Tag: balance

Posture and Energy Transfer in Martial Arts

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

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

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

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

Energy Storage and Posture

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

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

Posture and Striking in Martial Arts

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

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

Posture and Emotional Balance

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

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

The Spiral Motion in Martial Arts

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

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

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

The Back as a Spring

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

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

Yang and Yin: The Back and Front in Martial Arts

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

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

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

Balancing Posture and Energy

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

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

The Hara Centre

Posted on Last updated on by joeharman8 | 8 min read | 281 views

The Hara Centre, located just below the naval and between the hips, is a region responsible for enormous power generation. In fact, it isn’t a disconnected area but runs through the solar plexus and to the head. This is why, for optimal functioning, you will want to align the entire body correctly, for example when sitting and doing breathing exercises. In this way you will prevent any ” Chi Blockages”, which simply means trapped or dissipated energy which runs along this alignment connection. Steve Morris has often said that the hip and head, which act through “the spinal engine” should be worked on and aligned when delivering powerful hits.

The Hara Centre represents the bowls of the earth, symbolically speaking, from which energy can be drawn to send heavenward (To the head). This region can be dangerous for disciples who have not studied “The way”, that is the virtues, but once you have strengthened your character, you can plumb the depths. Feel free to ignore this advice but I think it’s prudent.

The Hara centre can be considered the true mind or body of knowledge, because when it has been fully developed and organised through breathing, mindfulness, and meditation practices, it becomes the authority which controls even the brain. Yes, because, really, the brain is a receiver which can form images and interprets sensations based on archetypal ideas which are then elaborated by experience. This is why artistic expression and creativity is so important. But it must follow certain rules. Anyway, at this point of unified understanding, the disciple can focus on any area he likes, for example the head or solar plexus, or even the arms and legs, because everything represents an interconnected whole. In other words they represent the same core, and spring from the same centre.

At the moment we tend to operate with an undeveloped Apparatus, with the head, solar plexus, and Hara Centre not doing their job properly as a unified triforce. In this state, nothing works as it should. Modern man is overburdened by cognitive activity and is constantly overanalysing, in everything from how to perform various actions, to how he looks on social media. And when he goes to the gym he is often just going though the motions paying no attention at all to how anything feels. However, when you align all these centres I’m talking about you will feel better able to breath properly and nourish better thoughts. It will then not matter what is going on externally. In this way the Brain can be used for its proper job: to intuitively sense what it has to do when, say, you are training Martial arts. You will have a superabundance of energy as the burden of work is shifted to a bigger generator.

Sun Tzu says “If a general who is strange to the troops punishes them, they cease to obey him”. This means, symbolically speaking that the fighter who does not attach himself to his troops loses their confidence. In other words, if your general (The Hara Centre) does not work properly with the troops (the body and brain), then they “cannot be usefully employed”. This is why there must be harmony in the relations between each of the centres and the body. It then becomes clear what you have to do, even if you don’t technically know all the details.

Disciples often wait for the coming of the Messiah, and if you wait and patiently make yourself receptive to the subtle energies of the Hara centre, you will get a visit sooner or later. But there is no point in waiting if you have not done the work or are looking in all the wrong places. That is why, from now on I recommend you work with the Hara Centre and its related lines of energy not only during training but in all activity. All the technical knowledge takes second, or even third, fourth or fifth place to this.

Whether it experiencing an intensive Harmony of Spirited action, a Controlled Gesture, or a contemplative meditation, it’s all the same. The important thing to remember is that there must be unity in thought, desire, action, and feeling. When you feel this centre is activated in your practice, allow if to take possession of you. When you do this often, it will begin to accompany you in everything you do throughout the day, and therefore it is easy to draw upon this force at will. In other words, you will begin to relate to it as the centre of being. For those that are ready, there is a whole way of practice to totally immerse themselves in, which is more certain than any form of objectively measurable progress. The more you are able to observe this state and conform to it, the more you will understand abstract ideas and forms alter and arrive at truth.

So Instead of acquiring new moves or increasing your fitness, think instead more about changing your perceptions and interactions between the parts and the whole. In other words cultivate the faculty of mindfully going about the most mundane activities. In this condition you will be able to spend decades drawing inspiration from and practicing even the most basic and form or move without ever losing interest or motivation.

