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.
The Power of Full Engagement: Mastering Effort for Peak Performance
In a world filled with distractions, it’s easy for one’s mind to wander and focus to slip. One often finds themselves overthinking, second-guessing, or drifting from one task to the next without full commitment. But what if the key to unlocking peak performance lies not in multitasking or trying to balance everything, but in one simple principle: putting in maximum effort and engaging fully in what you’re doing?
The Power of Focused Effort
The first step to mastery is learning how to fully engage in the task at hand. When one consciously directs their focus and puts all their energy into one thing, they eliminate the mental noise that often slows them down. Whether working, training, or pursuing a personal goal, giving full attention allows one to tap into their potential and push beyond what they thought possible.
This focus creates a unique kind of rhythm: as the mind and body work in unison, both will naturally begin to tire. But this tiredness is not a negative—it’s a sign that effort is being exerted, that progress is being made, and that results are on the horizon.
Effort is the Key to Progress
True progress happens when one stops measuring effort by comfort or by how much they can avoid exertion. Growth happens when one pushes themselves to the point of fatigue, breaking through mental and physical barriers. The key is to make effort habitual, not something reserved for special occasions or challenges.
By committing fully to one’s work, hesitation and self-doubt are removed from the equation. Whether training alone, working on a project, or practicing a skill, one should act decisively and without second-guessing. Let the body tire, but keep the mind focused on the task. The mind will naturally tire and become still when the need to exert yourself is over. The goal is to make effort a constant pre occupation so that pushing oneself becomes second nature. This does not mean constant physical effort, but a conscious effort to become aware of this process.
Push Beyond Your Limits
The more one engages in focused effort, the more both body and mind will adapt. Over time, they will find that they no longer need to calculate the next move or deliberate over every action. This is why it is important to become more consciously aware of what you are doing, so that the mind and body follow suit. One then will act instinctively, responding to challenges without hesitation rather than reacting stupidly. This shift from automatic action to conscious effort is where real growth happens. Effort becomes part of who one is, and with that, the limits that once seemed rigid begin to fade away.
Effort Creates Results, Not Comfort
In the pursuit of mastery, there’s no room for complacency. One must continue to exert effort, even when tired or when things get tough. It’s not about avoiding discomfort—it’s about learning to work through it. When your back is against the wall, you act. When it is time to sleep you fully commit to that as a conscious action. Do as needed. Every time one pushes their limits, they increase their capacity for more. As the body tires, the resolve grows stronger. With every drop of effort, one moves closer to their desired results.
This approach requires discipline and consistency. It’s about showing up every day, putting in the work, and doing whatever it takes to push past obstacles. At the same time, if you are new to something this need not be a barrier. The satisfaction that comes from effort is secondary to the fulfillment of knowing progress is being made goal you are aiming to achieve. The effort is happening now, the goal is only an imagined goal, which may or may not even be sensible. With full awareness of this process and conscious effort, you eventually unfold you full potential.
Conclusion: The Relentless Pursuit of Effort
In any endeavor, the most powerful tool one has is effort. When one commits fully to their work and exerts every ounce of energy into what they do, they unlock their true potential. Through consistent, focused effort, one pushes themselves to new heights and continually grows. You will then see the importance of rest when it is necessary. Otherwise there is just a kind of malaise and boredom which puts you to sleep prematurely and restlessly.
So, stop waiting for the perfect moment or the ideal conditions. Engage fully in the task at hand, give your best effort, and make pushing yourself the cornerstone of growth. Over time, effort will become part of who one is, and the results will speak for themselves.
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.
Posted on Last updated on by joeharman8|18 min read|93 views
If you pay sufficient attention to any particular aspect of life, you can greatly raise your general awareness. This is true of fighting. The question is, are you able to raise enough awareness to turn a survival process into a conscious process? In other words, are you able to turn a process which is self persevering, into one which is transformative in nature? This requires a great deal of discipline, much more than most people are aware. without the needed discipline, it usually just becomes a process of building the ego in a game of winners and losers.
Because people are egged on by those around them to achieve various forms of glory, it is often the case that their environment creates this attitude. It is like living in an echo chamber where you hear loud cheers over and over again to go in this direction of winning against people. People then start to think that if they don’t want these things then they are not normal, or that they lack motivation or desire. There are ways around becoming absorbed in this attitude, if you want to, which we will explore here.
So people think it’s normal for everyone to want to be the best. Either that or slightly better at some specific task. This is not true however. Some people are compelled in this direction, due to being brought up in war or desperation for example. There’s nothing wrong with using these drives therefore, but for many people it is not necessary to use fighting and aggression to move to the next level.
Fighting is not the only path in martial arts. It is true that martial arts comes from war, but this does not mean destroying those around you. There are many masters who have developed themselves simply by appreciating the fact that they can train, eat, and breathe well. If you develop this appreciation sufficiently, it is possible to become appreciative of absolutely anything, including waking up each morning as you are. If you are appreciative of this fact, then you will no longer waste time on things which are no longer important. Because you are appreciative of every moment. This is one way. There are many who do not achieve this every morning. Remind yourself of that from time to time.
In fact, it is usually better to use some other means than fighting to achieve the best possible version of yourself. And then, you end up becoming a powerful being by virtue of your own nature, rather than some attitude or personality which has been forced upon you. If you fully develop who you are, and celebrate this, then you will obviously be driven to develop in the best possible way. There is no time to waste then. You will then develop according to your potential, rather than some narrow preconception based on a small aspect of the whole.
Because achievements such as winning in martial arts contests have become glorified, then in becomes tempting to make this a general prescription for success. As we will see, there is no general need for most people to compete against others in this way. There is nothing wrong with fighting for the right reasons.
The warriors of old would die or become crippled after a small number of contests in the past, simply because there was no proper operating table or soap. A sword wound would be lethal, you would get a serious infection. There would be no guarantee of winning either, you didn’t know anything about the opponent. Sometimes, a soldier would kill himself if he lost, or dishonoured his tribe in some way. Yes, this was the reality, which you were probably born into. Today we see people fall apart mentally, even killing themselves over pride. So it is best not to go there in todays world, where we have much better opportunities for self development.
There are certain groups of people are naturally more aggressive than others, but essentially for most people it diverts them away from who they actually are. Musashi, the Japanese swordsmen, was that way. He was driven in that way which most people are not. He had no Master, no training centre. He simply went around engaging in deadly contests as if it was the last thing he would ever do. A Shaolin monk, who is seeking longevity and spiritual enlightenment, is another way. He is seeking to use the martial arts as a means for health, rather than destruction. The same energy can be used to destroy or to bring life. But it must be developed properly and with the right attitude.
The House of Cards
“This is a crime against your own humanity, to make the mistake of studying something so profound without the necessary recognition of its worth.”
Building the ego and becoming a winner seems appealing enough. But this in itself is a huge Karma for somebody who gets to into it unnaturally. when I say unnaturally, I mean in terms of what is needed by yourself and the environment you live in, not just some small aspect of yourself development. This small aspect of yourself, the ego, does not need developing in most people, in fact it needs curtailing. This is why in traditional societies, and martial arts centres, they curtailed the ego if they had build up the fighting capabilities of the individual.
Today this curtailing the ego is being ignored, and with dire consequences in many instances. people develop their fighting skills without the necessary discipline. The result is they get bored and restless because they already know everything through the internet and instruction. This is why such things were never taught to the masses, because without the right attitude you will just take for granted everything you see and not experience it totally. This is a crime against your own humanity, to make the mistake of studying something so profound without the necessary recognition of its worth. So you end up learning lots of rubbish but have experienced none of the reality which the Shaolin monks and Musashi spoke of.
The present day environment does not contain within it the same level of violence as before. There are happening here and there, but there are also much bigger threats to the existence, such as viruses and poor health. This is why practiced such as yoga and well being are on the up swing. Once you have survived a certain experience, it is much better to move on a transform your situation into one of prosperity. Otherwise, if you are hyper developing the survival aspect, this gets blown out of proportion and you never see it for what it is.
“The power of the mind is such that it can be used to focus on one aspect and then draw everything else to it”
If you can handle the consequences of your actions, then there is not problem. But in general, putting up with severe stress and anxiety about a far off event, such as a competition, is not only exhausting but it also reduces awareness of the present moment. It reduces awareness that the threats to human well being are becoming more undermined by misuse of technology, and poor maintenance of health. Thankfully, martial arts exercises take care of these things without blowing up the need to win at all costs against people.
winning at all costs builds a fixation with social approval, as well as experiencing life and stress and anxiety unless you win a major event. These are small thing in life, why blow them out of proportion? For some elite athletes, for a short period of time in their lives, this will be necessary. But in general, it is better to look within yourself and enhance your wider perceptions. That way, you will gain from every aspect of your experience, which will build and reinforce itself from a larger pool of experience. This is the power of the mind. If mind becomes a tool for imagining some glorious winning situations in the future, rather than of processing the experience of the moment and transforming it into something else, then this is limited. The power of the mind is such that it can be used to focus on one aspect and then draw everything else to it. Or, it can be used to pick something apart and lead to more complications.
The Inner Fight
A sense of ease and flexibility, as well as awareness and competence, is what the internal martial arts seeks to create. It is possible to turn trauma, stress, anxiety, or any other negative emotional states into positive ones. This is why traditionally they do not fixate on winning, because they already knew how to turn any negative experience into a positive one. Transformation has nothing to do with good or bad, it is just that you are taking any thought or emotion and channeling it into something more. You are focusing on one thing and drawing everything else include it within your experience. The other way is to focus on one thing and exclude everything else. This just leads eventually to reduced vision and therefore an illusion of reality if this is all you see.
This is the real goal, to move beyond your current situation, rather than to solidify it or blow it out of proportion the way it is. It doesn’t matter whether this is stress or happiness, all of it can be used. Otherwise, it just dissipates at a certain level of expression. Depending on how much you have transformed the energies, this level can be raised or minimised with the right attitude and training.
If you sit in stillness for a certain period of time, then the emotions and chemistry of the body dissolve and create a new form of expression. This was known as internal alchemy, or the internal energy medicine in certain Chinese systems. Basically, it involves daily meditation, as well as exercises to increase the circulation of the body, as well as the fluidity of the energies. There are many ways to go about it. It can be achieved by performing daily martial arts exercises, and then sitting in mediation and stillness when you have worked out physical need to expend energy. The amount this needs doing will vary between individuals. Even a small amount of this per day, perhaps for an hour or so, can be hugely beneficial. As a process, building in mindfulness and exercise as part of the daily routine works towards the same end.
