Tag: method

The Stance

Posted on Last updated on by joeharman8 | 12 min read | 87 views

The Stance is a means of performing a given technique. The problem is that people get stuck in the means. That is, they get stuck in the means of reaching the goal of form, and look no further. But the means is not the goal. The goal is to radiate a sense of superiority so that even your enemies feel obliged to defer to you. This means they won’t attack you. Typically this is said to be something you do in an actual fight with a guard. However, actually it is something you can practice all the time. I will show you how.

As I say, the stance is a means of conducting yourself towards others, rather than for hitting them. The enemy is just a stimulus, of achieving this goal. As such, the fight actually begins far earlier than when the enemy points a gun at you. It begins in our own conduct and negativity we might radiate. Because, we influence ourselves and others around us to a great extent. We forget this inner power. The real goal, therefore can be seen as rising above circumstances which lead to external conflict. This is why you must not engage directly with your enemy. “What? don’t engage with the enemy after he has punched me in the face?” Obviously there are exceptions to this. But most of the time people are often totally ignorant of their own provocative behaviour. They irritate themselves and other around them because they don’t manage their behaviour. And when they react to hostility, it is always justified. Oh yes, it is always the fault of the other person.

Instead of looking for every sign of hostility in others, take the superior stance and work on gestures and actions which inspire respect from others rather than violence. This is a science in itself, and you will find that it changes the way you see Martial arts. The potential hostility in others provides the energy, and you transform it into power. This is a necessary exchange, as the small doses of negativity from others (and our own dissatisfaction) can enhance our efforts. Yes, there is much work to be done inside ourselves. Large doses of this negative energy allowed to get out of control will lead to the practice of “firefighting”.

Inspiring the best in every situation may seem like such a burden, but even if you chose to see others as your enemies you will find that eventually this mentality will take over. You will get good at the wrong thing. So many fighters chose to see every action in others as a hidden provocation In the same way, soon enough, you can with the right attitude begin to see everyone as a potential ally. This takes a lot of time practice, and deep study, but it is the ultimate triumph. Whichever path you chose, the workload is the same, and the physical and mental position you take, the stance, must be up to the demands.Do not delude yourself, this takes a lot of effort to overcome ordeals. Of course, if you don’t want to strive for perfection, then you are free to ignore what I am saying. But for those who want to absorb themselves in meaningful work, I can think of none better.

Instead of becoming obsessed with crushing others, use their hostility as stimulus to springboard above circumstances rather than becoming mired in them. In your training, think of nothing else but controlling your actions so that they radiate positivity rather than hostility. View the enemy as a trial, a trial which was sent to teach you a lesson, a lesson of self control. Many Martial artists boast of self control but it is rare to find anyone who practices this as much as they do hitting things. But, In my opinion this is the most important exercise there is which will give you strength and indomitable will. Of course we have adversaries, but this is often because we are ignorant about how to view them and act towards them.

If you want to live in safety therefore, you must apply your techniques to a wider sphere than just the Dojo or training centre. Your stance, which is another way of saying personal magnetism or bearing, must be more than just combative. Yes, you will want to practice with a stance which is flexible and adaptable to all martial arts forms, but why stop there? There is every opportunity to practice controlling and commanding your everyday expressions and gestures, everything from holding a knife to shaking someones hand. These seem insignificant by themselves, but I assure you the cumulative effect of doing this whenever you can is unbelievably powerful.

Consider for a moment the weakness that must lie in the mentality of an enemy who has nothing better to do than bring you down to their level. They do not have authority over themselves. When you see it this way, little by little the image of their superiority will fade, and you will want to be nothing like them. In fact you will forget all about them, as you will be too absorbed in intensive work.

Instead of defaulting to a fighting stance when the going gets tough, why not use your gestures and actions to make an impression on your enemy that bowls him over with respect for you1. Obviously this is not feasible against someone with a knife to your throat, but if you are really serious about stopping such a threat you should remedy the situation before it becomes serious. In other words, before the threat has even manifested itself. As long as you continue to think of good outcomes and positivity in others as forces separate from yourself, things will continue to torment you. This philosophy of the stance you must take before your enemies is difficult to accept, but it is the superior one. Once you practice it, you will continue to evolve and find every occasion to put it into practice, whatever happens to you.