The Brain is not designed to stand up to fretting and worrying, and due to this overloading and burdening exhausts itself in anxiety. This is why it is important to regain control over our Hara Centre, so that the burden of activity, and even the problems of existence itself can be overcome. If the Masters of the past we able to become tireless and almost all powerful, it was not because of brain power, calculations or huge muscles. No, instead it was because they were able to concentrate, develop and strengthen the life centre, the centre of gravity, the roots of the earth. The hara Centre represents these roots.

The Bulgarian spiritual Master Omraam Mikael Aivanov says that the secrets of the Hara Centre were well know to all ancient religions and and Sages of the past. Jesus says “From out of the believers belly shall flow the rivers of the living Water”. The Shaolin Drunken boxers even become intoxicated on this water, where they experience an unorthadox balance of grace and explosive power. The Hindu Sages tell us that Shiva, who represents the brain, was the “Destroyer of reality”. The Chinese system of Tai Chi says that their is an energy channel, known as a “Chi pathway” which travels from the Hara centre and out of the crown of the head. As such, when this pathway is fully operational and aligned, the Disciple is “Held by a fine golden thread” from the crown. This thread represents a spiritual thread, a link to heaven, through which almost supernatural powers are granted to the disciple in the form of increased Vitality, power, and Health.

As I have just said, the brain is very much dependant on the signals it receives from the Hara Centre. This is why by focusing and concentrating on the Hara Centre, through meditation and breathing exercises for example, the Brain is able to function more smoothly and harmoniously without nervous agitation and fatigue. This is why it is so important to make sure that the centres of the head, solar plexus, and Hara are able to work as a unified whole. It is then possible to say, concentrate on breathing, or head positioning for optimal posture, from a position of an active Hara Centre. For example, it can be helpful to concentrate on the diaphragm to feel the sensations of breathing, or the chakra in the back of the head which produces an intense surge of energy. Moderation in the latter is advised therefore.

Even if you think this is all spiritual nonsense, if you decide to cultivate this area of practice, you may begin to see that this is the only kind of practice there is. Because we can only maintain an attitude of optimism and progress if we are on the right path. And this path follows many routes, and has many different manifestations, but all lead to the same inner unity.

What I am saying is that the proper measure of whether your meditations, breathing exercises, or martial arts techniques are correct is not whether you can pulverize somebody or look superficially correct. Instead, each of these exercises should awaken and develop this triforce of nature, the head2, the solar plexus, and the Hara Centre. This is not so much something that you achieve with a rigid posture of technique, but is a “felt sense”, as Eugene Gendlin puts it. Yes, because through the intermediary of feeling we can begin to understand.

The deeper mysteries of reality are not seen with our eyes, but are instead felt. In Hindu Philosophy the eyes are said to reveal a false reality of our physical surroundings, or “Maya”1. The full reality is brought to bear when the Hara Centre is developed. Only then can we begin to accurately mentally construct reality (the brain) with our creative imagination and full array of faculties. Otherwise we are held captive by an ugly imposter which sits at the throne. This is the true enemy3.

References

1Signs and Symbols in Martial arts Part 2 https://harmanater.com/2020/06/06/signs-and-symbols-part-2-pedagogy-and-the-art-of-war/

2 Alignment and tension exercises https://harmanater.com/2020/03/22/alignment-and-tension-exercises/ . Here I have mainly used examples from Steve Morris.

3 The True Meaning of Martial Arts https://harmanater.com/2020/05/18/the-true-meaning-of-martial-arts/

Martial Arts and Health

Posted on Last updated on by joeharman8 | 11 min read | 92 views

We can think of health as energy available to us to live an intense meaningful life, free from disease and debilitation. It is this state that we should reach in order to train properly in Martial Arts. And so we must cultivate and live in this state as much as possible, so that we can put this energy into everything we do. That is, of course, if we want to devote ourselves to this path. We don’t need to go looking for this energy outside ourselves by learning all sorts of complicated moves, hoping this will give us power. No, instead we should move naturally in ways which correlate with the intuitive rhythms of nature.

Now that science has given us complicated explanations and exact methods of technical performance, we exploit the resources of the body in order perform these techniques. And yet, many people find themselves more unhealthy than ever and plagued with injuries, not to mention lacking in energy. This is because people think about performing certain moves, like a punch, rather than strengthening the body which animates them. They do all sorts of robotic moves unthinkingly, which just causes wear and tear as the years go on. In truth, much of scientific advancement has made us lazy and unwilling to do work.