Motivation
“If you make every moment of your life worth living, then you will not have to motivate yourself towards a future goal of any kind. It is already there for you to explore in its entirety, to the fullest extent possible”
Why would you want to win against somebody else if you are already satisfied with what you have? At the same time, if you are satisfied with what you have, you will long for more, because the nature of the universe is to expand. So when you have fully developed your capabilities, there is a natural expansion. When I say expansion, I mean an expansion of what you are, rather than an accumulation of accolades and additional baggage. If you are satisfied with what you are, then you will naturally want to defend this so that it develops, if it is valuable to you. This means making daily exercises the basis of your transformation, rather than looking for ways to rest at the end of an ordeal.
So if you make every moment of your life worth living, then you will not have to motivate yourself towards a future goal of any kind. It is already there for you to explore in its entirety, to the fullest extent possible. The problem is that if you fill the mind with all sorts of fanciful ideas, and you develop all sorts of strong emotional attachments to objectives, then this naturally clouds the mind. You are filling up the hard rive instead of leaving it free to process. another way of looking at clouding the mind is, it is like if you paint over a window, all you can see is what you have painted over it. You can’t see anything clearly beyond it, and it is no longer useful for perception.
Cultures of Combat
“Overcoming injustice and fighting wars is deeply ingrained in the human being, beyond their personality and situational experiences.”
Combat lifestyle was cultivated in traditional societies in such a way that would today be considered unnecessarily restrictive. It was not restrictive necessarily, it is just that if you are going for discipline, then why not go all the way. In modern day societies, we see that in the army a huge amount of discipline is instilled in recruits. However, without the right mental and spiritual training, the trauma of such events has been shown to have a detrimental effect on the mental health and emotional well of many individuals. So how does one develop fortitude and self discipline needed to carry such a responsibility?
When you go to war, it is not a case of planning to come back a champion. It might happen, but there are serious risks. Instead, you go in defence of the nation, and you might not come back. You might also go out of naiveté, but that’s different. If you can go anyway, whatever the costs, then it means that you have transcended your own individual needs to some degree. This is an initial step.
For other people, there is no need to develop tenacity by going to war. For many people, their own nature compels them to see injustices and war in every aspect of life. They get there by themselves, by their own nature. This explains how the idea of overcoming injustice and fighting wars is deeply ingrained in the human being, beyond their personality and situational experiences. This is why they said that if you train in the traditional martial arts forms, all the secrets will be revealed. The means are within you already. This means that fighting is inherent in human experience generally, and can be used by any one as a means for development and transformation, without or without a physical enemy.
This example of war shows you that it is not the idea that you will win that is the primary motivating force, it is the idea that you survive the process and develop from it. More than that, you don’t actually need to fight in a war to be subject to the same forces of nature which transform an individual. Perhaps if you are engaged in war, it speeds up the process, making you more immediately attentive to certain realities. But essentially, fighting is not to do with winning and losing. This only permits a certain gratification from the idea of it. So basically, thoughts about wins and losses only exist as ideas in the mind, rather than realities to be experienced.
You cannot experience a process out of an idea, you can only experience the reality of it. Otherwise, it is just a theory or an attempt to live through an imagined process or a remembered event. The imagination and memory are not suitable vessels for the full expression of life, only life is capable of doing this. So the idea is to become sensitive to these energies, rather than sensitive to some imagined social process going on in your imagination of memory.
Of course, in any contest you want to win, and you do everything to do so. This enhances your awareness and consciousness. Naturally, you capabilities go up over time as you experience the intensity of the situation. But winning is not an expectation necessarily, and if you lose, it’s not a stain on your character or profile. If you are really honest with yourself you will see that social approval and objectified situations are not set in stone. In fact, you are free to experience them as you wish, as good or bad, or inconsequential In terms of your success.
The instinctive energies can be used a platform to transformation. By themselves they only reach a certain point. It is not like you can save them up and when they reach a certain number they change their quality. It is like if you light a fire, the fire only burns for a certain amount of time. If you heat a saucepan, the heat remains for longer as it transfers on the metal and in the water container. The hot water is then used to heat a room for example, or to cook a meal, which can be stored for long periods. So you are using the heat to transform a situation, rather than stock piling it. From this example, you can see that the possibility for expansion of heat energy is increased by using it as a fuel rather than an outcome to be preserved.
So it is not so much that you develop toughness and fortitude by going to war, it is more that you better have those qualities going in to start with. In other words, you can develop these in so many other ways than fighting. One person wins a medal. I might eat a Banana, sit down, meditate, and have a profound experience. What does it matter? If the experience is profound and impactful, then this is what leads to transformation. If you have already decided that the experience is defined by an outcome or by social approval, then you are not able to experience anything new, any transformation with nothing left of the old.
In terms of the spiritual side of martial arts, you become a nobody rather than an iconic star. This is to bring down the association between winning and success. Because of the idea that you have to win at something to prove you are the best, success in this sense has be blown completely out of proportion. Because more and more people are involved it in martial ares contests, it becomes harder and harder to stand out as slightly better than someone else. So not only are peoples energies becoming increasingly dissipated in limited activities, but it also takes more and more to stand out against the competition.
Combat is used to heighten the fighting capabilities of an individual. This was neccessary during times of war. The problem is, when the war was over, people got restless, and bored. As a result, various combative arts, as well as competitive sports, were instituted into the society to alleviate the tension which built up in times of peace and prosperity. At the same time, these activities have always been in society in various forms to stop people getting lazy and unmotivated. They are also great ways of people celebrating their own vibrancy and creative energies, in such a way that they can enjoy a contest between in each other. The right balance has to be struck. The problem comes when the process of the contest becomes less important than beating the opponent. The competitive process which lead to transformation is then circumvented in favour of fighting for an outcome.
The instincts of survival involved in fighting, such as aggression and ambition, are trying to fullfill certain certain narrow objectives. They are trying to go for a particular outcome. This could be acquiring a mate, getting food, or fending off an attacker. Essentially, all these instincts are trying to fullfill is some short term objective. They are not looking for well being. It is very difficult to turn these energies into something else, especially if you blow them out of proportion. To transform them into an ultimate possibility requires a lot of wisdom and perseverance. The real question is, can these instinctive energies be used to fuel you towards something greater? Yes they can. And in the process you can discover that you need much less insticintive drive and ambition to function properly once you have learnt to focus on other things. You become too busy to blow them up uncessasrily, and everything goes into your work. They very energies of the body become a great possibility rather than a conclusion.
When you heighten the instincts of survival, this prepares you to take on opponents. These opponents are not usually in front of you most of the time. So to become sensitive enough to the environment that you can produce the necessary energy to act, is the main concern. Now, when I say sensitive, I do not mean that you get depressed or anxious about someone looking at you the wrong way. Naturally, you then become more and more aggressive and hostile to people who you consider competitors. This is why traditionally, anyone preparing for war or combat was typically put on a healthy diet, a disciplined lifestyle, and great care was taken to limit the volatility around them. Otherwise they just ended up becoming wantonly cruel or unable to function outside of severely competitive environments.
However, in todays world, in which more and more efforts are made towards ones well being rather than just survival, there are several ways to go about conducting ones lifestyle. You don’t have to go about meeting the social standards of warriors or elite athletes. Whatever you chose to do, if you put everything into it, it is possible to circumvent any unnecessary stagnation or dissipation of energy at the level of aggression and other unpleasant emotions. At the same time, you are engaged in a process which makes the most of your energies, making you more dynamic and creative than if you were under external pressures and stresses.
“Deal with your own situation and all its concerns, which at the same time encompasses anything from the outside which influences it”
Sometimes, when you enter a room there is a hostility in the air. For example, say you walk into a bar, you might get looked at funny. This might be because the person looking at you funny has become territorial and starts glaring at you. On the other hand, someone in a martial arts Dojo, which has within it a certain etiquette, might not even get noticed by anyone if they walk in there. So these two situations and the environments are highly charged. The atmosphere however, is completely different. The people in the martial arts Dojo will be too busy training and occupied with their own work to even notice. This is the sign of a proper martial arts centre. This tradition has today been lost in many cases.
In many martial arts centres, people might think it’s their duty to notice outsiders and make a certain impression on them. This is a marketing and promotional strategy. This can be good or bad. However, basically the way of dealing with problems is to become too busy with your own situation to deal with them. In this way, you deal with your own situation and all its concerns, which at the same time encompasses anything from the outside which influences it. In other words, the internal situation and all of the challenges eventually merge with the outside situation too. This is called creating harmony between Yin and Yang. This is one way.
Emotion or Intelligence?
“You first become emotionally attached to some form of practice, or view it intellectually. This is a way in, a starting point. Naturally, as you organise yourself around this goal, your internal structure also becomes more integrated and organised, so that the very need for rigid routines goes down.
The other way is to become so into the practice on an emotional or intellectual level, that you surpass the limitations of both of these dimensions of experience. So you first become emotionally attached to some form of practice, or view it intellectually. This is a way in, a starting point. Naturally, as you organise yourself around this goal, your internal structure also becomes more integrated and organised, so that the very need for rigid routines goes down. You are then able to stick with the practices, but if the life situation gets in the way, you remain flexible to that. This is the beginning of various ritualistic and sacred forms of practice. These then get handed down through generations of people, which have practiced and benefitted from them. They need not still practice these as individuals, they may have surpassed the need to do so. These forms of practice must be modified according to the times, but the principle form of energy orientation remains the same fundamentally.
So the external forms of practice aim to raise your energetic experience to a new level. This is the aim of the physical martial arts, such as competitive sparring and belt graded pressure tests. The idea is to overwhelm you to the point that you disintegrate. And yet, you are so much more. If you simply do the practices for social prestige, it’s not the same at all. When you do them to enhance your experience of who you are and what you are capable of, then your whole experience becomes broader and more powerful, whether you benefit materially or not.