From a more elevated position, the hostilities of others will be unable to reach you, and as Sun Tzu said “If you wait by the river Long enough, the bodies of you enemies will float by”. He also said be still as the Mountain. This is significant, because the Mountain is symbolic of the highest perspective, from which the bad intentions of others are unable to reach. The rock is the indomitable spirit. When you use willpower to reach this perspective, you are protected from your enemies because you forget they even exist. You are too absorbed in your work to relate to them. You have then performed the operation I’ve been talking about, which is changing the environment in and around you. In other words, you have recycled the waste at the dumping ground into something useful. This takes audacity.

By rising above the pettiness of others, their attempts to attack you simply fall back on themselves. In other words they float down the river. When you use the same weapons as your enemy you make yourself vulnerable. And because you are contemplating how to get back at them, you forget about your inner work, your high ideal2. This what what is meant by staying centred. That is, centred around an incorruptible idea or truth that empowers you to rise above circumstances. In this way, your work should involve uniting with the centre, and putting your full trust in this position. This is the only way to survive amongst the dregs of society who threaten to take you down.

If you begin to relate to the enemy by thinking about them, on their level, they do you an injury from afar because this gives them power. This is what Sun Tzu meant by winning a battle Ten thousand Miles away – they managed to beat you in your own mind by transforming your attitude. Because the idea comes before the manifestation, it is at this level you should work. It is the same as if you dwell on illness and sickness you will end up becoming worn out and ill. You will have created an inner environment in which resources were allocated unwisely, maximising the chances of a bad outcome. Whereas if you think positively, this has an invigorating effect, even if their appears to be no material reason to do so.

So, If you think of the high ideal, your whole bearing and attitude, your stance, will be inspired to take a new form; One that is more refined. It is this that will give meaning to your training, because nobody is motivated by training which results in becoming more weathered and worn out. If you do this you will never lose, and you will remain motivated and never lose the will to win.

Sun Tzu said that by knowing yourself you can win one thousand victories out of one thousand battles. Similarly, certain Famous swordsmen of Japan spoke of techniques and stances which were able to manifest themselves in ten thousand different situations. The ten thousand victories and forms refers to the infinite number of variations a principle of truth takes, and the certainty that it will prevail. The ten thousand battles begin at every instance you become upset or tense, which might be very often, so say to yourself “I must do something to change my rythmn and behaviour”. Behave in a more harmonious way3, handling things with care, because many people have no idea how this effects their inner condition before anyone has even come along to challenge them.

The Asian Schools of Martial arts speak of hard and soft styles. Ying and Yan, body and mind, External and internal, principle and technique… It all amounts to the same thing. They are two polar opposites which form a unity. Because duality is just a way of seeing unity. In other words, many powerful individuals who have mastered themselves have done so by transforming the hostility within themselves into something good. Tese two polar opposite tendencies form a dynamic equilibrium4. In certain Japanese Swordsmanship traditions they say that the sword and the mind or no different. The sword (external) is the physical manifestation of the minds will (internal energy). They are two aspects of the whole.

One must be careful that when they win an external battle, they do not lose an internal one. Other people are incapable of solving our internal battles, so why bother puffing ourselves up fighting with them? You cannot gain much in the way of inner fulfilment by duelling with others. When you realise this, you will no longer be able to seek inspiration in beating others. On the contrary, you will want to help them.

In spite of all the hostility around you, you must keep fighting, only with the weapons of self discipline and inner strength. In this way you use your enemies to develop will power and a stance which pacifies them. The confidence you gain from this reliable law will strengthen your will in a way that victory over others cannot. The enemy will simply see that you are so highly evolved and their attempts make no impression on you.

Even if you beat the biggest toughest fighter out there, he will usually claim that he had an off day or that you were lucky. You see this all the time. And anyway, someone bigger and tougher than you will defeat you one day. When you externalise all battles, it is simply inevitable that you will have to contend with your enemies over and over again even if you kill them. Because they started in you, it was you who created them with your lack of direction. This is why the great Martial arts Masters of the past turned their hands to teaching, because it is thanks to this effort of passing on knowledge that they found the solutions to their own problems, which are never found in others. Indeed, there are many unsuspected possibilities in warfare.

Instead of having to wait around for challengers, who may have been weak and ignorant, the best thing to do is to harness your inner resources to help others. The less receptive others are to your teaching the more dedicated you will have to become. You will then find, slowly but surely, others will seek your help. This is the best way to work on your aura, authority, or presence as it is often called in the Asian Traditional arts. This is just another more subtle variation of the stance. If you use your authority to destroy others, sooner or later you will arouse such hostility in challengers that sooner or later someone will rise up and take revenge. Just look at the history of warfare. This revenge might take more subtle, cold forms. In other words people will want nothing to do with you and you will become isolated and powerless.