Whilst skilled people don’t wear out overnight, the abilities they have developed, often during youth, don’t last forever, and before too long they end up stagnating or in a sorry state. Many people put all their energy into the move instead of cultivating health through exercise. What they are forgetting is that the move is just a means of expressing the goal of perfection. Instead they get it the wrong way round, thinking that the move itself is the goal, and perfection of this will lead to truth. They think “I’ll perfect this move and one day I’ll become perfect”. But really, People are deluding themselves if they think they will make long term progress in this way, because once they are worn out and no longer able to animate themselves with zest, they lose the impetus to grow and develop. The real goal is keeping this zest, as this is the means of evolution.

Yes lots of people get big muscles first, but even a giant brick wall will develop cracks and fall down if the foundations and alignment are incorrect. And it is the same situation for Martial artists. Say, for instance, you are driving a stake into the ground. If you take the mallet and hit the stake off centre, it might bend. If you hit it dead centre it will drive into the floor creating a stable root. In the same way, if you direct pressure through the ground using gravity, aligned from head to toe, you will be much more structurally sound and dynamically stable (Steve Morris, the authority on the subject talks about alignment and whole body tension extensively on his website). On the other hand, if you contorts the body in all sorts of unnatural ways, without the means of stability stability, it’s only a matter of time before you damage your structure2.

How do we learn these “Fundamental” means of action? There is an imprint of how to move, breathe, and learn correctly inscribed within us. If we follow these intuitive pathways we can, with work, learn anything relatively easily to our own specifications. Think of the body as your instrument, you might be inspired by other peoples music, but you yourself produce the harmonies which resonate with your requirements and tastes. You might copy someone else at first, to create a stereotypical impression, but this is not the end of it. You continually develop. This will ensure you never lose interest and keep on growing, which itself is the only real indicator of success. When you train intuitively, all the knowledge is already in your possession you just need the inspiration and living examples around you to bring it out.

So what about adding our own flavour? After we have a fundamental knowledge of how to train and work, we can then add certain embellishments on top of this these forms we create. What Most Martial Arts practice involves is putting on the embellishments first, rather than making sure the basics are in order. It takes many years to learn to walk, so how do you suppose you can embody more complicated actions quickly? This just shows how much work needs to be done, and if the great fighters have to do this, how much more so for the rest of us?

In other words, many people go for the martial arts form without working on their body’s structural capabilities. Many of them go on about persevering through difficulty, and being patient, but in reality they are often looking for the easiest way to learn as many moves as possible to earn a certificate or belt. When you see a fighter in action, ask yourself “Does this form or style embrace universal principles of development and practice?” And, “Can I embody this practice so that it relates to everything else I do?” If not then it does not represent the truth3. There is no point is beating others up around you whilst your practice becomes devoid of meaning.

A true Martial Arts Master takes no interest in mechanical dead forms. There is no point because they do not relate to everyday matters of health and life. In fact they often ruin health because moving so violently without art or grace wears out the joints and causes fatigue. The temptation to stop developing, through pride, dogs the heals of even the best Martial artists until the end.

Routinised, meaningless practice has a terrible effect on health and energy. And then what weapons will you have when you are older and worn out? What will happen when your inner weapons of energy and enthusiasm has gone? You will have nothing. But if you learn to increase your health, training intensely for only short durations4, you will be able to have a profound effect on your abilities whilst not squandering your reserves on mindless work. Yes it is possible, through intelligent work, to remain healthy and vigorous even into old age. This is how you know you are following true Martial arts practice, you will increase your abilities, happiness, and senses.

To the extent that a form of martial arts is useful, you should integrate this with your everyday behaviours and gestures which underpin movements in all domains. Obviously, this works by degrees. Then martial arts simply becomes another way of moving more generally. You simply take the forms in homeopathic doses, letting them colour your existing movement repertoire, and receive a new expression of the same intuitive movements you already posses. Yes, because we already have within us the means to learn, intuitive movement, enthusiasm, and intelligence, combine all three and you will learn anything naturally.