This is how martial arts can be used as a way to overcome certain limitations. What you believed to be anxiety surrounding an event was your means of salvation and overcoming. It is like if you fall in love. Your whole sense of who you are drops away. And then, if it succeeds, your anxiety about impressing that individual or not living up to their expectations, fades into the background as you merge with them. In term of martial arts, this entails initially being involved with the external aspects of training, but then shifting to something more when the time comes.
The anxiety around training is natural at the beginning, but when you have raised the roof, this becomes a smaller aspect off the overall experience. It is a necessary part, but becomes less and less of an emphasis. At the same time, the sense of achievement, which was a small spec to begin with, becomes more and more. It is not that you chose this achievement to happen, any more than you chose to fall in love with somebody. But carefully the Master has put you on this track. Or maybe it within you all along. There is no way around it if this is handled correctly, because it lies at the heart of human experience. It is the law and the path is set.
Once you have raised the bar of your experience, naturally you are then left with only dedication and discipline to surpass yourself. The energy has been used up and a certain sense of clarity and orientation towards more remains. That is, once you have overcome whatever trial you have been faced with. In both instances, mediation or physical training, you eventually surpass yourself. It is just like how the mother surpasses who she was before she had children. In terms of martial arts, one way involves blasting off the breaks, and another way involves maintaining a steady speed to get there. Physical training often involves pushing oneself to the utmost. Mediation is a steadier ride. The key is to consciously deal with the pressures of each situation. Do not think that mediation is easy. There are unexpected twists and turns that you must consciously handle, just as against a physical competitor. Against an external situation, this may be physically more demanding, but both require full conscious commitment to transform the situation.
Become Air Bourne and Grounded
Whichever the path, the inner or outer, there is the same level of testosterone and other bio chemical processes happening, but these processes are happening in a completely different way. Let’s look at why this is. Do not think that a hulking athlete has more testosterone than the meditator. The expectant Mother has as much chemically going on within her as any other woman. In the same way, you could say that the mediator is developing a child within themselves by nourishing their energy body. Indeed there are many mediative practices which speak of these things. The energies are just being used in different ways. One person is sustaining the energy body, and one is sustaining or developing the emotions and physical functioning. So what the mediator is looking to shed, the physical athlete is looking to build.
When a mediator sits and observes himself with enough light on the matter, he eventually disintegrates the particles and energy forms which the physical martial artist is using to integrate within himself for physical strength. Just as the child within the womb uses up energy, so does the spiritual body. This is both life sustaining, in the sense that you identify with this role, or life taking, in the sense that you feel it is too demanding.
Studies have recently shown that light, or electromagnetism, can destroy carbon particles with sustained energy being focused on it. In the same way, when the human system is allowed to function at a sustained level of focus, the energy body, which is associated with the nervous system, can produce enough energy to burn away other hard to get rid of particles. This has been named the body of light in certain practices. The aim is to disintegrate hard to remove stains. These so called “forever particles” which are so called because they are tough to get rid of, include many forms of disease which we today consider irreversible. This is why certain internal practices of martial arts have been called forms of energy medicine, because they are a form of medicine which is non chemical and are often used as preventative measures.
So energy medicine is working at the level of the nervous system predominantly, where as the other is working at the level of the chemical processes. But the two are not mutually exclusive. Say you were to practice certain hard styles of martial arts. This would raise the energies of the body, which over time would cause of build up of waste product within the system. This waste product accumulates over time and leads to various injuries and disorders which tend to develop later in life with many athletes. This has happened to many athletes. So the same thing which once kept you functioning optimally has now become a hindrance without the right corrective practices. This is where mediative and internal martial arts practices come in.
It is like if a rocket takes off and discards its launcher. The launcher has been used up and sends off the rocket into space. The rocket is now out of sight and has discarded its shell. The shell was what got it where it needs to go, and was useful to this end. Now, the launcher appears to be going backwards, but really it still hurtling forwards. It will eventually catch up with the rocket if the rocket stops. It is just that the forward momentum of the rocket is so greater by comparison. This gives the illusion that it is the only one moving out of the two. No, both are moving as they need to. In the same way, when you mediate, it is possible to soar off somewhere away from you mind and emotions to a large extent. They are still there but you, the rocket, is not. This is how mediation creates a space, which can be enhanced, between you and you emotional and mental experience.
The emotions and mind are still there. They will catch up with you again, because they have not disappeared entirely. The rocket eventually reaches a point where is can go no further, and you come back down to Earth. So a certain amount of activity is needed to build the integrity of the system, so that it can sustain and power itself for greater possibilities. It is not a question of which is better, physical or spiritual practice? This is why I say the human system is like a multi stage rocket, which launches and breaks away from itself. This is why physical martial arts as well as the mediative side have always gone hand in hand. This is a journey which happens over and over within oneself. So this is why the martial artist must remain grounded as well as airborne.
The Art of Martial Art
“It is not a question of destroying your enemies, but of transforming yourself to make use of your enemies and therefore greater use of yourself.”
Martial Arts means war turned into an art. This does not mean some frivolous or egotistical art of self indulgence. The art of war means to turn the process of destruction and creative energy inwards rather than outwards. The best way you can do this is to transform an enemy into a friend. In doing so you transform yourself. As I was saying before, if someone “falls in love” with you, they are no longer there as an enemy as they have been transformed and so have you. This is a beautiful thing, it is only ugly when misconceived.
So energy itself is the same fundamentally, wether or not it is used to create or destroy. The question is, do you want to hunt an animal for days, or do you want to run after it with everything you’ve got in one sprint? Both work perfectly well. According to your own tendencies and development, this will alter the path you take. Either way can be used to unshackle yourself. The key is to hold the utmost respect for the process of your own development and unfoldment. It is not a question of destroying your enemies, but of transforming yourself to make use of your enemies and therefore greater use of yourself. There are 7 Billion candidates for this role!
“Martial Arts has traditionally opted for creating harmony within rather than discord amongst yourself and your enemies.”
Respect for this body of energy, yourself, and a competence to use it properly is the only important factor in martial arts. When you maximise this potential, you are on the path of authentic martial arts. You might go to a trainer in this system or that, but these are encyclopaedias of knowledge. This is very useful, because such people can point you in the right direction. However, the knowledge itself is out there for any one to see in modern day. What is missing is the discipline and self knowledge. The problem is that todays knowledge is presented in such a frivolous way online, that you are almost encouraged to access it so casually that no sense of discernment or commitment is required. What you need as well is self knowledge and discipline.
What is this self discipline and self knowledge? When you encounter an enemy, you can either externalise them or internalise them. Poorly internalising a problem leads to depression or anxiety in many ways. Excessive outer expression of energy can do the same thing, or creates other problems, such as compulsions towards someone or something for your gratification. As I said before, it is about transforming this need so that none of it remains. Simply moving from one stage to another is not enough. What was once a self defeating thought finds expression in some sort of repetitive activity which needs to be sustained for self validation. This is not the most intelligent way to handle the situation.
Competition or Cooperation?
The best way to handle the external situation is to respect foster a sense of dedication and responsibility. This makes you more fluid and flexible to changing demands, whilst fundamentally strong. This is so everyone can benefit and you are also included and fully involved. For this reason, any duels or contest between two people traditionally put respect for each other and dedication towards each other as training partners as the first priority. This means that whatever war is going on, no one exploits the rules or makes advantage of some loop hole which fundamentally undermines the process of self transcendence. If you are not working for harmony, then there is duality and discord.
It is like if you marry someone, you respect them and dedicate yourself, which leads to a happy marriage. Then, what’s the problem if you argue? Anything is a means for harmony if the principle binding you together is strong. The dedication is there that you won’t run off. If you just use that person as an object, and take them for granted, then resentment grows and you fail to see them for who they are except a superficial image or an expectation. This happens all the time mainly because you begin to see others in terms of what they can do for you.
So in many ways, fights break out due to a lack of respect towards the Opponent, or the environment. Say you walk into a seedy bar, with people in there who are acting purely unconsciously, intoxicated with alcohol or other substances. This is not an environment which fosters respect or trust between people necessarily. At the same time, the sense of “us against them” is high. So now you’ve walked in, you have a problem. If you walk in and understand this clearly, you can walk in and out by not creating much friction, or even leaving immediately without hesitation, as if passing through. Instead of thinking “I have the right to be here, what’s the problem?” You clearly see the situation for what it is. Most of the time, you can anticipate this sort of thing easily with the right clarity if you practice in daily life. If you have to act you have to act, that’s all.
Seeing the situation for what it is, rather than what you think it is, is important obviously. In most cases, people flock around overly stimulating places because they are bored and in search of excitement. Otherwise, there is no need. If they had occupied themselves before hand proactively, the attraction towards these situations goes down dramatically. This is true in many other instances. So whilst it is not possible to eliminate all dangers, it is possible to eliminate the need for seeking out such risky situations by handing your own situation properly and avoiding certain environments.
The enemy within
How often does it happen that we think an enemy has triggered a certain reaction in us, when actually this happens just as severely in the absence of that enemy? Of course the enemy may trigger something within us, but at the same time, this would happen anyway if we have not attuned ourselves and handled our life properly in a disciplined and effective way. Martial Arts has always said “The only enemy is within”. It is this enemy which we are trying to transform into a friend in terms of mediation. It is there before a particular person exists, because these pressures are inherent in existence before any particular form takes shape.
If you take an aggressive and hostile person and put them into an intensive activity where the process of work is more important than an outcome, this will transform that person. For instance, this happens in the army as well as in sports. So you have somebody who could be a big problem, becoming a big success. A change of circumstance has delivered them from there problems without fundamentally changing who they are. Any particular outcomes of this takes care of itself according to the dedication and focus on the task.
In todays world, many of the algorithms and ways of presenting oneself, particularly online, are geared towards attention grabbing. For instance, you might see a martial artists posting videos online. A lot of the time, there will be a focus on their muscles and body image. This is entirely different to viewing such a person under the pressures of working and seeing them respond to life’s struggles in a dignified way, for example, as you might see them in a martial arts contest or in the army doing drills. It’s not the the army or martial arts centre is better, it’s just that it can be a more productive way of managing ones time and energy. On the other hand, forms of practice which glorify certain egotistical personas, tend to distort ones energies over time even though it appears as though they are very successful and attractive.
Focus on the Work, Not the outcome
“Ones scope for development and self transformation occurs in direct proportion to the expansion they allow for it.”
