way, whilst spending time away from training. Then, all of your activity enhances the way you are. This is not the same as being lazy with training. When you become much more susceptible to growth and development, rather than just training to constantly triggers survival responses, your growth is ensured. Then, you are involved with everything rather than just a few hours of intense training at the physical level.

Fear Is Not the Enemy

Effective training prioritises sustained, regulated effort over short-term survival reactions, allowing action to arise from structure and perception, instead of cognitive overload and thought. So the idea is to get as involved in everything more broadly, just as you would with certain formal martial arts and self defence training. Then, you become fearless, because there is nothing you are not competent and involved with. This is the same as saying you are all inclusive. When you become excessively fearful, it is natural to want to dominate others and exclude them. So in dominating others, this is just a different way of identifying with fear.

When fear exceeds a person’s capacity to regulate it, the nervous system does not simply remain afraid. It seeks resolution. Domination is often a compensatory strategy for uncontained fear. This is why fear-based societies drift toward domination even when intentions are good. This is yet another example of how thoughts about activity are not the same direct perception and action. When fear cannot be carried, due to weakness and corruption, it is imposed on others. The way to handle fear is to neither deny it nor act upon it, but to work on self regulation and strategies to impede its amplification to an out of proportion state.This brings mental clarity. Clarity means the mind is not distorted by excessive narrative, emotional amplification, or self-referential fixation. Then, fear can exist without needing to control others or becoming reduced by it.

Excessive thoughts often fuel fear. So thoughts are not the source, they are fuel. When you don’t engage thoughts, you allow the fear response, which is primarily physiological, to run its natural course.Fear does not require thought to operate, and can easily become amplified and out of proportion if you allow if to command you. Fear is not the enemy, nor is it the master. By relying more heavily on becoming grounded and robust, you remove cognitive amplification of thoughts. Let fear pass through you, and you are liberated from it altogether.

Epilogue

What we call resilience may have less to do with toughness and more to do with efficiency. Systems that force people into narrow modes of functioning increase stress by design. Practices that widen the circuitry—through movement, posture, breath, and individualised development—allow the same pressures to be sustained with far less cost. This means you shift to heightened attention, without the noise and distortion. This is true of martial arts, and elsewhere. The question may not be how much stress a person can endure, but where that stress is allowed to go, as well as how you relate to a given situation. When you are able to self regulate and engage continuously, response becomes immediate, efficient, and fluid. Not because thought is suppressed, but because it is not obstructing perception. Then you do not comment on the rain, you just continue growing.

The Slow Fire: Training Beyond Fear, Thought, and Survival – Part 2

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From Reaction to Regulation: How the Body Shapes the Mind

“Regulating the body is one of the most direct ways to regulate the brain, because much of what the brain does is to predict, manage, and respond to the body.”

The idea that mental health is separate from physical structure is increasingly difficult to defend. The brain is not an isolated control centre; it is embedded in a living system of nerves, muscles, bones, connective tissue, hormones, and feedback loops. Regulating the body is one of the most direct ways to regulate the brain, because much of what the brain does is to predict, manage, and respond to the body. In terms of martial arts, the work is to focus on the body through certain exercises, so that in the process you also take care of the mind.

Physical training offers a useful analogy—one that is also a direct cause-and-effect process. Bones strengthen through controlled stress and recovery. Muscles grow through breakdown and reorganisation. Movement patterns refine through repetition, error, and adaptation. Mental development follows similar principles. In addition to this, when you feel your body break down and recover, you will feel mentally more robust. I am not talking about breaking down completely, just reforming and replenishing the tissue anew, which is an entirely healthy process. Challenging misconceptions, forming new neural pathways, and reorganising perception require exertion followed by integration. This reforms neural pathways and a certain pruning of old pathways occurs.

Because the body and brain are dynamically interconnected, a substantial portion of brain function is causally dependent on bodily regulation. This includes working with metabolic, physiological, and internal perception processes. So when you work with this processes, you are actually working with both the body and mind through physical activity. This is not about emotionally charging your activity with motivational talk. With a strong intent to perform vigorous activity, you bypass motivation and go straight to energising the body. This is known as Kriya in Yogic circles, or simply working with the energy body. Rather than the body influencing the brain secondarily, the brain’s operating mode is continuously shaped by bodily state.