All movements share intuitive gestures and actions with which we should mindfully engage in order to connect the dots between seemingly different activities. In this way throwing a ball, swinging a bat, etc., is fundamentally the same as throwing a punch or kick. They are different expressions of the same truth. It is up to us to become aware of these connections. To divide is to destroy, what you must do is unify everything. You divide up simply to analyse, and then it becomes part of the whole again. Otherwise it becomes dead and disconnected. This is why once analysed, it must come back into our being adapted to the wisdom of the body. We want to work on this wisdom of the body, in other words, to embody knowledge, but what we often end up doing is practicing nonsense. The form is merely the model to aim towards within a discipline, but the greater form, the true form, encompasses everything.

We practice according to a perfect model, that is a representation of the higher self. This mental model, and physical representation, is always better than we ourselves are. It assimilates what is useful, in other words the essentials, and discards what isn’t. These are the fundamentals, and the intuitive movements we all posses like walking and grabbing are used as building blocks. I have no objection to practcing a specific style, they are good as far as the go, but the problem of inner evolution and and progress cannot be solved by an existing physical forms. But back to fundamental building blocks.

A baby can learn to crawl, and then walk, and then run.But adults often have difficult applying the concept to even more advanced movements as they grow in intelligence and power. Because they fail to capitalise ion this, they stagnate and go backwards. Martial arts is just an extension, and evolution, of these basic fundamental actions. Once they are tapped into, these basic movements stimulate and trigger the development of more advanced skills such as punches and kicks. They are not simply new movements disconnected from previous learning.

The flowers of one plant spreads and multiplies new plants which then blossom into new flowers. In the same way humans learn one skill and then cultivate it until it is ready to spread into new domains. The whole thing then goes on and on again, even into later eras after the death of the practitioner. These ideas are then passed onto someone else and then come back to where they began, inside the individual. That individual is then in possession of certain knowledge that he must then pour out onto others. If the flowers are uninspired, dull, and disfigured no one looks at them and it is as if they never existed.

By helping other develop, you will find solutions to your own questions due to this effort applied to the process of “blossoming”. Others around you will be attracted to your flowers as a bee is around nectar. Naturally, this is how ideas spread. In this way your own practice will develop, fuelling your optimism and abilities. There is no escaping this process. I know that this may seem naive and childish, and it may not be taken seriously, because as everybody knows that you need to flatter people and quote recognised authorities, otherwise you don’t get anywhere. This just proves that despite of the hostility and hazards around you, you must keep fighting, and it is these trials if you like which oblige you to develop will power and evolve. I will go further to say that this is a blessing in disguise.

People tend to be happy one minute, unmotivated the next, always changing theirs moods and ideas. The least little problem knocks them off balance. This is why we need a high ideal, or if you like a perfect model to orientate ourselves towards. Compared to this ideal we are weak and ignorant. We keep failing, making mistakes, making enemies… We then think this weakness represents truth, and we bring everything down to this level. And then progress stops because we have focused on our lower nature and its insecurities rather than treating the high self as a living being. So many people have received so called wisdom in this form, and became disillusioned by it. They think “That’s just the way it is, I’ve invested so much time is this big lie, and since my livelihood depends on it I’ll just be the one to lie to others as I have been lied to”.

But perfection does not have an enemy, nor does it make mistakes or errors. Perfection, of course will never be achieved, it just orientates us in the right direction. That is why it is without form, and greater than form.

Like the earth around the sun, we must become “Centred” around the high ideal5 which inspires us and keeps us in motion, keeps us revolving. All people posses this faculty, but they often spend their whole life not knowing how to use it. Some people think that they must resemble exactly the perfect form, other believe that having an ideal is a waste of time because it can never be attained. But really it is something for our will power to strive towards, representing essential truths symbolised by martial arts practice. All the forms are merely different representations of the same truth.

Our will power must desire perfection, because it has an infinite scope which can reach far beyond physical limitations. Only the best satisfies it and will empower you towards real success, and by success I mean reach your full potential6. It does not matter if you achieve the ideal, but the important thing is to keep trying.

1 Steve Morris http://morrisnoholdsbarred.com/

2 Alignment and Tension exercises https://harmanater.com/2020/03/22/alignment-and-tension-exercises/

3 Which Moves? https://harmanater.com/2020/04/30/which-moves/

4 High Intensity Work and Balance https://harmanater.com/2020/07/05/high-intensity-work-and-balance/

5 The High Ideal https://harmanater.com/2020/07/26/the-high-ideal/

6 Will power https://harmanater.com/2020/05/10/will-power/

Fight Chaos, live in Harmony.