So these were always the fundamental unbreakable laws of martial arts, to focus and strive for improvement. Whether or not martial arts worked in any practical sense was meaningless in this context, because not only does work and dedication cause results and progress, but assumptions tend to screw things up. For example, if you assume that you will be able to beat an opponent easily with a small amount of training, then this itself is an impediment to learning and progress. On the other hand, if you have clarity and strive towards whatever you know best, preconceptions come down drastically. You get to the point of attaining what you never thought possible, rather than what you thought about on day one. In other words, ones scope for development and self transformation occurs in direct proportion to the expansion they allow for it.
Of course, it is perfectly normal to go around making enemies of people. People do this all the time. But it is certainly not an optimal way to function in most situations today. There are more and more people populating the Earth, so a certain acceptance of this and methods of handling things more diplomatically are needed. This is why Martial Arts has traditionally opted for creating harmony within rather than discord amongst yourself and your enemies.
“When you treat an object of desire with a level of deep respect, then you no longer view it as something to acquire and gain conquest over. So it is not a question of doing away with passion and desire, but of treating it with the same level of respect as you would a prize of some sort.”
When it comes to martial arts, many people believe that they must get angry in order to summon the energy to defeat an attacker. It is not so much that you must not get angry or taken by events. This happens whether you like it or not and is out of your control to a large extent. At the same time, it isn’t about becoming excessively reactive. What isn’t out of your control is where you steer this anger. In other words, it is about how you respond to the emotional situation.
The confrontation you enter into is fraught with emotional energy. It’s in the air. It is an emotionally charged atmosphere. So it is important to accept this within yourself. Planet earth would not exist without this kind of atmospheric pressure. Only when you accept the situation as it actually is, can you steer the emotion in the right way. This is why traditionally, martial arts involved dropping the idea of winning and losing. It was a tool to make you focus on the process rather than the result. It wasn’t to stop emotion from happening, but to stop emotion from becoming unbridled and leading to all sorts of excesses.
In the past, the master would put the disciple into some kind of aimless work. The more they did this aimless work the more they retained a sense of balance and equilibrium. This could be something as simple as carrying a pot from a well. In the past this was needed before taps became widely available. But long after it was needed, the rituals stayed. However, nowadays this sort of aimless work has lost all meaning. You simply call for a delivery. So we are becoming far removed from normal work which we now see as pointless. However, in the past cultivating the right state within oneself became paramount, rather than the fruits of this labour.
If you try to become devoid of emotion in a confrontation, you will not summon sufficient energy to survive an attack. You cannot shun or suppress emotion in such a situation, or any situation for that matter without become dried up and lifeless some degree. At the same time if emotion becomes unbridled, it becomes a kind of passionate madness. In the ancient past, you would be dead at a fairly young age in many places. So the game was up fairly early. Today however, people are living in states of stress and tension into later years which leads to inertia and chronic fatigue. This is why so many martial artists have taken to performance enhancing drugs, their sense of ambition becomes uncontrolled and has turned into a pursuit of stimulation to overcome inertia.
“The Master would put the disciple under such pressure, and then all of a sudden they would burst open. So after a certain period of incubation, the seed shoots out and grows. In this context stress must be understood as a stimulus for growth.”
When you become dried up, you will look for scraps or left overs to feed off of. For example, some sort of reactive situation to get into, like fighting someone. These are what stimulate such people. This includes all sorts of reactive states. This is why Martial Arts is often depicted as a struggle rather than a liberation. Initially, this is to be expected, but is not the end goal.
Unfortunately, many martial artists have learnt to associate deep experience with pain and loss. They toil and toil, and then at the end there is just pain. The majority of people don’t tend to develop pleasantness to its full extend. We will look at how this is done in a moment. So the long term progression of work became associated with pain and loss. No wonder people give up, if that is all they see for their efforts. They have seen drugs and heightened stimulation as a temporary escape to lift them out of such a pit. In doing so it is only natural to consider emotions as a problem to escape, because it carries them off into an abyss. The majority of the time is spent functioning in a state of stress rather than pleasant emotion. This is because many of the institutions and ways of society exploit the human being as a resource.
You don’t need to go about supercharging yourself full of rage and passion. Yes, this makes you more reactive, but it also makes you less responsive to more possibilities. This is why people become mad about beating people up. They become averse to losing and so they gain pleasure from winning. This is an instant gratification due to indulging in a state of reactivity. So it is said that you must fight someone in order to win some contest down the line somewhere, otherwise you will be unfulfilled. But this is not so.
However, if you were more pleasant in your experience, you would not think about objectifying some person as a means escape from stress. All sorts of alliances have been formed under such a limited understanding of emotions and how to handle them. With such a mindset, there is a deep sense of enduring struggle, there is less and less room for any kind of pleasant experience other than the pleasure of winning or beating someone. Of course, struggle is natural, but it is what we do with it that counts.
What to do about emotion? First and foremost you must make them into something very pleasant, rather than experiencing them in shoot form. The shoot is an initial burst of life which occurs during certain contrasting weather conditions. For instance, after the cold months, the air pressure changes and you get spring. This understanding of human beings is what gave rise to various master disciple relationships. The Master would put the disciple under such pressure, and then all of a sudden they would burst open. So after a certain period of incubation, the seed shoots out and grows. In this context stress must be understood as a stimulus for growth.
Various systems of martial arts have told you what sort of emotions will arise during a confrontation. Psychological studies have also shown what sorts of emotions are felt most deeply during such situations. But no one talks about how these can be incubated. More than that, emotions have been treated as static and unchanging. This is ridiculous.
Incubation means keeping emotions warm rather than burning them out. When you incubate something, it transforms under such heat. There are ways of doing this, such as mediation and mindfulness exercises. Mediation simply means sitting still or directing the energies in some way. Mindfulness means you concentrate unwaveringly on whatever it is your are doing, such as martial arts form. This is a way of quietening the mind so that you become focused.
So we end up studying emotions and theories about them in the initial stages rather than experiencing them to the fullest extent possible. But this is a stagnant analysis, rather than a live observation. When you become mediative, it is not that you become passive. It is just that you have travelled through emotion and come out the other side. You have used it for your growth, rather than being used by it and the provoking situation.
When you sit with pleasantness for a long duration of time, you begin to experience every emotion differently. This requires a certain experience of stress as well as a Deep acceptance. There is also a time lapse, because the chemical nature of the body requires time to process reactions into new solutions. The mind can get there straight away. This is the meaning behind deep focus. This does not mean you just sit with stress and accept it as it is. Instead you are transforming it with the right vision about what to do. Once you have done this, emotions are no longer a problem because they act as a springboard to something else. This is the true meaning of emotional development. Only when your emotions have transformed into something else will you take the time to look at anything other than survival and conquest over others.
For most people, the fullest extent of their emotion is passion. This could be passion towards sex, drugs, fighting, or whatever else. Whichever way, passion is used as a way into deep experience. The only problem is, the journey often comes to a halt prematurely. It is is like jumping off of a cliff to experience the rush. It is right to take the jump, but the problem is you didn’t think of hitting the ground hard! As a result, peoples deepest experience becomes associated with risk taking and pursuing some object which eventually causes them suffering. There is no limit to the madness of unbridled emotion, anymore than there is for your capacity to develop.
It usually never occurred to people that when you treat an object of desire with a level of deep respect, then you no longer view it as something to acquire and gain conquest over. So it is not a question of doing away with passion and desire, but of treating it with the same level of respect as you would a prize of some sort. This is why traditionally martial arts always aimed at inculcating a deep reverence and respect towards the Master or the forms of practice. The idea was to observe the thoughts and emotions passing by, just as the wind turns from high to low pressure. This is why it is important to reduce the hype of your activity and slow down the breathing and movement in mediative practices.
In martial arts, risk taking heightens the sense of adrenaline. This can become a powerful tool if you learn to use it wisely. This increases pressure within. It causes butterflies in the stomach, and anxiety associated with loss and overcoming pain. This is why some people develop heightened appetites and abnormal sensitivity to the environment. At the same time, when you learn to respond to intense experience towards martial arts practice rather than simply reacting, you are released from the fear of losing and the negative emotions associated with it.
It is all about searching for a bigger experience of life, which is what everyone wants anyway. So you have to become conscious of this. You need not stop at anxiety and adrenaline rushes. You use these reactive states as a root to spring from, a core of experience rather than a peripheral one. When the flower sprouts out of the seed it is no longer a seed. In the same way, when you overcome fear and anxiety, you no longer experience difficulty and pressure in the same way. You create a certain distance from it even though you feel it.
Say for instance that some weeds are growing on your flower bed. At certain times of the year, weeding takes up most of the day. The flowering happens as a consequence of working the land properly. Only then can you cultivate the flower bed expertly. If the weeds go unattended, then they can grow out of control. So you need to understand that you are working for something greater.
You may have noticed when it is cold and wet, and then the following day it is hot and sunny the weeds grow tall and gangly almost overnight. This is due to a collision of atmospheric pressures and weather conditions. Amidst this collision of these forces the weeds take full advantage. The same is true of your own pleasant experience. In other words, the same conditions which create negative emotions are the fuel for positive ones. This needs to be understood.
Most people have taken stress and anxiety as their own experience, and pleasantness and joy as some sort of fantasy land. However, it is just a case of putting in the necessary work. When you experience some level of heightened emotion, you go from low to high pressure. This is a stimulus, not a goal. This is particularly the case when you are in survival mode, the pressure suddenly increases. This is why in martial arts, you are taught to become always fully aware. This does not mean hyper vigilance, but perception of danger and readiness to act. They said stay ready, not stay reactive.
When you let the emotions develop within you, they can spring forth and take over the flower bed. These outcrops can be of different sorts. You can have weeds that take over, which is to say negative emotions of hatred, envy, and other reactive states. These flower into certain forms too. At the same time, the weather conditions permit the growth of other flowers. These other flowers include less reactive states which are a result of responding to situations consciously. For example, you can distend the Hara Centre or sink into a posture, rather than become rigid and tense in the shoulders and back1. Tension held in the shoulders and back leads to fatigue, stress, and headaches. This is a breeding ground for certain negative chemical states within the body.