Without recovery, the system breaks down. Without challenge, it stagnates. Importantly, this process is inseparable from the body’s condition. Posture, breath, movement quality, and tissue health directly affect cognitive and emotional regulation. And when there is a healthy body, the signals which are sent upstream to the brain are also returned downstream to the body, metaphorically speaking. This is a circular relationship. Awareness towards this creates a powerful process of self regulation, and there is no need for emotional stimulation such as in high motivational states, which can cause burnout particularly if unregulated.

“Breaking the mind—understood not as damage, but as restructuring—is as fundamental as breaking down muscle fibres in strength training.”

There is a state called “No Mind” in Zen martial arts. Breaking the mind—understood not as damage, but as restructuring—is as fundamental as breaking down muscle fibres in strength training. It is not that you mindless go around over training and breaking yourself down physically and mentally. It is in this context that “no mind” should be understood.

Martial Arts and the Centre of Gravity

“The Hara Centre are often treated as mystical, it describes something physically concrete: the body’s centre of mass, deep core engagement, diaphragmatic breathing, and integrated posture. These aspects of the physiology can be treated as inputs to the brain, much like external inputs.”

Traditional martial arts articulate this understanding of becoming physically centred through concepts like the hara or dan tian. The Hara is the centre of regulation and maintenance of energy. While terms such as the Hara Centre are often treated as mystical, it describes something physically concrete: the body’s centre of mass, deep core engagement, diaphragmatic breathing, and integrated posture. These aspects of the physiology can be treated as inputs to the brain, much like external inputs. So when you centre your practice around a grounded posture and a developing a strong body, these often out perform purely cognitive interventions for martial arts based around performative technical execution, or even highly motivated and driven behaviour.

When stress or force is received into the Hara Centre, the system tolerates pressure more effectively. In particular, when the breathing is regulated through activity of the diaphragm, this pressure is able to be distributed effectively. For example, when there is a forceful exhale, and an engagement of the core, this signals smooth alignment of the system including the diaphragm and skeletal system into activity. This is why martial arts, yoga, and breath-based meditations emphasise coordinated exhale with movement.

“A strong exhale, particularly with full engagement, acts as a regulatory signal: it couples breathing, core engagement, and intention into a single force.”

Just as lifting a heavy object with the core distributes load and reduces fatigue, grounding stress through posture and breath spreads neural and muscular demand across the whole system. From a scientific perspective, this is training the nervous system at its foundation, not bypassing cognition or goal driven behaviour but stabilising it. A strong exhale, particularly with full engagement, acts as a regulatory signal: it couples breathing, core engagement, and intention into a single force.

As we have seen, it is important to distribute, contain, and circulate the forces of the body effectively. Without this grounding, stress remains concentrated—often in the head and upper body—leading to faster exhaustion, reduced perception, and poorer decision-making. This often makes moving the body a sluggish effort. So the idea is self regulation through movement and activity. Then, you do not need to worry about over learning the technical side of things, or being highly driven and confident about what you are doing. You do all of these things as well, but they become more of a side show.

“Just as a cake needs time in the oven to transform raw ingredients into a stable, palatable form, energy needs to “sit” in the system — contained, regulated, and integrated — to become effective, fluid, and sustainable.”

Martial arts is a whole body affair. In this sense, martial arts training is not merely about technique. Nor is it about developing the kind of cognitive load and mental saturation which is characteristic or overloading the short term memory when revising for an exam. This is what leads to stress, burnout, and a lack of self regulation. For example, during the exam there is a sense of relief and sudden expulsion of thought onto the test paper, but often not much is retained in the long term. Nor is there further inspiration to continue. This is because there is often just an immediate and tense effort. However, just as a cake needs time in the oven to transform raw ingredients into a stable, palatable form, energy needs to “sit” in the system — contained, regulated, and integrated — to become effective, fluid, and sustainable.

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

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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]

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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.

Energy expenditure and renewal – Achieving Balance

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Sleep begins long before you lie down to go to bed. The natural cycle is to rise in the morning, and gradually wind down from midday onwards. Generally, ones energies reach a peak in this daily cycle at midday. Obviously, there are demands in the world which prevent this winding down happening in the most natural way possible. However, the body’s energies are like the rising of the tides, they reach a high point and then recede back daily. The weather and other factors play a role in this, but there is a general pattern which happens anyway. This is how the human system works. Energy is expended and outwardly manifests during the day, and then gradually settles back to the centre at night. 