Posted on by joeharman8 | 12 min read | 130 views

Those who attempt to delve into the chaos of violence without having developed a defence against it, run the risk of being totally overwhelmed. If you identify with the aggressor, or the hostility of others, then it may be more than one can bear. This point is rarely talked about, but nothing is more important. Identify with a great goal instead of conditioning yourself to disorder and chaos. If you do this, you need not talk about your accomplishments. Even if you are a champion of this or that, there is always the danger that others will be drawn to you simply to take your scalp, symbolically speaking. Either that or they will think you an arrogant egomaniac.

Another reason for not displaying your achievements for all and sundry is that people will simply expect you to solve all their problems, and teach them to become strong. whilst an instructor is necessary, what will become of you in the midst of such dependency? You will feel less and less inspired. “That’s life” they say. Unfortunately, far too many champions end up losing all their time and energy to those around them who sap them of their inspiration and energy for all sorts of mundane reasons. Better to tread the path of silence so that your progress remains better protected. Contrary to what people think, it doesn’t always take a great and powerful individual to bring down a giant. This is a form of self defence, and who’s to say it’s any less demanding then the usual kind.

A lot of champions, supposing they can take on the world, reckon themselves able to take on anything life throws at them as they crush those in their path. They begin to identify with chaos and disorder. And when they fall, they suppose it was down to bad luck. No, it was often because they had absorbed themselves in endless outer struggles without developing the polar opposite: Harmony and balance within. Because the greater your achievements within the chaotic arena of competition, the greater the demand for harmony.

I have personally known some champions who, however great they were, only remained this way for a time, eventually succumbing to disillusionment and burnout. After that it was as if they never amounted to anything beyond ordinary achievement. They reign for a certain time, and then pass on the mantle of their legacy to someone else, a prodigy. Either that or someone bigger, younger and stronger simply usurps them having waited in the wings. You must take great care to not let this happen to you, and if it does to remedy the situation. But that’s just how it is in relentless competition with others, unless of course you move beyond the pathological idea of dominating others and seek instead to master yourself. This is the true goal of martial arts. Instead over the years, too many fighters let their instinctive urges grow out of all proportion which later becomes self destructive.

The man in the street does not understand why so many champions come to a bad end. They suppose that a champion is immortal an immune to the turbulence of everyday life. Equally, they assume that the martial arts master who spends his days dreaming in the mountains is delusional. Whilst many teachers may simply hide from reality, afraid to relate to ordinary people, some of them are very much grounded and wise. But a true master does not hide from those around him, who may even be antagonistic towards him. What is the point in developing certain needed talents if nobody is around to be inspired by them? Whilst others may not be receptive to their teachings, Masters are able to walk among even criminals and depraved men. Because he sees them as an example of why he is needed1.

Many champions hope to simply last long enough to live a lazy life of luxury. This is normal, but far from inspiring. Rather than crushing opposition and escaping to a mansion with all the riches he has acquired, a true champion or master can live amongst all kinds of people without disturbing his inner balance. He is thereby capable of giving good advice and transforming those in need, particularly if he becomes an instructor, rather than being afraid of being soiled by their influence. Hiding away from the public is no different from a hermit like existence. Instead he should come out and face the world with his radiant presence, and then retreat to solitude to recharge his batteries.

If you want to face the violence of others without being absorbed into their chaos, then I strongly suggest cultivating harmonious imagery in your mind. This acts as a counterweight to the polar opposite which is chaos. Not aimless dreaming about winning some match, or having an easy slovenly life, but imagery and sensations inspired by a high ideal, such as perfection. For example, you can imagine yourself climbing to a mountain summit, and bathing in a lake with the sun reflecting off the calm waters.

But developing harmonious imagery is just the first step. Once you have arrived at a state of inner peace, you are free to simply feel the sensations of peace and tranquillity wash over your being, in a way the minds eye is not capable of doing. If you lose this sensation simply start by contemplating a lovely tranquil scene again. Whilst you can do this for at least a few minutes during the day when stressed, why not extended this exercise to hours if you can? Thoughts that are meaningless and do not inspire positive sensations will either not make much of an impression or simply increase anxiety. Think only the most inspiring thoughts of harmony.