Initially, there is always a reactive state of tension which you then respond to with a postural adjustment.This can be in any situation. It is not that reaction is better than response to it, it is just that tension is an initial stage in the cultivation of kinetic energy. This is just one example. If you don’t make this dimensional shift, then you leave yourself open to stresses and the build up of negative emotions from reactivity to events. You must instead be like the plant which uses the heat and energy of the stressful season to convert energy into transforming yourself. You then don’t let the weeds which have made there way onto your land define who you are as a person.
So it is about experiencing the storm to the full extend whilst doing the necessary work to create something pleasant out of the situation. When the branches of a tree bend in the wind, this sends a signal to strengthen the roots. If it snaps, this sends another type of signal that says it’s all over. This is the reason for pressure testing used in the traditional systems of martial arts. Pressure testing was used to develop flexibility. This has almost disappeared due to obsession with winning contests rather than being open to the possibility of losing. There is nothing wrong with winning, obviously it is a good thing, but the aim and orientation of your work needs to be correctly understood in order to get the most out of competitive forms of martial arts.
So when you have too many weeds in the garden, flowering is no longer your goal anymore, the flowers are a side effect of weed infestation. You then see these flowers as outside of your control, which they are not. You then become a bed of weeds, which take over the nutrients of the soil. More than that, the whole flower bed becomes distorted. Of course, you can weed it out, but it becomes a lot more difficult than if you had been aware of this happening initially. Better to start off properly. There is nothing wrong with weeds, but they share the same plot of soil as flowers and prevent the possibility of flowering. I hope you understand what is meant by this.
A martial artist must ultimately learn to treat emotions with reverence and respect. Only then will you be able to express them beyond their crude forms. If you are going to experience these things, why not cultivate them further than their initial expression? This involves accepting them and nurturing them as you would an ally or a friend, for this is what they are. The moment you accept a friend they way they are, they are more pleasant towards you than if you try to use them for some objective means. You then develop as a result of that relationship. Otherwise there is only suspicion and a mutual distrust between the two of you. Whole communities have developed out of both crude expression and cultivated expression. It is time to develop the right communities in martial arts.
“The need for extreme states of adrenaline is just like the need for cocaine or other such substances. The need for silence or space is just like the need to be out in nature. Out in nature, there are vast periods of inactivity, but there is a certain intensity about it which can be used to energise the system.”
Efforts to increase the varieties of practical martial arts training have left them all with similar flaws. Because the modern commercial styles are so popular, the benefits outside of immediate practical application have been forgotten largely. Traditionally, martial arts meant a complete system of health and well being. Today, there are systems of self defence, and then there are separate well being exercises. So there is a separateness about it, rather than a unity of diverse aspects.
By focusing only on self defence, rather than health, this leads one open to other dangers, such as disease and other ailments. Disease is one of the biggest threats to humanity, much more prevalent than a mugging on the street. None the less, people opt for self defence over general robustness against disease. If there were infinite time to do both, this wouldn’t be an issue. In reality, there are severe constraints placed on us by our circumstances, as well as scarce time and resources. So it is important to prioritise.
Let’s say you exhaust yourself each day with physical exercises. You might end up with big muscles, but a run down immune system. So it is about getting the balance of exertion and restfulness. However, when you stress the body with over exercise, it is increasingly likely that you will end up mentally stressed too. Then you experience interrupted sleep and feelings of hyperactivity. This can lead to various patterns of addictive behaviours, because the body is out of balance. This takes years to come into effect, so people tend to think it happens out of nowhere. Then the panic can set in, and in such a state it makes sense to feed off of extreme states, rather than steady ones.
The system of practice itself will depend on what you consider the best way to fulflil a need. The need for extreme states of adrenaline is just like the need for cocaine or other such substances. The need for silence or space is just like the need to be out in nature. Out in nature, there are vast periods of inactivity, but there is a certain intensity about it which can be used to energise the system. You may have noticed that traditional system stress the importance of training outside and away from the masses. However, modern day training environments cater for other requirements. We have moved from nature to the laboratory of study. In the lab everything is seen in isolation.
So getting away from stressful environments can also be a means of combating stress. The body’s reward systems, such as endorphin release, can be triggered by being away from external reward triggers. How is this achieved? The subtle and less extreme states experience in more natural environments go through kind of cycle, where they start off small but with large effects. They take a while to kick in, they go through a longer cycle, but this is a more sustainable means of energy cultivation. This does not eliminate external need or dependance, but reduces it drastically.
Take the example of nutrition. You break down the food, digest it, and then it ends up assimilating into the body via the mind and gut connection. Along this cascade of events, various hormones are created and neurological signals are sent internally which promote a sustainable sense of health and well being. So you are creating and fulfilling the pathways for your growth naturally. The receptors which uptake this energy cultivation are directly targeted by various chemicals, which trigger such receptors into stimulation. Let’s say you take some steroids. You will probably get more muscular. At the same time, the hormones won’t pass through your entire organ system. this is why many people who abuse steroids suffer organ related ailments. You then end up being weaker overall, even if you have a strong muscle.
The mistake everyone makes is in thinking that it is the chemicals themselves which cause health and growth. However, many scientific studies are now showing that these receptors, which are target by drugs, can naturally be activated by internally produced substances common to all people. This is why meal times have been considered an important, and often sacred, aspect of the day in many traditions. Because nutrition is a means of growth, and the more this becomes a mediative process, the less reliant on external supplements you become. You will even need less food to fuel you because it is being used more efficiently with less waste.
Martial Arts has been admired for its exotic appeal for centuries. However, the mysticism surrounding it has given way to clinical applications. For example, it makes no sense at all to take part in the mediative practices if all you are looking for is to knock out another person with a punch. So because people fail to see the value of meditative practices, they get increasingly ignored.
Despite the large number of martial arts styles that are popular, they all seem to share a common mentality. This mentality is limited to only a few generations of thinking. For example, Taekwondo, a Korean Martial Art, is known only for its commercially viable appeal. Most people assume it is all about flashy kicks and athletic performance. However, even just under twenty years ago, when I started training, there were many popular practices which are no longer widely taught. For example, one needed to sharply exhale and make a “Kiap” shout when kicking or punching as part of the practice. This was based on ancient knowledge that the sounds you make with the breath has a deep impact on power expression1.
“If you have a fast car, you don’t need to run at full speed all the time. Just having a high performance car allows you to drive slowly but with optimal efficiency, this is a blessing in itself, to be able to enjoy the ride. Driving slowly does not indicate incompetence.”
It is generally considered that the western inspired martial arts styles are superior to the Eastern ones. But the Eastern ones are not for wimps, as is often thought. There are various movements which involve stick fighting, animal forms, and energy cultivation in the Eastern styles. These have a practical value in themselves. For instance, because the eastern styles are based on ancient agriculture, rather than hunting, it makes sense that they have developed from a different platform to the West. In agriculture there are seasons. In western thought it is summer all the time. In the Chinese systems, the practices you engage with will often depend on the season largely. This is just one aspect.
Day to day life in the Eastern cultures, has largely centred around defending oneself from animal attacks, and worshipping the Earth. Obviously, this is not always so much the case now, but traditionally this is so. So how you defend yourself against a snake or a wild animal, will look different to how you defend yourself against a person. More than that, how you defend yourself against a force of invaders will look different to how you fight in the ring. An invasion can happen anywhere and at any time, not just when you are fresh and prepared for the date of the fight. So the need for general health, rather than specific conditioning was valued.
Western heritage is largely thought of in terms of conquest2. In fact, Western culture is also deeply steeped in agricultural heritage, but more recently there has been an aggressive culture of conquest and expansion. Violence is very much apart of day to day experience, physically, mentally, and emotionally. Whereas in the East, it is common to never even witness a crime, much less an assault. Obviously, every culture has its problems, but largely it was traditionally accepted that you stick with your clan in Eastern cultures, rather than look to take over your neighbour. It wasn’t considered a good idea to destroy an opponent in order to achieve liberation. The basis of creating good karma for yourself is that if you mind your own business, then you don’t quire baggage or excess that you don’t need.
So this loss of diversity in martial arts, in favour of conquest and strength, could leave us open to disease and disaster. For example, many of the practices in Yoga, as well as Tai Chi and other styles, are beneficial in disease prevention as well as relieving stress. In modern times, we have shielded ourselves from dangers to a large degree, such as petty crime, and violent killings. Obviously the dangers are there, but in general our safety has never been so secure. But at the same time we have opened ourselves up to other dangers. These include pandemics of mental and physical health issues. These dangers were always known in the Eastern tradition, which has already been through material affluence many centuries ago and so knows what happens when you are not careful what you wish for.
With the modern hybrid styles of martial arts, only a small amount of the diversity of practices is held onto. We have already looked at what some of these involve. It is important to hold onto ancient practices, because they contain a certain wisdom within them. It is not that they need to be practiced all the time, but they should be held onto. Nor is it that everything is about self defence and preservation of the species. It is like if you have a raincoat, you don’t need to wear it all the time, but you hold onto it none the less. Most of the time it may be so sunny you don’t need it. But that doesn’t stop you wearing it when necessary.
If you have a fast car, you don’t need to run at full speed all the time. Just having a high performance car allows you to drive slowly but with optimal efficiency, this is a blessing in itself, to be able to enjoy the ride. Driving slowly does not indicate incompetence. At the same time, if you run at full speed, you must be aware of the dangers and become increasingly switched on and intensively engaged when necessary. You need to be aware of every inch of the car, and how the weight is distributed. You need to feel it. This is why the traditional systems spent so much time tuning up and engineering the body’s performance in martial arts. They spend a lot of time in the garage engineering so that peak performance was possible without becoming run down and exhausted.
The reason these more traditional practices are not held onto is that due to passing fads, changes in industry standards, etc., force certain popular trends. However, there are individuals and organisations which always preserve the purity of systems of practice. Another reason is that due to the vast quantities of energy consumed in fitness practices, these require bio chemical enhancement or supplements to train in such methods. We have looked at this already. So at the same time as increased output, and decreased down time, we see an increase in the use of performance enhancing drugs in sport. Looking after and enhancing your health, rather than just aspects of physical fitness, can reduce the number of chemical supplements that are needed by the modern athlete.