Instead of destroying others, use your energies in a way which is always beneficial, and it is no coincidence that these methods were adopted after Martial artists had reached enlightenment. You will be thinking “You must be out of your mind, I want to become strong and dominant, not weak and submissive!”. No, because the need to dominate others will rob your of your reason more effectively than losing a fight. Yes it is indeed possible to win a fight and lose the war. If you see hostilities as an opportunity to practice your stance by taking on a bearing of self discipline and control, you will find endless occasion for exercising will power and directing your energies constructively. And believe me, when you view things from this perspective you will be filled with courage and optimism.

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

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

3 Fight in Chaos, Live in Harmony https://harmanater.com/2020/07/12/fight-chaos-live-in-harmony/

4 Aggression https://harmanater.com/2020/04/15/aggression/ and Strength of weakness https://harmanater.com/2020/03/12/strength-of-weakness/

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/

Signs and Symbols Part 2: Pedagogy, and the Art of War

Posted on Last updated on by joeharman8 | 9 min read | 154 views

The ancient teachers and Masters of old used pedagogic methods involving metaphor and symbolic explanations. In Martial arts you have examples such as “Tiger” or “Dragon” style Kung Fu. For example the dragon metaphor is just another way of saying “Remain poised, vigilant, and dart in from all angles, waiting and stalking”. However, there are many interpretations and applications of the universal Snake symbol, which is known to provoke powerful imagery in the mind. Steve Morris suggests viewing the knife in the hand of an attacker as if it were a snake, to provoke the sense of urgency and danger required of a fight. In symbolism, most of the ancient examples are all quite obscure and impossible to understand if taken literally, and why this is so will become apparent in a moment.

Using the example of the dragon, or serpent, the disciple must shed their skin from time to time, that is, their old prejudices and ignorance. This takes time and happens many times for evolution to take place. All those who fail to make this effort remain at a lower level of evolution. Of course it’s tempting not to bother and stay in the same old familiar skin, but you must contemplate the new skin that awaits you in the form of a greater image. It all starts in the mind, and later takes physical form. Throughout history, man has had to make great efforts to do this in one direction or another.

Yet another illustration of the serpent is the Egyptian symbol of the snake eating its own tail. This means that the disciple must eat, symbolically speaking, their base motivations and passions represented by the tail, with the higher region, that is, brain represented by the serpents head. Another illustration of this was the Egyptian staff that showed two serpants wrapped around each other, representing the higher and lower self: that is the instincts and intelligence, married as one. Only then can disciples master themselves and direct their own forces at will, and move beyond good and evil1. Even ordinary marriage of two people is symbolic of something else.

Of course, this universal language of symbolism is necessary. Because then the disciple can carry about with him an internal method of reflection which requires no external teacher. This is the secret of internal teachings. Moves are not explicitly taught because they must emerge from a foundation. This is how children learn to walk, talk, etc., by watching little animals jumping around, animals who symbolise, in exaggerated form, some form of truth. The disciple must become a child once again, this time to their own intelligence, to learn more important truths later in life, often using the very same symbols they were brought up on in childhood.

Of course there have been endless foolish debates about whether mimicking a tiger or a dragon is effective, but this is besides the point. It seems that these images were invoked to make a powerful impression on the mind, and to teach complex movements by first using some familiar concept. This is an interesting point because this shows that the old Masters had knowledge about how the student can understand something abstract, like a mechanical fighting form, by first working through existing knowledge. In other words it’s always more effective to learn using metaphors and building on existing knowledge and experience.

Of course the situation is very different today, instruction is often devoid of meaning and highly unimaginative. Perhaps you are wondering if the advantages of the internal method are really any good. Yes, they are. By focusing on meaningful symbols, this encourages a creative energy that raises your imagination to its heights. Channeling ones energies is the real goal, to live an intense life whatever you are doing. Beating an opponent will never do this, even if you beat everybody. In this way, even the least gifted athlete can benefit and over time become a great martial artist in the wider sense. This is why I recommended mediating on these subjects for at least a few minutes everyday, and if you can do it for hours, then so much the better.

The process of inner focus triggers motivation from within, rather than from some meaningless external source, such as winning a contest or obtaining a certificate. To be fair, these are not meaningless in themselves, but the point is that vast quantities of these possessions and skills they are often obtained at the expense of quality. The problem is that many people are encouraged to switch off from the thought process entirely, with promises of learning some kind of self defence system within days. They will learn these skills, but their consciousness will have had nothing to do with it. Of course, thought take time and effort, but many people are unwilling to bother on the basis that they don’t get immediate results. Why? One reason is the pursuit of tangible or material results.