So I do not recommend thinking of all the plotting and scheming of those potential rivals around you, and all the betrayal that might lie ahead. In as much as this is likely to happen if you achieve something important, it is through meditating on positive inspiring things that the energy to face problems is generated and renewed. Once you have perceived these ideas as symbols in the mind, you can move on to simply feeling these things. Or if you like seeing them in the spiritual sense, feeling the presence of something beautiful and harmonious. This is a form of meditating on a high ideal with which you can unite yourself. This is the higher self at work, and from there you can take the perspective of an observer and identify with this nature which is above and beyond physical form.

Many people scoff at the idea of contemplating harmony, claiming that it’s for weaklings who can’t face reality. When actually, it is based on a a cause and effect understanding of how to maximise energy to take on demanding work. In other words, if we perceive inspiring thoughts that are physical eyes don’t have access to we imprint the harmonious effects onto our organism. This is so that it is more receptive to energy development and therefore work, rather than being bogged down by mundane concerns. This of course requires will power, a tireless perseverance, which although consciousness is energy demanding, it increases our capacity for energy generation2. And in any case the thought of powerlessness and dependence on material circumstances is far more draining, believe me! It is this process that will empower us to face problems.

I repeat, to maximise your potential it is important to think of harmonious conceptions, and sensations. In this way you turn your relaxation time into work. Many people fail to relax properly because, having so much to do, they are always on the go. Whereas if you can work towards your ideal even whilst relaxing and regenerating you will not feel like you are falling back each time you recuperate and rest3.

Humans have a need to outdo themselves and continue their development ceaselessly. It is not this idea that should be changed but the way we go about it. I advise trying to become aware of your everyday behaviours and how they enhance or deplete your reserves. Living an honest, upright, and noble life will make you more open to positive thinking and inspiring thoughts. In order to protect your development work hard and commit to whatever enhances your progress. I have nothing against people winning belts, certificates, or whatever else, but my goal, my ideal if you like, is to instruct others to see success in the highest sense of the word.

Just as it is possible to be badly effected by say, a bad nights sleep and the dreams you might have had, it is also possible to effect yourself by means of your waking thoughts. This is what I advise doing: making your waking dreams a lived reality. Think of yourself as a person in the future who has already moved beyond the problem in hand. As this is a necessary precondition of making a problem a thing the past. So don’t go round fighting the outward appearance of some evil by supposing that is your only option. This is a sure way of becoming entrenched in a problem and enslaving yourself to outward appearance. Instead relate yourself to a future successful being, and feel what it feels. In this way you make the present the future.

When something bad happens, ask yourself “am I going to let this moment define me, or should I identify with the person of the future, or a symbol of that?” Then tell yourself “The person of the future has grown and developed from trials and tribulations, and by imagining myself as that person today I have contributed to my development in the future”. Because the present moment is an inseparable aspect of the future, starting now. Equally, by extending present misfortunes into the future, you create that future misery. That is the point of detachment, not to ignore what’s going on but to view it from the perspective of someone who has already overcome the present, transcended it even. It is detachment only from the physical present constraints, not a void of all being. This is why the Hindu Spiritualists refer to the present reality as an illusion, or Mayer.

Reality is not really an illusion, but what appears before our eyes often is. Don’t think, feel” as Bruce Lee once said. After all, the real reality is what we feel. Just try telling a genuine master that he’s already surpassed everyone else and there is no more work to do. In fact, many champions do just this and lose all drive to develop themselves. By resting on their laurels and taking external conditions as reality, they fell for an illusion. Whereas, with a genuine Master his convictions to ceaselessly enhance his capabilities are not an illusion, even if right now he has not realised this goal, materially speaking. Yes, the goal for improvement should be so lofty that it can’t ever be reached, because this is what drives the man. You kill the drive and what he lives and stands for and you kill the man. How can you convince someone who experiences the strong conviction to master himself that this is an illusion? His present conditions might be terrible, but he can never doubt his convictions, for he lives them.

Instead, so many people chose to see something and feel nothing. Let us take a straightforward example. Many martial artists look at themselves training and read instructions about how to punch properly. But what is the point in all that if you don’t get a body ‘feel’ of what you’re doing? Instead they feel all sorts of rage and over excitement and hope that the technique will be powered by this.

Whilst this cocktail of emotions will supercharge an attack, I don’t advise training like this for long. First of all it will disrupt your mental balance, and secondly the instinct to destroy whats in front of you is highly primitive and can only be cultivated at the expense of being dragged down. Whilst you may destroy the opponet, you will likely sap yourself rather than nourish your energy.