There in many in Martial Arts who believe that it is best to switch off your concerns about the opponent. For them, the thinking is “We should handle it severely, and that’s it, to Hell with the other guy”. When you follow this line of reasoning, then you justify maiming your opponent or worse. However, when you say “There is no opponent”, it is possible to lapse into defeatism and accept your fate. This has always been the problem with the spiritual side of martial arts. However, the goal is always to develop your consciousness and awareness, without being defeated. In other words, you do what is needed to ensure your survival, but when your survival is ensured and you just want revenge, this becomes a sickness.
It is not about embarrassing the other guy. This requires a certain resentment towards the opponent, that they are the bad guy and you are delivering justice. When you hyper develop egotistical thought, your own mind stabs you in the back. It cuts you just as a sharp blade wielded by a novice. When you carry bitterness in your heart, or sow the seed of it, then this is not what is referred to as the empty mind approach. This is a sickness.
So the idea behind taking action is to ensure that it does not grow into something bad. For instance, the goal of winning a contest is to strive to the utmost. this becomes bad when you try to secure a victory, or you fear losing such a status. This is because such accumulated baggage becomes burdensome and you are no longer driven by inspiration but by narrow minded expectation. Never waste time become self satisfied in such a way. If you are never satisfied, then that is good, it means you expect a lot from yourself. If you expect little from yourself, it means you have given up hoping to stretch and surpass expectation.
Empty Mind
The empty mind approach simply means you have emptied the car of its petrol. This does not mean you forgot to fill it up, or that you drove nowhere. No, instead “empty your mind” means drive to the destination, not anywhere that’s unnecessary. So you empty only after you have reached. So you are driving your own inspired action to its natural conclusion, rather than an unrealistic or unnatural conclusion.
Let’s say you wanted to become the greatest martial artist ever. It is only when there are such grand expectations that inspired action becomes possible. So reaching the goal would only inspire less action. It is better not to reach that goal in that case. Or, if you did somehow reach it, you would quickly need to find another way of staying involved. This is where most people fall short. When they have achieved their dreams, they no longer see the point. But you can always push a little further, couldn’t you? If your dream was to achieve ten thousand hours of practice, then raise that expectation to double, and then triple!
Empty mind means you take no sides and you just see things the way they are. It is said that there is honour among thieves. What this means is that when you take from a situation to benefit yourself, you will find many other corroborators to encourage you for your efforts. So a thief is never short of friends. If you lower your expectations and inspirations to something achievable, you will find no shortage of encouragement. This is self robbery. It is only when you disregard such encouragement that you will truly surpass realistic everyday goals. This is important, because most goals people make are usually too easy to remain motivated with for long, or they are inspired by others expectations for them. This is for them, not for you. Quality is measured not by fulfilling some goal. So the goal need to be measured in terms of whether you are applying yourself totally or not.
Becoming Aware
But when you remain aware, aware for instance that your opponent could be less dangerous than you immediately think, you open up different possibilities. This is equally so if you see them as more dangerous than you. We will get onto this shortly. It is often the case that people walk around without concern for how they are behaving towards others. If you walk in a forest loudly, you will disturb the wildlife so that they run away. This is happening everywhere, people disturb each others peace and then blame each other for their own lack of consideration. I would say that this is how the vast majority of fights break out, due to sheer ignorance. This is a huge development of the ego that was never there in previous generations.
Assailants are often like wild animals, they pay attention to these things and are in a hurry to react. This is partly because they have hyper developed their survival circuits so that they are on red alert all the time. To achieve this is beneficial, but to stay there indefinitely is a disaster. From the survival perspective this makes sense. From a well being perspective, this is every day torture because it’s overusing the senses which become unavailable for anything else. Your whole experience then becomes one of emotional chemistry geared towards survival rather than prosperity. So the survival circuits should be available when needed, but not compulsively reacting to outside events indiscriminately.
The human being is built more for well being as its ultimate goal. The same body that hates can contain the opposite emotions too. Therefore, it is not about the body. It is instead how you perceive the world and the way you orientate the energies which itself creates the chemistry. I frequently change from struggling at a task to being dead to the world. this is not a problem for me because one state naturally transitions into another if you go about closing and widening the gap between activity and rest form that occupation.
When you look at what people fight over, these are petty, useless matters. Someone spilling your drink in a bar has nothing to do with you. This is simply societies experience playing out in a social situation. It may be happening around you and in a situation you are involved with, but it would happen anyway without you there. These situations are just thousands of years of evolution by trial and error still happening. The intelligence within you should guide you towards intelligent action.
Being No. 1
You should not have a problem that someone is bigger and stronger than you. If you meet somebody more capable than you, this is good because you have an opportunity to learn. If you can befriend such a person, then this will be a great partnership. If your idea of winning and victory is beating down somebody else, just to secure your own image, then this is a horrible waste of potential. If however, you engage in a martial arts contest with somebody far better than you, then you are pushing yourself to the limit. You will reach your full potential. You can never do this against an easy hand picked opponent, or an easy target. If somebody is pushing you to the limit, then this will just make your experience more intense and meaningful. It will make you perform better and experience the richness of life.
So far we have looked at how, most of the time, just paying attention to how you might rub people the wrong way in an environment stops most altercations. You see their intensity as a means to switch yourself on and become more aware rather than threatened. Through certain meditative practices you can be totally involved in chaos yet keep a fire between yourself and the outside world. Fire is a pressure that burns everything.
I would say that around ninety percent of fights can be avoided by paying abolsute attention to how you are in your surroundings. This makes such situations positive rather than negative. The problem is people pay absolute attention to fixate on how somebody has looked at them the wrong way, or bumped into them. You cannot pay absolute attention to two things. You can have the two things going on at once, but they need to synthesise into a coherent vision. It is not either or.
Instantaneous Analysis
In martial arts, it is necessary to develop an instantaneous analysis. This isn’t a case of stopping the response to danger and slowly going over the options. No, because then you set yourself up as a mark who cannot think on the spot. You don’t want to come across hesitant. Hesitation kills. If you hesitate, you are then clearly demonstrating that you are incompetent to act. It is about seamlessly going over the options and doing what’s necessary instantaneously, there and then.
Similarly, in a martial arts match if you are going over some exercises in your mind without perceiving what’s in front of you, you miss the point. You are building an experience based on the past rather than building a future based on the present. This way, even if you make a mistake, you are paying absolute attention and full awareness so you know where you went wrong instantly. You can then auto correct in a kind of flow state of improvisation. This is something master guitar players do, they play the wrong note on occasion but it is dealt with then and there and actually opens new possibilities. So a mistake accepted as a pathways becomes a means of liberation from hesitation and inertia. It is part of the creative process, not fearing mistakes. This requires a certain clarity and consciousness about life.
From powerlessness to Power
When a cornered animal fights, it just goes into survival mode full on. Does this require any sort of power? No it requires a powerlessness to do anything else. When one is powerless and insecure, they always seek to squash somebody else because they know they’ve had it otherwise. This is not a bad thing, there is no good and bad in nature. This kind of emergency mind set is obviously what will happen if somebody comes along and butchers your family in front of you. This is not meant to scare you or sound harsh, but in all likelihood you will grab the nearest thing and survival will happen as it does in the jungle. You will just do what’s necessary to stop them, yes or no? This requires responsible action to avoid. So this doesn’t need to be practiced or rehearsed. This is what we want to avoid, but it will happen if we don’t take precautions to ensure our own security.It is the avoidance which needs to be practiced as means to gain control over the situation.
Fear is a powerful externalisation of energy which happens whether you want it to or not. However, the way it expresses itself can be changed. So even the automatic survival process can be harnessed to some degree, or it can be left to react with events on its own. Men in particular tend to become more aggressive when under threat. In martial arts we say that the greater the challenge, the greater the potential power to overcome. This means that under extreme circumstances, if you can harness the energy and squeeze opportunity out of it, this is where true power lies. So when under threat, you can just dissipate the energies at the level of the instinctive reactions, or you can send it upwards. There are many ways to go about this.
Not for the faint of Heart
Say you have particularly powerful energy emitting outwardly. You need to develop certain tools which are purely receptive and absorb this energy. This is where the breathing comes in, as well as the postures and stances. The Hara Centre1 is the powerful energy centre for generative purposes. The Solar Plexus, or heart centre, absorbs this energy when breathing becomes properly attuned to the internal system. This proper attunement does not happen when you are breathing purely in reaction to external events. So by concentrating here, at the Hara Centre, you remain more in control.
The other way is to make certain sounds2, which create the right kind of internal attitude and synchronise the breathing patterns with a strong posture or stance. So remaining mindful of these considerations can greatly enhance your ability to respond to emergency situations and find cunning ways of subverting them altogether. This takes the fire and intensity of a situation and transforms it into something beneficial. The idea is to become aware that the situation is happening, but conscious there is more going on than just the survival process.
In many self defence classes, you are advised to fight back automatically. For example, there is the whole “It’s me of him” mentality, or “he’s trying to stop me feeding my family, so I must put an end to him”, this kind of thinking. Either that, or you are told to pre meditate a minimal damage response. The thing is, that if you’re wrong about this, you have a big problem. This kind of thinking came about when martial arts became a mass production affair.
Just like we predicted that people would always work in factories, we predicted that the situation could be planned for in advance. Evolution does not work this way. So it become necessary to pre package techniques which are said to work in the absence of awareness or even basic competence. This gets people moving and gives them a bit of confidence to take further steps. However, if you make the mistake of taking on some sort of quest to defeat people, then then existentially this requires a huge level of self responsibility and competence. It is not me saying this, it’s a condition of taking things on in life. This is why martial arts was deemed not for the faint of heart.
Posted on Last updated on by joeharman8|16 min read|110 views
“The earths atmosphere, which is electromagnetic, would not be possible without the earths core being the way it is. The Earths core is hot and high pressure, like our own physical centre. The surround electromagnetic atmosphere of the Earth can be likened to the nervous system. So the core directly affects the nervous system, and the nervous system is not possible without the core. So you can transform you energy and situation by working with this core in ways that are not possible otherwise. “
When you perform an action from the core, it radiates outwardly to the periphery. This is the case for any martial arts movement. In fact, it takes a lot more competence to do this than to perform the move superficially. So the idea is to move the core, the abdomen, and then extend out from there. It does not happen the other way around, that you start with the limb first, and hope that this creates a whole body motion.