Picture a circle. The energy reaches the periphery during the day time as the morning goes on. A big circle forms, which means the system is maximally outward bound. The outward bound internal pressure matches relative to that of the external environment. both rise throughout the morning. Then, into the afternoon and evening energy concentrates back to the centre and becomes a smaller dot at night rather than a big circle. This cycle happens daily, making sure that you are able to maintain your system in the best possible way. The planets also goes through this night and day cycle.

Essentially, the more you draw back in during the evening, the less your energies become externalised at night when you are trying to internally maintain the physiological system. If the energies are busy sustaining thought patterns and the brain is too active, this takes a lot of energy. Mental processes are thought to take up around 20% of one’s energy budget. There is a time for this to happen.

Sleep is linked to the formation of new memories because it rids the system of old accumulations of past impressions. Part of this process involves pruning the old branches of accumulated impressions, so that there is space to create new formations of memory. If you also sustain old impressions with energy by becoming too active at night, this slows the process of energy renewal.

If you stay up all day and night, it is like your inner sun is shining all day – the earth is bound to get scorched! However, if the temperature drops at night, this prevents the heat radiating out from the surface. In terms of the human being, this stops many aspects of your physiology from becoming over active, so that others parts of the system can do their job. During the night, metabolism slows, and the outward bound orientation of perception begins to recede inwards. When the energies become internally concentrated in this way, it is as if there is no mind.

The mind is actually part of the broader physiology, it is not just the brain. The brain is just one aspect of the mind. There is a pure mind or consciousness beneath this, unsullied by psychological processes. When the brain rests, this means that during sleep, you are able to sleep without becoming psychologically agitated or worked up.

This is all common sense. It is a question or resting to the extent that you recover properly, making you more able to work effectively. At the same time, it is about making sure that you do not store pent up energy which could interrupt sleep and restfulness.

The importance of sleep

It is important to go to sleep in the right kind of state so that you begin a new each day. Otherwise, there is a sense that the events and problems of one day follow on to the next. God is said to have rested on the seventh day of creation. This surely wasn’t out of laziness, but because there was some need to begin anew the following week, starting with the next day. Creating the world is not an easy thing to do, and we create our experience of the world through our own sense perceptions. The number seven represents the seven chakras, or energy centres. When one reaches the number seven, they are said to experience higher dimensions of thought, or pure thought.

When one has created for themselves the best possible situation, this too takes a lot of work. For example, when an athlete has trained to the utmost, they collapse in bed as if they are dead to the world. They then wake up revitalised the next day, ready to renew themselves. There is a lot of wisdom in doing this because there are many misconceptions about life which people ruminate over during the night if they do not expend enough energy during the day. It is foolish to go over transient thoughts which have not even developed to their full extent, as if they were enduring states. However, if you utilise the body’s energises properly, you reach a state of emptiness, which allows you to become free from agitation or tension. 

Weeding out past impression: Pruning

One way of tiring the mind is to engage in lots of physical work. This naturally makes one more settled and still, which can help with sleep. This is particularly important for children. If children do not get enough exercise, scientists are saying that they can develop psychological problems. This is because if they do not strengthen new neurological and physiological connections with enough vigour, old behaviour patterns do not get rooted out. 

This rooting out of old patterns of behaviour is called ‘synaptic pruning’. If neutrons get too enlarged or the connective synapses become too dense, there is a conflict in energy demands. It is like if you have a patch of soil with weeds in it, these weeds take up the nutrients from the soil, leaving a reduced amount of nutrients for the seeds you wish to planting new seedlings, You need to free up resources for new development. This is the work of the martial artists, to constantly keep their soil free of overgrown and hostile weeds.

Transforming past impressions

Unless you destroy the barriers to growth and renewal, you will not get rid of the same old problems which assail you. There tends to be a fear in people that if they destroy what they know, then who they are gets destroyed along with it. This is not so. It is only the illusion which gets destroyed, the memories of yesterday which have become weakened and damaged. These memories create the illusion that what you have achieved today will go on in its current form tomorrow. This prevents seeing things anew, as if for the first time. 