Instead instincts such as aggression should be put to work to fuel high intensity work. This high intensity work should be aimed at perfecting yourself and your craft, so that you become a symbol of perfection, rather than becoming a killing machine. This is to ensure that you keep your inspiration and give meaning to your life. Also, instead of looking at the superficial aspects of a technique, get a sense of what it feels like to perform the work and relate to that feeling rather than the form. By getting an inner feel for a move at high intensity, this will make a greater impression than routine exercises devoid of low intensity. Intensity is key, if even for a moment4. Quality over quantity.

It is time people understood what the point of martial arts is. Far too many think that it is a school for developing physical strength, perfect form, and to satisfy their instinct to dominate others. But as far as I’m concerned, this isn’t what it’s about at all. Yes we have to overcome obstacles, and even fight for our existence. You need not have any special powers, certificates, or title belts to commit yourself to this work. All you need is the conviction to strive to improve yourself, no matter the material results. This is the path to greater self mastery.

References

1 Self defence without Violence https://harmanater.com/2020/06/14/self-defence-without-violence/

2 Will power https://harmanater.com/2020/05/10/will-power/

3 Active Relaxation https://harmanater.com/2020/04/27/active-relaxation/

4 High Intensity Work and Balance https://harmanater.com/2020/07/05/high-intensity-work-and-balance/

High Intensity Work and Balance

Posted on by joeharman8 | 9 min read | 134 views

One of the reasons for training is to develop strength and power through high intensity work. However it is often the case that those engaged in high intensity work completely over do it. High intensity work, by which I mean 100% effort, is actually a kind of stress on the body. But it does you good if it is performed in short bursts over a small time period. For example, a one hundred metre sprint takes an athlete just over, say ten seconds. However they would not do this over and over again or for much longer than ten seconds. And for good reason – it is hugely taxing on the body.

Now the most important aspect of fitness is health, or harmony within the body. In other words your strength, endurance, energy levels, and all other aspects of health should all be in accord. This is all achieved by living sensibly and actively. High intensity work improves your capacity to do this. Unfortunately, many people are completely out of tune with health, and have instead bolstered some aspects of fitness at the expense of overall health. This lack of balance eventually leads to wear and tear and a decline in capabilities. And therefore health. It is therefore wise to take care of all this before injury occurs and health declines.

What I do is, whenever I train I try to reach my highest intensity of work by doing no more than a few minutes on the heavy bag. I go for intensity over duration, and in short bursts. For example, I might do a minute or so and then rest, and then go for it again. Of course I warm up a bit and practice a few concepts and skills before getting to work. I then do all sorts of things like walking, everyday activities like gardening, and breathing exercises, sport, etc., to fill the day. Once again, high intensity work, or a short duration, improves my capacity to do everything else. You might say “Only a minute? That’s nothing, professionals do twelve 3 minute rounds!”.

Yes, I admit I’m nowhere near the fitness levels of some athletes, and I tell myself the same thing daily, as I am just as concerned as anyone of still not attaining my goals This forces me to work twice, or three times as hard within a small time frame, because I have other things to do. To do huge quantities of low level work is easy, to condense this down is another matter. All those people who want to be champions of this or that are obliged to push themselves towards performing huge amounts of intense work that can’t be maintained. They may get away with it for a while, but not for long. Of course they limit themselves and stagnate eventually, by getting worn out. And yet these are the people who everyone looks to for advice!

Many people talk of having survived life threatening situations, but I wonder how many of them have any idea of how to train for the urgency required. Having been in these situations myself, I can tell you that the experience is so intense and only lasts a few seconds before things get life threatening and you are killed. So I train to condense everything down to this time frame. Yes, you must condense it all down to a smaller time frame to increase the demand for quick decisive action. However nobody does this, or thinks its beneficial. Instead they go about doing whatever every other Tom, Dick, or Harry are doing.

It is situations of extreme urgency which give you the intense desire to change and improve the mundane training practices adopted by the many. Perhaps quite a few experience this, perhaps without analysing it much, but they often abandon their new found motivation after a day or two.

If you cannot devote as much time to training as a professional athlete, or you think you’re not any good, you must try to achieve the same intensity of work. And then you will be able to achieve the same output as someone else who has more time to devote to one thing at the expense of everything else. Yes, you might not have the same capacity for repetitive work in one narrow discipline, but you will be able to work at the same intensity. Intensity is what counts. This is important because you will gain the same benefits of strength, and power.

