Mindset – Intuitive Martial Arts

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

Posted on 16th February 2026 Last updated on 16th February 2026 by joeharman8 | 10 min read | 190 views

Thoughts Are Weather, Not Orders

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Why Survival Is a Terrible Default Mode

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

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

Fear Is Not the Enemy

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

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

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

Epilogue

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

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

Posted on 15th February 2026 Last updated on 15th February 2026 by joeharman8 | 6 min read | 186 views

From Reaction to Regulation: How the Body Shapes the Mind

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Martial Arts and the Centre of Gravity

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Slow Fire: Training Beyond Fear, Thought, and Survival – Part 1

Posted on 8th February 2026 Last updated on 8th February 2026 by joeharman8 | 8 min read | 174 views

Ultimately, the only thing that will make you thrive in your practice, is that you ensure everything in your entire system benefits from your training. This is a long term investment, rather than a short term effort. Most forms of training involve practice according to some dominant method. The type of method changes according to the prevailing dogma, and the times we live in. For example, people might learn according to visual instruction, experiential learning, or some other method. This is ok for instructional purposes, but in the end it just leads to cliche moves and predictable cadences.

There are many ways that people learn. This is according to a variety of factors. For example, if someone is under some kind of stress, then they learn one way best. If they are more regulated and in a flow kind of state, then they learn best in another kind of way. Because the survival circuits were highly active in most people throughout much of human history, there was a strong preference for learning styles which spell everything out for you. This allowed for clean resolution. However, when one develops other centres of the brain, for example when they become older or have formed different connections, there is a need for a different style of learning, one that encourages more creativity.

Depending on the type of person, different pathways need to be taken into consideration For some, alignment to a given method is natural. Their way of thinking, perceiving, and learning happens to fit the dominant method. For others, success requires adaptation: developing a cognitive or behavioural quality that is not their natural strength. For some, there is no immediate acquisition and memory of facts. There is a more slow distribution after a sustained engagement, much like when one mediates and releases energy more slowly rather than all at once. When you can master sustained engagement, remaining present, you can find things easier and yet you perform better in many ways.

Ancient Training for Modern Stress

“If development were truly centred on human potential, there would not be a handful of learning styles. There would be as many methods as there are nervous systems.”

When one becomes meditative, there is a slow release of energy which buffers the stress response. This energy is sustained by all sorts of environmental and internal factors. Let’s say there is an environmental stimulus, which produces one unit of energy. For arguments sake, we will say that this one unit of energy can enter the survival circuits of the brain and produce a sudden explosion of activity which creates a fast and rapid response. When localised into the hara centre, the body’s centre of gravity, this same unit of energy is able to maintain and distribute energy more efficiently than if it were to enter straight into the survival pathways. This is of course simplified, but it makes it so you are able to capitalise on stress rather than be depleted by it.

Everybody has a unique capability, which if it reaches its potential, will over time produce unique qualities. So if you want to develop to your full potential and stature, you need to invest in this unique quality. Developing your uniqueness requires a qualitatively different kind of engagement. However, because people have not generally explored this, they think they should fit a dominant model dedicated towards produce pre determined outcomes. Over time, this produces a subtle distortion. People often become competent at what they are least suited for, while their more potent potential capacities remain underdeveloped or invisible. If development were truly centred on human potential, there would not be a handful of learning styles. There would be as many methods as there are nervous systems.

A key assumption in many systems is that the same stimulus produces the same response. Human physiology tells a different story. When an input enters the human system—whether information, pressure, threat, or stress—the outcome depends heavily on where that input is processed. An environmental stressor does not exist in isolation; it is interpreted through specific neural pathways shaped by biology, conditioning, posture, movement, and experience.

Why Stress Is Not What Happens, but Where It Lands

If a stimulus primarily activates survival-oriented circuits—those responsible for immediate threat response—the energy produced is fast, intense, and costly. These pathways are designed for short-term emergencies, not sustained effort. They burn quickly and deplete resources. So, if you want to focus on self discipline, and long term development, you are not primarily looking to bolster the survival circuits. Less is more in that regard.