None of this means that you retain no memory of the past. it is possible to maintain your memories so that they become flexible and malleable enough to become modified and adapted to the present moment of experience. Just as the stomach empties in order to become full again, the basic structure of the stomach does not change. Much of the contents of the stomach is transformed into new cells which go into maintaining the health and vitality of the body. It is the same thing with patterns of behaviour, the old patterns go into creating renewed ones, which look the same but are new. This is the reason for maintaining the purity of the martial arts forms, so that they can be absorbed in the purest form possible before they enter into your system and become modified in some way. Each practitioner modifies the pure form in their own way according to the times in which they live, their own particularly temperament, and many other factors. 

Fullness and emptiness: Sleep and Wakefulness

What you have achieved in terms of work gets blown up like a bubble during the day. The bubble expands and becomes filled with air from the outside. This helps to oxygenate the blood, creating new cells and life within you. This is fullness. At night, the energy naturally recedes after expansion, just like how an area of high pressure drops to low pressure after a certain point. In terms of human experience, this point is when the outside pressure drops at night, which has a corresponding affect on inside pressure within yourself. It is only natural. It is not that you become pressure less, it is just that you become more concentrated and less outward bound.

So during the evening, if you manage to empty your container of high pressure, then you will naturally become settled, which sets the ground for maximum activity the following day. If you have not done this systematically, then energy tends to leave the body more abruptly. Whichever way, this is a daily cycle which the body must go through to reach maximum efficiency. Nature does not care how this happens, it’s up to you. So following an intense workout, if you manage to bring the body and mind back down to a resting state, then this promotes recovery and stable overall functioning.

When you have achieved balance between rest and activity, It is like being born again each time you wake up.  This is why it’s best to tire yourself out with physical or mental work during the day time, and then gradually wind this down in the afternoon and evening, so that you enter into a more mediative state or easeful state later in the day. There is then a good balance between gathering new information and resources, whilst allowing time for the pruning of old irrelevant branches of information. This was how the Masters of the past traditionally structured the day for their disciples. They did not stuff their heads with content night and day as they might nowadays. 

The masters of the past were not aware of the technical information which is available today, so they used very simple methods which worked for them. When something works, it is best to stick with it unless there is a compelling reason to change your methods.

When one feels physically tired, they just slip off to sleep easily because they have employed their energies effectively towards their work, keeping nothing for themselves. This works in your favour because you are preparing to reach maximum receptivity the following day when the energies get higher again. 

The importance of energy expenditure and organisation

When the body becomes tired, and the mind is too active, this can lead to mental imbalances. If you just go out for a long walk, chop some wood, or do any kind of physical or manual work for a few hours a day, you will see that it’s quite easy to go to sleep in the evening. This kind of activity also gets you out in the fresh air, which obviously is a healthy thing to do. Getting out in the fresh air relieves many modern problems, such as skin conditions and mental imbalances. So, the idea is to tire the body and focus the mind, preferably in nature, so that ones attention does not become too scattered and hyperactive. when you attention becomes scattered, you become dispersed. You have to gather this mess and organise it aside.

As we go from activity to non activity, we head towards nothingness, which is often referred to as death. In fact a restful sleep is a bit like a temporary death. At night, if you manage to become detached from purpose and drive, then activity becomes meaningless. This requires organisation rather than neglect. When you sit and rest, nothing else exists for you. There is just being, an organised being. This is not a state which you create, it is always there, so make it yours. So in terms of sleep, you are putting your purpose and activity to one side. Then, you can simply be. You then pick up your activity again the next day and begin your work afresh. This is true organisation.

Like this, you can go on indefinitely. For example, you put the days training to one side and then go to sleep for the night, rather than using the imagination to think about ways of improving and calculating how to actively improve. Sleep will make all the necessary adjustments for improvement if you have worked effectively during the window of activity in the day time. It is better to get rid of the old rather than hold on to the the past in order to ensure your successful development in an organised way. 

Pure Memory

Just because you forget about the details during the night, this does not mean you lost what you previously had. Nor does it mean that you will forget about what you have learnt. It just means that this information becomes imbedded into your deeper memory – your subconscious memory. Just like if you pull the weeds out of a soil patch, they rot down into the earth and provide sustenance for new growth. In other words, you turn the old weeds into a potent energy form which transforms itself into new expressions of growth. 