The health benefits that come from high intensity work are numerous. Increased defence against disease, more vitality, higher energy levels, etc., but don’t over do it, because it will wear you down. It’s not enough to “leave it all in the gym” and then flop in front of the sofa. No, that just means you have stripped yourself of energy and probably lowered your immune systems defences. Instead go for quality over quantity. That way the high intensity work will increase the body’s demand for energy, which sets the ground for increased health. There will therefore be an increased supply of beneficial forces acting on the body’s capabilities, preparing it for greater work. It’s an inescapable cause and effect process.

As soon as you go beyond your limits in an attempt to go do what you’re not capable of doing, things fall apart. You pay the price, in injury or burnout. What else can be expected? Many people try to “push through” when they “hit a wall”, and at this point they’re not even interested really. Sapped of energy they lose motivation, which carries on to the next session, and the one after that. They then come to associate hard work with depletion of reserves and boredom. In that case walk away and come back to it another time revitalised. The only reason Martial arts becomes boring is because people lose motivation in this way. They practice for hours on end when they should have looked after their health and developed themselves before even attempting high intensity work. Instead they jump straight in!

And things often go from bad to worse. Training is increasingly moving away from a more balanced approach, and people are become more driven to overdo everything, whilst achieving nothing. Wherever you look people are mimicking some guru who insists they go beyond their limits. What usually happens of course is that people work at a very low intensity, because they have run out of energy. And then no amount of work can replace the energy which is not given time to replenish. They are forced to work at a slovenly pace because they haven’t put in the real work of maintaining health and balance. They are then congratulated for at least giving it a good go.

Don’t bother focusing on some magic exercise programme to do the work for you. There is no secret technique or wise sage to do this work for you. Focus on intensity, and then in one stroke you will have achieved health benefits as well as power and fitness. Sure you won’t be as big as some people in the gym, who, in any case are usually fatter than they are muscular, but you will be on the right track. And don’t bother learning loads of combinations in the hope that you can then perform them quickly with no effort. It can’t be done, and takes much too long, a whole lifetime would not be enough time to learn everything bit bit bit. You would have to pick one discipline, learn all the moves, and the other indispensable techniques would be neglected.

This is what I do: I don’t bother increasing my fitness by doing boxing combinations, and then Muay Thai drills, etc., it would be a waste of time. I’m interested only in intensity. I perform the basic skills, and sometimes I go over them more slowly and deliberately, but if my only goal is to work at one hundred percent effort, this forces me to put together any number of combinations within a very small time frame seamlessly. It happens naturally if the desire is there. This forces me to pick out the most important skills because every second counts. Just try being fast and powerful if you are exhausted and fatigued, you won’t succeed. And for no other reason than because you tried to push beyond your limits for too long.

I would leave all skills practice more or less alone. Don’t bother with the drills anymore, at least when doing high intensity work. “How can you give such bad advice”. Whilst no martial arts expert would advise this, I am a generalist, and therefore we aren’t singing from the same hymn sheet. Take a few moves here and there by all means, but son’t suppose you will perform them well without intent to work at one hundred percent effort. I cannot stress this enough, you must be intent on supply maximum effort. The technique will then take care of itself. Obviously there are people who don’t do this and still do well, but they could do better.

People often say to me “I used to do boxing”, or “I used to be good at such and such a martial art, but today I’m injured and don’t have the time”. The reason is that you devoted too much time to the wrong thing. I remember reading that Steve Morris, who is in a league of his own when it comes to martial arts, said that he thinks “intensity intensity intensity”. And that he trains for a few minutes at a time at maximum intensity. There you have it. Instead people get addicted to drudge work, which eventually erodes away their abilities, because it’s not intelligent work.

Instead you should accept that intensity boosts your bodies defences and increases its durability. This is self defence against the greater enemies of overwork, burnout and stagnation. So what I recommend is to do all the exercises you want but focus on intensity within a short time frame. High intensity effort and work is the force that will boost all your capabilities to do all the other exercises. It is as if your body collective system says “We need to up our game!”. And then the adaptation to greater challenge takes places as time goes on. That is provided it is given proper rest afterwards and isn’t pushed beyond its capabilities too far or for too long.

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