Other neural networks operate differently when compared to the short term survival circuits. They are slower to activate but far more energy-efficient once engaged. In addition, they can be engaged for long periods without causing a depletion or energy and draining you of resources. This is the reason for the development of the more meditative exercises in martial arts traditionally, rather than just a focus on self defence in emergency situations. Then, if you need to you have more energy in an emergency, once a certain amount of energy is cultivated and refined, it is already available to you because you have cultivated it yourself.

Let’s say you react to an emergency situation with aggression. There is a sudden explosion of energy, much like taking off and sprinting to the finish line. There is a certain development of coordination, precision, and enhancement of health, but the units of energy are depleted quickly so there is no sustained long term development. There is no containment for it to become incubated and develop. This is fine in children for example, who have an abundance of energy quite naturally all the time. However, particularly as one ages, there is a need to become more efficient and intelligent about energy utilisation.

As one ages or becomes more concerned with efficiency over competitive edge, it is necessary to distribute and maintain energy, so that it can go further. This is entirely unnecessary of course if the goal is just to use up energy and dispose of it, as though it were of no value to cultivate.

So when one engages in their training with a grounded posture, sinking into the stance and focusing on the breath, one maximally engages the Hara Centre and diaphragm quite naturally. This enhance the aspects of the system which rise slowly and build steadily, with economy in mind. These systems support endurance, coordination, sustained engagement, and integration. The same “unit” of energy can be expended immediately, like a sprint, or slowly and sustainably, like a marathon. The stimulus has not changed. The pathway has. Depending on the pathway, you will take a certain kind of journey.

Stress as a Distribution Problem

“The same stimulus which causes stress can be sustained in different regions of the system, so that it becomes refined and evenly distributed rather than localised and isolated.”

In term of martial arts, stress is not simply about reacting to outside events. When you become malleable to the environment, instead of suppressing much of the system and just developing the survival circuits, you become more integrated with it. The same stimulus which causes stress can be sustained in different regions of the system, so that it becomes refined and evenly distributed rather than localised and isolated. From this perspective, stress is not simply about localised intensity within a short time frame. It is about distribution across a longer time frame.

When pressure is taken exclusively into the survival centres of the brain, the system narrows. Perception tightens, breathing shortens, posture collapses or becomes rigid, and energy expenditure rises sharply. This is effective for immediate escape, particularly in the absence of more tactical and refined methods. But it is inefficient for learning, performance, or sustained confrontation and engagement.

“When breathing shortens, the amygdala and the hypothalamus become more active, and you tend to become more emotionally reactive.”

For example, when breathing shortens, the amygdala and the hypothalamus become more active, and you tend to become more emotionally reactive. However, when you sink down into the posture, absorbing the load of the situation into the boys centre of mass, this signals stability and control to the brain. This makes you more fatigue resistant, as well as more aware of the whole body. Stress can be viewed as anxiety or fear inducing, but it can also be viewed as a kind of beneficial pressure. When handled properly, this pressure becomes a distributed process of self regulation, rather than one of narrow attention and localisation at the level of the survival areas. You are then able to benefit from anything that comes your way.

When stress is distributed through posture, breath, and movement—when it is “sunk” into the body rather than held in the head—the load is shared. Energy use becomes slower, steadier, and more economical. This is not metaphorical. It is mechanical, neurological, and biochemical.

When efficiency recedes, energy follows.

Posted on 1st February 2026 Last updated on 1st February 2026 by joeharman8 | 19 min read | 114 views

In martial arts, it is important not to just go through the motions without engagement in what you are doing. For example, you don’t just do a series of punches and kicks in some exercise session, and then wait for that to end. This kind of clock watching can lead to dead forms, as well as practices which lack the needed dynamism necessary to engage with the deeper aspects of martial arts. It is important to generate a certain amount of energy, and then keeps this flow of energy high so that there is a more fluid exchange and circulation on all levels.

When people act enthusiastic without meaning it, because that’s what the exercise demands, they often feel flat and merely performative. This happens when people pretend to engage with what they are doing superficially. They then feel they are simply complying with demands. In response to this compliance, people harden up, flatten, or try to become more dominant and controlling over others to try and secure an advantage for themselves. So because they have missed the deeper meaning, they go for something superficial. This reduces their scope for dynamic activity so that they become limited in their overall capability. Their identity also becomes correspondingly limited. this is because they associate themselves with some small aspect of the whole, rather than the bigger picture.