It is like how the Earths rotation begins at the core, and this moves the mantle and the plates. The plates and the surface do not move the core. In the same way, the chemical receptors on a plants do not make its roots grow. If pesticide is used too much, then this just impedes the plants overall development of certain internal processes which produce these things naturally. The same thing goes on in the human body. In terms of movements, the internal signals which are related to the core, function much better if the core is the initiator of the movements. This helps you memorise and imbed certain movements more deeply. Even on a superficial level, it is better to perform core movements because the core leads all basic movements. In this way the only things that changes is the particular limb you are using when driving from the seat of the abdominal core. So your kicking and punching becomes very similar.
Knowing the Unknown
When you do a punch, it is only a punch from the core if it starts at the core. This is why in martial arts they say “Hit from the core”. This core is the abdomen or Hara Centre as it is known. “Ha” means Sun in Chinese. According to the Indian Sutras, “Ha” means the same thing too, and “Ra” refers to a radiant sun, the centre of the Universe. So together, “Ha-ra” can be taken to mean the earths centre, or the universal centre. It is from the centre that the rest of creation happens. You can only illuminate the vastness of the unknown from the high pressure centre which eventually creates light. In the Solar System, energy starts as non visible. This energy only becomes visible light after some time when it extends out from the Sun and certain particles react at a certain distance from the source as the pressure drops. This is the case with Martial Arts.
The Hara Centre, the physical centre of the body, is the only energy centre which can transmit itself anywhere in the body directly. It manifests differently depending on the action. In terms of technique, it can go to the arms, legs, or elsewhere physically. This is why it is universal in nature. In others words, it is not just located in the abdomen, the energy can be transported anywhere. The lower abdomen is the source. For example, if you drive a nail into a block of wood, you do so from the core, just as you do with say, a golf swing. This applies to everything. It starts one place and ends up somewhere else. All these things are driven from the core. It is impossible to start from the end, because this isn’t yet in your experience. This is why in the traditional arts they never rushed learning, nor were they given to over analysis.
It is just because you don’t know how to do a movement before you have learnt it that we say “drive from the core”. You cannot do a complex kick before you have learnt to do this. So you practice something you don’t know by doing something you do already know. This is why I always say “drive from the core” first. Personally I don’t bother with explaining all the details of a particular move because this becomes obvious over time with the right fundamental platform. This platform is a strong core. It is not necessarily an athletic strength, but the right energy and maneuverability.
So develop the Hara Centre first. It is only possible from there to know the unknown. It is only when this unknown comes into your direct experience that you learn the mysteries of martial arts. The core functions much better in children. this is why they learn everything naturally. The adult core usually becomes lazy from excessive sitting and poor lifestyle habits which we develop in society. The point is that we can switch on this source to learn anything like a child does, even as an adult. So this core is like the little white dot in the Dark space of the Yin Yang symbol. This is called mastering technique, so that it manifests properly.
Drugs and Chemicals
The expression Energy takes can vary dramatically depending on a number of factors. But when it originates in the Hara Centre and finds expressions elsewhere, then there is some discretion and volition as to where it ends up. Otherwise, if it starts elsewhere, it is often an unconscious act, or simply accidental. Conscious acts are always intentional and consciousness is always a choice. Let’s say that the energy is taken in from external sources, such as some sort of chemical supplement. Such chemicals tend to inebriate the system so that it acts purely from a chemicals basis, or dampens other energy sources in the body. This is the problem with drugs and chemical supplements1.
So chemical energy is itself a manifestation of pressure and heat. These are naturally occurring when things begin in the gut. For instance, many chemicals can be created internally which people are now ingesting more and more because their system has gone taken a kind of backwards step. This takes a bit more time and particularly a mediative digestion, so that the body can rest and regenerate properly2. But people are “Go, go, go” all the time. It is for this reason that Excessive physical training can happen at the surface level, because the chemicals are just being replaced by supplements. It is like with plants. The soil quality is going down, so fertiliser and chemical sprays are needed just to get some fruit and ward off disease. None of this is necessary until you exceed the natural capabilities of the earth. The Hara Centre is like the Earth.
So chemicals come in, then they will run their course over a certain period of time and then dissipate at some level. Often, these chemicals are being abused, so the natural production goes down and a kind of external dependance happens. Of course, the biggest intoxication from outside occurs when greed and corruption take over in the mind. It is for this reason that in the traditional arts, they urged against competition and prestige. Competition is fine once you have develop the necessary mental fortitude. In my experience, there are so many life lessons which I have absorbed that it almost derailed me completely. So if I didn’t have the necessary inner tools of development, I would have been broken by certain experiences. This is why I stress “Meditation, meditation, meditation”, or some kind of meditative dimension and development of this.
Overcoming Self Deception
The biggest deception if from the intoxication of conquest. The lust for conquest brings about the same disorders as actual chemical abuse in many cases. This is a false high. This is referred to as Maya in the Indian systems, or simply self deception. This is because when you overcome the need for these things, it is as if they never happened and the events become meaningless. This is not so with any reality which is learnt from the core of truth, which is the Hara Centre. There is nothing wrong with chemical supplements, they can be taken if needed. But the very same things can be created internally, setting in process and lasting mechanism. The results are often the same but more sustainable. But what a difference it makes if you can produce these things internally.
Inter Transformation
We have looked at how the Hara Centre can transmit itself anywhere in the body. With the other centres of the body, such as the chest or head, these act as relay points, so the energy takes a more roundabout route. There are exceptions to this, such as Martial Arts masters whose physical body’s have failed them but they have developed the proper energy channels. These are exceptions however. With the Hara Centre, it can reach anywhere. It is like how you can create a heater with the use of electricity, there are transformers involved in that kind of technical process to convert energy. If you want to create heat, movements is needed for example. Movements is a kind of transformer in the human body. There is all sorts of mind work that goes into it, such as knowledge and motivation to move. This is why in many ways, reality begins in the mind. Importantly, the mind is linked to the gut, not just the brain.
The earth itself transforms heat into water, and then water into steam. All of these processes are only possible because of the earths core dynamo, which is molten iron largely. This is like the Hara Centre. The earths atmosphere, which is electromagnetic, would not be possible without the earths core being the way it is. The Earths core is hot and high pressure, like our own physical centre. The surround electromagnetic atmosphere of the Earth can be likened to the nervous system. So the core directly affects the nervous system, and the nervous system is not possible without the core. So you can transform you energy and situation by working with this core in ways that are not possible otherwise.
Let’s look at technique. If the punch begins at the shoulder, then you are not punching from the core. You can still do it, but a lot of additional steps are taken, often unconsciously. So the idea behind “using the core” or the abdomen, comes from this idea that from this centre of mass everything spreads outwardly. There is an inner intelligence that grasps this intuitively. So if you get this, then you are 90% of the way there. Why 90%? because the microorganisms of the body account for 90% of the body’s make up. And these guys are largely in the core and work according to the gut primarily. From the core, the rest radiates outwardly. In terms of cognition and learning, if the brain and nervous system attempt to perform a particular movement without the cores involvement, the results are limited. This can produce many problems, such as over use injury and a whole host of physical ailments, particularly later on in life.
From Gross to subtle
If you point a finger, this can be performed from the core, or you can simply wave the arm out and point the finger. If the action is led from the core, then the finger pointing is just the final expression at the end of the movement. In other words, it is the end phase of a core movement. You might say, that everyone can point a finger, what’s so special about that? However, anyone who doesn’t pay attention and concern towards these things on the path of martial arts is setting themselves up for problems. This is why in the traditional systems, the master would look at how you conducted yourself in every aspect. So to take care of the large, you can pay attention to the small things, which is required if you wish to transform these initial steps into greater possibilities. The idea that you can do something carelessly but repeatedly and yield good results is completely wrong. You go from basic to complex, from gross to subtle expertise.
So one initial movement sets up the possibilities for the next. It is the same with a punch. You rotate the core into the punch and there is a lot more power and transmission of energy as a result. This is because it began from the centre of mass and transformed into a punch as part of a complex process. It’s not like you get each phase technically correct separately and then it works. No, instead you have to transform one phase into another. It is like the pressure of the earth gradually dissipates as you move away from the core. This creates the complex physical reality around us. Due to this pressure release, other forms of energy, such as gravitational energy and electromagnetic energy, gradually express themselves. These act upon the physical word we experience. This is a complex process, but it is an intuitive one. Gravity can then act upon larger masses, whereas it is weaker the closer you get to the centre. This is because other more powerful forces of Chi energy, or radiation in Scientific terms are happening closer to the centre. This is also known as dark matter1.
So in the human being, when you perform a punch, it is only possible because of a release of energy which gradually takes another form. This is how you create something from nothing. This nothing actually contains the whole possibility, it just that this has not been Brough to bare in your experience yet. But it will the more you work with it. This is why there are no set traditions other than oral transmission in most traditional systems. You have to work for it internally.
Self Creation
If you just swing the arm at the opponent, then there is an entirely different effect even if it looks the same as a punch from the core. This is why there is so much emphasis on breathing from the core, digesting properly from the core, and moving from there in the traditional systems of martial arts. The diamonds are produced there. In the Earths core, Molten Iron erupts out of the surface from the core. It is only when the atmosphere changes that we see the diamond formation of this same heat energy, which has now solidified. These diamond are what we create in martial arts, expressions of high pressure which have materialised. The Earth doesn’t think about it, it is an energy intelligence. These diamonds can absorb electromagnetic waves from the earths atmosphere. So the Earth itself generates an electromagnetic fields which sustains the outer surface. The same thing happens in us, and this is entirely intuitive when you develop the right perceptions through practice. When you rely too much on physical strength of the limbs, you can easily forget about using the core properly. This leads to various injuries, which although inevitable sometimes, become chronic and excessive. It is just like if you exploit the nutrients of the earth more quickly than they are created, you will likely have issues.
Let’s take the example of digestion. If you eat whole foods, or healthy foods generally, then these have to be digested in the stomach properly. The thing about sugar is that it goes straight out of the stomach and into the blood stream. It doesn’t go into deep nourishment, such as bone and deep tissue regeneration. This is why it is linked with so many internal problems, even if it gives you a sugar hit. Healthy whole food on the other hand, goes into reproducing the cells and creating an entire person. Over the course of around seven years, Science has show the the entire organisms cells are likely to be replaced. This isn’t so if degeneration is happening too much at the same time as replenishment. So when anything is done at the surface level, whether that is learning or nutrition, there is a certain level of nourishment which gets neglected and undermined..