One way of looking at this is that you take the short term memory of learning something, and then imbed it into your muscle memory. This is just a different way of storing information, transforming it from short term memory into long term memory, which is more embodied instead of just brain based. Then the conscious memory (short term memory) becomes an embodied memory (long term memory) which no longer takes up so much space and energy within the brain. This is the purpose of so called synaptic pruning. At the same time, you can retrieve old information at any time because it is stored as pure memory. This pure memory is unimpeded by physical or mental formations, and exists as an energy. This explains how people who are highly trained can recall things they may think they have forgotten and relearn them again in new ways according to changing situations and demands. 

This is why the traditional systems did not work with complicated theories about what works in various self defence situations. They did not want to constrain the complexity of martial arts to the confines of the imagination. One can plan to fight against a swordsman, but what about an enemy who wields a gun, or even some kind of yet to be invented weapon? The imagination cannot conceive of any such novelty, because spontaneous action requires direct perception rather than imagining an outcome in advance. This is why it is important to maintain the purity of practice by breaking it down to its fundamental essence. 

To this end, martial arts masters wanted to free up the conscious memory so that they could process and experience the present moment. They did not want the distortions of past impressions and experiences to form the basis of their present experience. Instead these past experiences were to be stored in the longer term memory as a kind of energy form within the seat of the subconscious. The physical seat of the subconscious is located in the abdomen, the Hara Centre. This energy form within the seat of the subconscious can then become a kind of malleable expression of energy rather than a fixed form from the past. The Hara Centre is also important for maintenance of the body and its energy. When one becomes internally focused, they can use the energy which they have gathered externally to turn inward. 

Memory and Energy

The long term memory has two aspects to it. It is both an energy and a physical form. In fact, all memory is actually a form of energy in itself, you could not act without memory. In terms of rest, it is important to store the energies of the body internally for maintenance rather than for externally orientated activity. For maintenance purposes, you do not need the same high levels of energy storage and expression as you do in high activity states during the day. So the activity of the day recedes back down during the night, like a lowering tide. This is why it is often said that sleep consolidates memory, because it imbeds conscious memory into the subconscious, turning our physical and mental activity into a kind of renewable and self sustaining energy. 

It is important  that you are realistic about what you can achieve in your activity and training.  Rather than going by what you imagine or what social expectations suggest, it is important to maintain quality over quantity. Often, you get to a point where its best to write off the expectations for the day, dropping them off as you would hang your coat and hat up when you get home. Demands and work will still be there the following day. There is a time for these. You don’t need to hang on to them for longer than necessary. 

A lot of people keep their coat and hat on when they should be trying to sleep. In other words, a lot of people remain active when the time has come to be restful. But what sort of state are they in the next day after being up all night? Often they are unable to do what’s needed of them the following day, and they regret being so active all night. This is particularly important if you have reached a stage in your life where you are looking for more than just basic survival.

A lot of baggage which we hold on to can be simply dropped off when we relinquish holding on to it. What is this baggage? The thoughts and feelings about the events of the day, an excess of energy which can be put aside. These can be things which you pick up and drop at will, if you develop the capability to do so. For example, when it’s time to sleep, instead of holding onto some idea about yourself, it is often better just to put it aside temporarily. Holding on to unnecessary thoughts is the same as storing pent up energy which has not been utilised properly. Thoughts are transient. You may not have much control over them, but you can let them play out and after some time they will transform into a different kid of energy if you make yourself a certain way. 

Maybe you are a world champion kick boxer. There is no point being this way all the time, it just becomes a heavy weight to bear. It is often better to create some time and space to simply drop all of these ideas and become lighter. As I mentioned earlier, these rich ideas about ourselves lay the ground for new ideas to emerge. Allowing time for this process helps you relax and rejuvenate, which is a good way to enhance your own capabilities in the Long run. 

Oscillating Force in Martial Arts

Posted on Last updated on by joeharman8 | 4 min read | 15 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.

Posture and Energy Transfer in Martial Arts

Posted on Last updated on by joeharman8 | 6 min read | 23 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 | 19 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.

Liberating the Genetics: From Determinism to Determination [Part 2]

Posted on by joeharman8 | 15 min read | 25 views

Part 2 follows on directly from part 1. Here, we look at how the influence of the karmic structure and the genetic body influences our behaviour. We will look at ways which have been used in martial arts traditions to use this powerhouse of energy in a conscious and productive way. By using the energy body in certain ways it is possible to make the energies more malleable rather than concretised, which we will look at now.

