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.
There is a tendency in Martial Arts for practitioners to never wind down. This is a big weakness if it isn’t sorted out with appropriate strategies. The biggest strength of martial artists is the energy they bring. To compliment this, learn to develop the opposite complimentary aspect of yourself during rest.
Historically, during times of war soldiers could easily get to sleep because they would be so exhausted. At the same time, they could be kept up at night with anxiety because of bombs going off around them. When people experience prolonged states of anxiety and restlessness, it is as if they are possessed by an external event. This can be a thought, a noise, or even stormy weather for instance. If it is raining outside, you can become possessed by the rain in your experience of it in a certain way. The same goes with ideas and thoughts if they become too empowered with energy at the wrong time. So the goal is not to eliminate these things. Instead, you lessen the impact that they have on your system by become more effective at winding down for the evening, or after a training session. Then you don’t hype them up to the extent that they bother you much.
It is important to get enough rest so that you are prepared for the next days tasks. It is a question of quality of sleep and rest rather than just quantity. The more you get into the habit of planning and preparing for sleep and rest properly, the more it becomes a habit like muscle memory. So the more you consciously aware of it, the more natural it is for you to become restful subconsciously. At first it may seem difficult, but after some time you find that on top of your efforts you also have subconscious habits and forces moving with you rather than against you. Then, a habit becomes a subconscious choice.
It is not a case of making restfulness and sleep a habit and then switching off your attention from such things. It is a case of increasing the likelihood that you succeed by making it your choice willingly. If you are swimming with the tide, rather than floundering against it, then this is a choice. You become willing to engage in this choice. It is not a choice to have no tide at all and just float around meaninglessly without any prevailing conditions. No one in their right mind would be willing to choose inertia, it is a fools paradise. The only real choice is to become a willing vehicle for the ebb and flow of energy to function at its best. In this way, what you are willing to do and what choose become one and the same.
You prepare for sleep as you would prepare for an exam, or even a competitive match. If you try to do everything at the last minute when all this should have been done earlier, this just causes regret and anxiety. If a blacksmith tries to heat up the metal when it’s time to cool it down, there won’t be enough time for it to set. And if the metal does not set, then the blade become weak and dull. This highlight the importance and timeliness of effective activity and recuperation. This requires organisation. Similarly, if the blacksmith tries to heat up the blade again when it is setting, they risk ruining the finish by interrupting the cooling process. Sleep is very much like that, you heat yourself up with activity in the day, and set into the mould at night as you take on a new form which is ready the following morning. Once again, this can become a willing process, or an unwilling process. It is a question of whether or not your a clear in your mind about the choice available to you.
“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.