When blood sugar builds up too much, you can get a range of health complications, such as nerve damage, and inability to produce enough insulin. We have also looked at how osteoporosis may happen too, because the bones need nourishment, not just the muscles and blood. So when a person exists at the surface level, what you end up with is an irritable or excitable mood with a kind of frantic and compulsive disposition. This undermines health obviously. This can in itself lead many of types of mental health conditions, as well as physical ailments. The variety of these are countless, and exploding across the world. From this, we can see that a physiological problem can become a psychological one quite easily, once certain patterns of behaviour become habitual. So certain patterns of behaviour are thought replenish or undermine ones pre birth energy, or chi.
The point is that what appears to be a mental health issue, often has its origins in the physiological or energy realm. So by taking care of the physiology, you end up taking care of the mental side. This is the same with martial arts. It is often the case that people train with all sorts of gels and sugary liquids, just to keep certain chemicals active in the blood stream. From a performance perspective this has some benefits, such as making one more aggressive and reactive. This comes at a heavy price, because it intoxicates your system just like a drug. Drug and chemicals are just a different part of the cycle. You take them in and perform some activity. It is possible to take in various supplements properly, but that is something else. It requires a level of self restraint and awareness to perform certain activities properly. From a health perspective, over supplementation is not only stupid but disastrous. So when the body eventually breaks down with age and wear and tear, the solution for many is to take a cocktail of supplements to keep the game going. But this only hastens decline or fails to get at the source of the problem to change things.
When we speak of internal martial arts, what we want to do is amplify the quality of what we are doing. Take the example of a microphone. If it is ramped up, the output is greater even though the speaker is the same. So this is what we are doing with the body, we are amplifying its output internally rather than adding effort externally. Or, we are doing both in some way. One way to achieve this, a major way, is to lubricate the joints of the organism properly. When we are talking about lubricating the joints, this is what the internal styles are about, and this is why there is meticulous attention paid to the form. we want to make sure every aspect of the body is paid attention to. It is not that it is outwardly effective, this just amplifies output. So there is a connection between the inner and out expression.
Once the joints are lubricated, they are more able to move freely and without hindrance. As soon as you wake up everything is less flexible. So stretching first of all wakes the body up. This is what you are doing with the reaching and extension motions of the traditional martial arts forms. it is just an organised way of doing what is natural when you stiffen up. You are looking to extend the energies in various ways. Otherwise you walk around as though asleep in a dull and lethargic ways. Yes, you don’t have to be asleep to be unconscious, you can even walk around like that. It is possible to reduce the consciousness whilst a certain agitation fires you up. This is known as unconscious activity. We will see how to increase the transmission or energy as well as the fluidity of its expression.
In general, the potency of the cells becomes so much greater when fused with water, and it almost seems supernormal and everything becomes magnified. Let’s look at this. The body is over 70 percent water, and this has tremendous implications for brain function, which we will look at in a moment. For now let’s look at vision. In fact, if the cells of the eyes, such as the cornea, are lubricated, only then is it possible to magnify. Otherwise, ones sight fails.
There are times when you don’t want to focus on the external.So, if the eyes are closed, then other cells become more active internally. This is known as internal vision. This is the reason for closing the eyes during intense internal focus. This assists perception and even outward vision eventually, by magnifcation of your faculties. Various scientific studies have shown the the corneal cells are among the most taxiing of the entire system metabolically, which is a major reason for widespread exhaustion in todays hyper focused and artificially illuminated world. Personally, I find it difficult to focus in the presence of applied artificial light. So what I do is soften my gaze and focus internally, as there is often no real need to focus on what is made obvious by the external environment.
When the joints become lubricated, everything becomes more effortless. Or everything that was once a big effort becomes easful and full of energy. So there is a certain grace and harmony within your movements, a fluidity about them. This is what the traditional forms aim towards in many ways. Otherwise, all the traditional forms just become meaningless and ugly, or just limited. This is intricately tied to the breathe as well as the activity of the joints and transmission of energy. So when during a meditative posture, the diaphragm moves closer in alignment with the abdomen, the tide rises just as when the moon is full on Earth. This is the meaning behind all the talk of the moon, the sun, and the earth in various scriptures. Because the human being is largely water, all of this has a profound effect on the individual, just as the moon affects the tides. This obviously affects the emotions and thought in a subtle way, which can become amplified. So, it is not that we look like water, it is just that our being is largely to do with water.
So then the water pressure increases and it tries to raise up, there is an increase in energy. The blood is trying to circulate more widely, and everything becomes more oxygenated. The internal pressure builds higher and is less localised. The greater capacity to receive energy from the outside, in the form of oxygen, makes it possible to increase this internal source of pressure. This pressure is the greatest at the Hara Centre, or the Dan Tien. If this energy can be sustained, it fuses with the organism over time. For example, the Hara Centre, the body centre of gravity, is the warmest area of the body. If the pressure is built here through various internal martial arts practices, or Yogas, then the charged particles become more potent. This causes a certain polarisation which is assisted by upward pressure. You then get an ellipsoid shape, leading from the Hara Centre towards the Brain, through the breathing apparatus of the Diaphragm and lungs. This is symbolised by the tree, where the energy gradually turns more towards bearing fruit rather than raw base energy at the roots.
Fire and Water: Yin and Yang.
So depending on the style and temperament of the martial artists, there is either more fluidity and grace involved, or more violence and thrusting of energies. With the more violent styles, these are more Yang. This means they make more use of heat. The more subtle styles make more use of Water, or fluids. This thrusting action, whether fluid or violent, occurs through the spine, which is full of cerebrospinal fluid. This can be increased by various internal meditations and practices, which radiate through the spine via the fluid. This radiation from heat operates through the body, specifically transmitting through the spine and the cerebrospinal spinal fluid, as well as elsewhere. Obviously, this can greatly affect emotional and thoughts, and in a big way these can be influenced. This is the reason for the various explanations of how fire and water styles interact and mutually reinforce one another in various ancient texts. It all depends whether you use the fire to ignite or to connect more deeply and then extend upwards via a process of transformation.
When the outward bound senses or focusing intently, naturally the eyes become more hydrated. This comes at considerable cost. For example say you are looking at a screen all day. The amount of hydration required of the Corneal cells is amongst the highest in terms of metabolism in the system. If the gaze is softened or the eyes are closed this brings the focus inwards. In other words, you move from outer to internal vision. It is the same as if your emotions are used to gratify what the outward bound sense are perceiving, or if they are used in the service of supporting the organism internally. Or there can be a combination of both, and enjoyment of both perspectives. Generally speaking, an internal martial artist will be more focused on using the emotional states to turn inward in focus.
What is internal vision? Well, if outer vision is a reflection of light, then internal vision is a perception of it in various ways. Light enters into the system via different frequencies on the electromagnetic spectrum, and only a small proportion is visible light. The rest is perceived as heat, or even sound, as well as other forms. So sound waves requires a medium to transmit themselves though. How well we receive these waves depends on the level of hydration and where about it’s happening. So one way to perceive more deeply, is to lubricate the joints and close the eyes using various basic martial arts forms. there are countless numbers of these, and most are effective. Alternatively, you just perform any meaningful movement, such as picking up a ball, and pay total attention to it, feeling each articulation.
So if you lubricate the eyes only, then that is where everything is focused. If you lubricate the joints effectively, then this transmits various internal sounds and breath vibrations through the body more potently. This is the reason for the classical martial arts forms as well as the sound forms. For instance, the sound “Ha” encourages and activates the Hara centre, which is the body’s centre of gravity. The sound “Sh” or “S” encourages extension of the action of the Hara to the very end of the breath. this links breath to action, and action becomes more fluid. When various classical forms or performed using this sound, the articulation of the joints encourages greater hydration and transmission of energy. This is a profoundly powerful practice if it is done with the right understanding.
The the internal attention is like the external attention, it is just focusing on a different and more subtle energy. The vibrational quality of a hydrated system, which aims to become in tune with the classical forms, has a very different aura about it than when it is performed without presence or preparation. It Gains an entirely new vibrational quality. The fluidity of the movement is also much better if everything from the fingers to the arms are in synchronisation. When we say fluidity, this also means the internal fluid, which is encourages by gracefully and subtle outward motions. For instance, if you make a fist, practice doing so by first extending the fingers and hands, and then slowly folding in each finger one at a time in a smooth fashion. This lubricates the hands effectively. This can be done with the entire body.
Throughout the day, our attention is drawn towards often meaningless trvililities. This is a kind of theft when you think of the possibilities lost. The water element is being externalised more and more, which must come at a cost. So when the entire body becomes lubricated, the Chi energy, or simply vital energy, becomes much more able to transmit rather than becoming localised or constipated. With effort and practice, it is possible to remain in such a state of energy and transmission of energy even in the midst of external distraction.
When I say hydration, it’s not just a case of consuming water. This is just one aspect. If you breathe, you can breathe with the lungs only in a shallow way. You can also distribute fluid in a shallow way, to just the peripheral limbs or senses. If the circulation or hydration becomes bad, then things dry up. Hydration can be done badly. For example, the use of steroids retains water in the limbs which causes bloating. On the other hand, if water is used to hydrate the joints and even the deeper areas of the brain, then these faculties begin to become more full and vibrant. So by focusing on the internal energies, the deeper areas of the brain become hydrated, not just the instinctive and peripheral areas. this has profound implications for internal perception as well as intelligence. This explains why intuitive faculties seem like nonsense to those who are simply analytical and in the habit of orientating themselves just to the external environment. There is of course nothing wrong with it, it just one perspective.
So the absence of light in certain ways has a power of its own. This is the power of darkness, which is always represented by nothingness, or Yin. The absence of light, or yin, actually has a strong and vibrant presence. It is just not visible. This is why whatever you can do consciously, you can do much better once you have internalised it and are able to move to a no mind, or intuitive state. This obviously requires practice and mastery, but essentially, this effortless effort can be tremendously more powerful than deliberately trying for a pre determined outcome. So when you are able to internalise the breath and lubricate the joints well, this contributes towards a massive change in perception and capability. This is why in certain Chinese Styles, they have referred to cultivating the energies as the birth of an entirely new body of perception, or the Chi energy body. It is not some extension of the physical body, it is at once separate and connected.