Contraction and Extension

From the tightly compact seed, the truth unfolds into an infinite possibility of expansion.

Part 2 follows on directly from part 1. Here, we look at how the influence of the karmic structure and the genetic body influence our behaviour. We will look at ways which have been used in martial arts traditions to use this powerhouse of energy in a conscious and productive way. By using the energy body in certain ways it is possible to make the energies more malleable rather than concretised, which we will look at now.

The reason for various back breaking martial exercises was to put the body under such pressure that the bodies energies would recede inwards and concentrate itself more tightly. This had the benefit of increasing fitness, and harnessing will power and discipline into focused activity. At the same time, when the energies have been compressed and made more focused, it is possible to spread the energies in a more organised way. This may seem counter intuitive, but condensing and concentrating this force of energy increases its possibility for expansion. In this way it is said to be possible to wear out ones karma by contracting the internal mixture, and then extending it like baking bread. The bread transforms the mixture into something else. This is one way of looking at it. This is also known as internal alchemy.

So these martial exercises were a preparatory stage for influencing ones own genetic material, or the energy body. By concentrating this dispersed energy, the physical body becomes more malleable and more open to transformation from within. Otherwise, the energies remain reactive to the external environment predominantly and you never know the potency of their potential. At the same time, when you have shrunk the genetic influence over the body and reduced it down, you leave space for increased wave forms of energy, which bring about a sense of ease and pleasantness rather than agitation and reactivity. When you have reduced it down, particularly within the area of the Hara Centre, it becomes warmed up and more able to extend itself further rather than contracting the energy body. When it goes out again it disperses more widely and as a less dense layer, until it dissolves altogether. This is known as dissolution of Karma.

When the energy becomes concentrated in the Hara Centre, the seat off the self, it is experienced in a more intense way which is more focused and powerful. This awakens a powerful wave of upwards ascending energy known in Yoga as the Kundalini force, or Linga Sharira. In Chinese systems, the awakening of this energy is known as grand circulation, amongst other names. It is essentially the full fledged functioning of the energy body, which creates a fire in the belly, which is partly responsible for both activity and dissolution of Karma. By becoming a wave form of energy, like water, it no longer sticks so stubbornly to the body and mixes with the wider existence. At the same time it becomes part of your own existence. I realise this sound like nonsense, but I am attempting to make this mumbo jumbo into some sort of logical explanation to the best of my ability, so bare with me.

It is only because of fundamental misunderstandings of the energy body, that people have gone about handling it in limited ways. Because of the power of the kundalini force, traditionally certain behaviours and codes of conduct have been instituted in those trained in its ways. For example, it has been linked with increased sexuality or instinctive behaviours, but only in situations where the energy dissipates at the level of the Muladhara, or root chakra1. For this reason, disciples were put to back breaking work or held in protective atmospheres in temples, so that they could fully explore the spiritual significance of this rising energy without inflating its influence over other areas of life.

When you want to move to the ultimate possibility, without developing the right internal circumstances and scope for development, then you are missing a vital first step. This first step is including the necessary cultivation so that this blossoming happens naturally, rather than by force. This is why certain qualities and virtues were always instilled in disciples of martial arts. This is particularly the case when doing something like raising the energies a higher level of functioning, or dissolving ones karmic influence. Otherwise, it is possible to diminish ones karma to the extent that there is no stable root, or make the energies lopsided in the body.

The whole point of martial arts is to develop the relationship between our internal and external environment. This is symbolised by Yin and Yang. In martial arts tradition, this has always meant developing the qualities of self discipline and work ethic, in order to cultivate an attitude of perseverance and self transformation. If this determination to develop is cultivated, then the genetic component of an individual is brought to its highest possibility. From the tightly compact seed, the truth unfolds into an infinite possibility of expansion. This is the essence of life. For instance, the sperm cells are amongst the most potent and tightly packed cells, which means they have the capability to create a body, along with the egg. This is one example.