The old Masters were keen to put forward systems which neither individuals nor styles were able to refute. A higher Method. Because certain technical points differ from one school of thought to the next, you cannot eternalise a style in physical form. For example, one coach might says to punch from distance, and another might says to fight “inside” at close quarters. There is no point in debating which of these is right or wrong because these are just peripheral details which fluctuate with the times and depend on so many different situations. They often come down to matters opinion, as if an individual were able to refute the process by which we learn. However, you can instead use a metaphor which illustrates a universal point. This is why I don’t advocating learning from some organised system, instead you are better off relying on a method without form.

Take the saying “If the General be skillful, the spirit of his troops is as the impetus of a round stone rolled from the top of a high Mountain” from the Art of War2. In the language of symbols a mountain means from up high, which is where you must aim even though you might fall over, or overheat on the way up. Yes, there are many trials awaiting us before we reach the summit. A stone represents something which rotation occurs around an axis. This could be taken to mean “Sharply drop your centre of gravity into a strike” or “view things from the perspective of higher reason, with the use of natural forces”. It could also mean, in management of people “The leader does not gravitate around the troops, he keeps his distance so his followers are drawn to him. He is careful to not to be drawn to their level”. There are many more explanations of this simple sentence: use your imagination, that’s the whole point!

Even without knowing what they mean, you can begin to contemplate symbolic language and metaphors. This ignites the whole process. Because symbols apply to so many fields and on all levels, they must be kept deliberately obscure and simple. And this only increases their meditative value. Meditation begins by choosing a subject and contemplating it. Soon, the meaningful image you have conjured up quite naturally focuses your concentration. Then, eventually, eventually relate to it. Let’s look at some other examples of this phenomenon taken from the art of War, a classic text on Warfare.

Sun Tzu said “When the fire is at its height, attack or not as opportunity may arise”. This can be interpreted to mean “When the enemy has given themselves over to disorder, they will have lost their ambition and drive”. Equally it can be interpreted as “When you have channeled your inner fires, use them, or if they threaten to destroy you because you have been seized by chaos, then don’t”. But once again, it is not necessary to know the moves in martial arts to begin working with these methods. Some sayings and proverbs have such an impression on the mind that they provide enough motivation to run with them and teach yourself. It is not a question of their literal validity. And with enough motivation it is mathematically certain that you will succeed in your goals, using such symbols as an impetus for learning.

“War should not be undertaken because the Lord is in a moment of passion” Said Sun Tzu. Now many people have interpreted this to mean that there should be no passion behind practice, that their should be a void. But in fact, meaningful action is not possible without passion. Instead this statement can be interpreted to mean “If you are overwhelmed by your pure instincts, which have not been channelled by reason into power, then you will burn yourself”. Truth be told, many athletes, fighters, and other people, have never really wanted to channel their energies into something higher because they remain convinced that they would be unhappy. And for this reason it is impossible for many to see any truth in books like the Art of war.

The concept of Maya in Hindu Philosophy teaches us that what is immediately apparent is often and illusion. And that behind strength lies weakness. These deceptions are what the enemy uses to gain power over you. For example, Sun Tzu said “the Causes of defeat come from within. Victory is born in the enemies camp”. From this it is apparent that our own inner forces are liable to deception3. To overcome this, Sun Tzu said “the skillful in attack push to the topmost Heaven”. This is just another way of saying that the skillful fighter relates to a high ideal and channels his instinctual energies towards it. He notices the chaos around him, but like a laser focuses on the good.

Now the Chinese Divided Heaven into 9 levels. Similarly, the Yogis divided the self into 9 regions, or Chakras, the highest being at the top of the head. The highest point represents the high ideal, in other words perfection. Only by devoting all of ones energies to the highest form of motivation, rather than petty considerations such as ease and comfort (represented by the lower planes), can the fighter ensure intense vigilance and focus. Notice how, in the language of symbols, perfection is born from a foundation containing ignorance, or if you like the snake eats its own tail. This is what the fighter must aim towards: Perfection even if he falls very wide of the mark. Perfection is what inspires. The more powerful the symbol the greater impression it makes on the mind. Always use symbols and metaphors.

References

1 See Will Power https://harmanater.com/2020/05/10/will-power/

2 From The art of War by Sun Tzu

3 See The Higher and Lower Self in Martial arts https://harmanater.com/2020/05/04/the-higher-and-lower-self-in-martial-arts/

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