Everything must be done according to ones capability and understanding. And above all, everything can be used intelligently rather than excluded due to judgemental prejudice. This is why it is foolish to try to destroy something like ones karmic structure or instinctive nature, without putting it effective use. If in the process of self realisation it leaves you, then this is good. At the same time a certain necessary amount is needed to function properly. This is the reason for harsh austerities which masters impose on themselves, which seem illogical. They create for themselves a resistance, a karmic load to carry, which gives them a strong root. At the same time they don’t get entangled it the process, and routinely work through their karma, which becomes a conscious choice for them. This choice can de dedication to certain exercises, a certain diet, or just about anything which they deem appropriate. There is no right or wrong here, it is just that there are different life goals and orientations.

It is not usually advisable to attempt to handle powerful internal energy situations head on initially. It certainly cannot be mastered by force. Since childhood the genetic influence has been campaigning about how you have be be dictated too by them, and how they own you. Fighting them only makes you more identified with them. The best way is to leave them to their nonsense until you experience something more than they are. Then you will never take them seriously. This is why the Master would make sure the the disciple was serious before moving to serious forms of practice. It was not uncommon for the disciple to have to move in with the master of the temple, or to dedicate their entire life to a system of martial arts practices. Today, these practices would not fit with the social norms of society. However, the practices are still alive.

It is ridiculous to talk about liberating the mind from misconceptions, when a large percentage of social media content relies on misconceiving reality as some superficial appearance. It is for this reason that the authentic practices have been left out of mainstream thought, but at the same time they are to be found in certain hidden places in full view.

The Masters of today will encourage the disciple with rudimentary seminar classes, before inviting them in for more advanced programs. Before they know it, they have moved from a weekly course, to a weekend seminar abroad in the middle of Thailand, for instance. This is done according the the discipline which slowly builds in the disciple. It is rarely the case anymore that people jump right in from the start.

The origins of genetic determinism

The idea about genetics defining a person comes from the need to keep practices within certain clans. It has little to do with what nature has endowed people with genetically, because this itself is largely unexplored. Nature has certainly not made genetic influence the defining factor in most people, because it is in and of itself not capable of doing so. At the same time, it is open to any possible influence. This is because the genetic body is intermingled with the karmic substance, as well as the physical and mental bodies. This is according to traditional thought. So what you are looking at is a complex amalgam, which can be a different mixture depending on the person.

It is like, if you plant a seed into the soil. The plant itself will grow according to the soil in a certain minimal way. Whether the soil is good or bad will determine much. Along with that, much of its growth depends on the sunlight, and other environmental factors, which taken together are responsible for the majority of the plants growth. If it grows to full potential it will look a certain way, but this appearance is not why it grew to its full potential. In fact, it may look the same way if it is healthy or unhealthy. It is just the longevity and the susceptibility to certain influences may be different as a result of its growth. this becomes apparent as time goes on.

So the environment can influence the genetic body, or energy body, to the extent that it becomes intertwined with the physical body. This creates a powerful link between physical practices and disciplined lifestyle. In fact, it is not even true that you have an energy body separate from the physical body, or even a brain separate from the body. It is this energy, which is largely to do with environmental influences which is responsible for the organisms development and cultivation, as well as the expression of so called genetically determined factors. It is through pride that people have labelled themselves genetically superior, or other inferior, which has led to racism and ideas of genetic determinism.

The idea that genetics determines a persons future is flawed for several reasons. First of all, genes are said to be almost the same in everyone. That means that the genes of your grandparents, as well as relatives from thousands of years ago, are probably the same as you. Even in a chimpanzee, they are 98 percent the same. Yet, we still see a lot of variation in people. This is because the same soil is responsible for the cultivation of an infinite variety of life. This is what makes a forest the way it is, full of variation and organised chaos, where everything has its place.

Over the course of thousands of years, human experience has changed dramatically. Human experience has also changed dramatically in the last 20 or so years, with the massive development of technology. It has changed to the extend that modes of living from a few decades ago are now almost totally redundant. So factors such as these determine the transformation of our experience more than genes do. But at the same time they alter the expression of our genes. This is why it becomes complicated, and also this explains why the old ways can so quickly become redundant. At the same time this explains why timeless traditions can also remain relevant.

Various other factors aside from genes have played a vital role in determining the course of our development. You could say that genes provide the constant platform for infinite possibility. From this platform you would not make a roof or a window, for instance. So the platform is the fundamental constant. The rest you can play with any way you want. This infinite possibility is inside of our genetic code, rather than outside of us. At the same time we become intimately linked with our external experience, which we ourselves can gain increasing mastery over. So I am not down playing genetic influence, I am merely trying to demonstrate that its potency has been assumed to be something less than it is by making out that is defines the outcome of our experience. It is much more than that.

Learning from our environment

So genetic disposition is predominantly to do with the social norms and habits which themselves breed a certain kind of genetic energy within groups. These live beyond individual lives, so for this reason they are passed down from generation to generation. Nobody wants you to be liberated from this. It is an individual thing, which can none the less be done in a community. It is the tribal mentality of separatism which inflates the differences between peoples, as well as the genetically determined aspects of sticking with the tribe and loyalty towards certain causes.

Take the planet, for instance. It is the planets warmth and electromagnetic force which sustains life on the planet. This is what sustains its development, and this energy is what is passed onto life on this planet. It is not owned by the sun. In the same way, the habits and practices of people far outlive the physical body itself, but they are a consequence of the planet. These practices and the body itself are connected to each other, but it is the coherence between life and disciplined practice which determined the inevitability of genetic disposition. The other choice is to become liberated from this, by following the dictates of a more casual influence, which has to do with the greater existence.

Practices you can do

“The abdominal wall sends waves through the system which travel further than the abdomen, ensuring that the energy transforms appropriately rather than creating high pressure everywhere.”

This environmental energy can be an enormous factor in an individuals growth. This is why certain traditions have kept secret practices within their own ranks, because they either thought they created them, or they thought it was too dangerous to include people who weren’t receptive to the environments they created. These environments became entire cultures, such as in the Himalayas and India for example. These practices provide the driving engine for developing the necessary fire of the body, whilst at the same time offering a water element for its cooling.

The brain works best when it is cool and at low pressure. This is why nasal breathing has been recommend in order to send cool oxygen straight to the brain directly, rather than through the bloodstream. Try this exercise. Find a quiet place to sit, and simple breath through the nose in an upright cross legged position. Feel the nasal passage expands you touch the roof of you mouth with the tip of the tongue. If you sustain this position for around ten minutes or more, a sense of ease and energy will generate in the nasal area and enhance your sense perception, leading to increased well being.

The body’s physical centre, the Hara Centre or the abdomen can withstand more pressure and heat without overheating. In fact, the intestines have enough potential force to crack a Brazil nut. So when you create this pressure through abdominal breathing exercises, as well as other martial arts exercises, you create an area of relatively high pressure to the brain. In this way, it was understood that certain physical practices to develop the Hara Centre would naturally and sustainably cultivate the area of low pressure, which is the brain. This is based on the law that areas of high pressure naturally flow to areas of low pressure in waves. For example, the abdominal wall sends waves through the system which travel further than the abdomen, ensuring that the energy transforms appropriately rather than creating high pressure everywhere. Basically, this encourages bioelectrical energy, or neurological energy, to travel throughout the system at sustainable rates.

Try this exercise, which can be done at the same time as the nasal breathing above. As you sink down into the cross legged posture, into the sitting bones, utter or imagine the “ahh” syllable2. At the same time extend upwards, lifting the upper spine and stretching the lower spine. You can repeat this at least six or so times, or even for as long as desired.

So this is why the brain is always kept cool by certain modes of conduct and meditative exercises. If the brain becomes the driving force, then you are going increasingly by theory rather than experience. Keep the brain cool therefore, and the body (particularly the abdomen) warm, balancing out the Fire and Water elements. This is the idea behind the practices of abdominal and nasal breathing, taken together.

The brain is likely to become a source of entanglement in the aspiring martial artists, because it excessively complicates what the body understands genetically or in the energy sense naturally. It is this unwillingness to work with the body and go through the necessary disciplined practice which is scaling down the overall understanding in the energetic sense of the body. This comes at a huge price for the aspiring martial artists. In this way martial arts has become increasingly theoretical, because of hyper development of cognitive activity, and lack of involvement and aliveness of the physical and energetic expression.

References

1 Sexuality and Martial Arts https://intuitivemartialarts.com/2023/05/01/sexuality-and-martial-arts/

2 Sound and Form [Part 1] https://intuitivemartialarts.com/2023/12/20/sound-and-form-part-1/

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