“So they move from self defence which manages risk in the long term, to the elimination of risk across short time horizons. This eventually leads to diminishing returns in martial arts.”

In the example of self defence training, rather than regulating themselves in a healthy way overall, people may instead seek to simply oppress or dominate others. This is often done beyond what is required for functioning in their environment. Instead of working on the whole, many people enlarge a small aspect of themselves well out of proportion. So they move from self defence which manages risk in the long term, to the elimination of risk across short time horizons. This eventually leads to diminishing returns in martial arts. What is this whole I’m talking about? It means you develop yourself as an integrated person, all at once, rather than trying to contain everything in one compartment.

The Prowling Tiger

“The tigers presence is responsive to the ecological need as a whole, and doing in so it is adaptive. Rather than eliminating all risk, it engages with it.”

When a tiger is prowling in the forest, its physical presence is very much minimal. You probably won’t notice it’s there. It does not go round disturbing its environment and drawing attention to itself, thinking it will dominate that way. Like this, the tigers presence is responsive to the ecological need as a whole, and doing in so it is adaptive. Rather than eliminating all risk, it engages with it. This is what is meant by responsibility. Like the Tiger, you can respond as you need to according to the situation as it transitions dynamically, not according to some limited time and place, or ecological niche. This is the source of the Tigers adaptive capability, and it can become be yours.

The tiger in the forest maintains a distance from others, but it does not withdraw. It is in a state of total responsibility in terms of its impact on the environment. In this way, the tiger responds with total engagement to what it is doing, even if this means withdrawing or creating space between itself and the attention of others. Therefore, the Tiger is able to engage in the ritual of the hunt when necessary, without clinging to this ritual, which would otherwise become a drain on its own resources. Thereby, the Tiger is able to retain its vigour in all aspects of life without clinging to transient situations unnecessarily.

When the ritual of the hunt is the only thing on the Tigers mind all the time, there is a certain dominance. However, there also tends to be an over exaggeration of on the survival aspect of life. In terms of martial arts, this means that too much emphasis on dominating others tends to bring about a kind of lifelessness within that person. They will say “unless it has to do with fighting, I will not engage with it”. This type of head strong martial artist will not look at the situation and say “I will withdraw from this temporarily to learn more about it, and come back better prepared”. It is good to be willing to take on all situations, but it is only if you are really disciplined that can you prevent this kind of approach from becoming a long term barrier.

“The Tiger does not meet this uncertainty with a rigid set of reactions and attitudes. This would be inefficient. When efficiency recedes, energy follows.”

The complexity of the environment, within which the tiger flourishes, is not dependant on some purpose built system. For example, the Tiger does not operate in a boxing ring, where there is only the one on one contest. The Tigers life is a fluid unfolding, moment by moment. With this, there is naturally sense of uncertainty about what will happen next. Rather than trying to control everything and make the outcome certain, the Tiger acts according to what it can do, even if that is not much. It does not dwell on things outside of its control. At the same time, it acts decisively. It is the same in the life of the martial artist. When it is time to withdraw, it is not worth second guessing this act, anymore than when there is a clear opportunity and time to advance.

The Tiger does not meet uncertainty with a rigid set of reactions and attitudes. This would be inefficient. And anyway, this kind of simplistic action would not even work. When efficiency recedes, energy follows. That means, becoming efficient and performing useful action is more important than being just strong. And yet, in martial arts we tend to think that decisive physical action is the only action. Action is about responding with economy, which may involve creating space, or regulating your nervous system for example, so that you are in better condition to think clearly. This may be the kind of positive action which works in a given situation, even though uncertainty remains and you don’t get a decisive victory once and for all.

“There is no equal and opposite force here. the Tiger does not meet a raised voice with a louder one if it is not necessary. Meeting situations violently at all times can lead to a dissipation of energy.”

The Tiger, or some other big beast out there, does not see a threat and then respond in kind, just like that. There is no equal and opposite force here. The Tiger does not meet a raised voice with a louder one if it is not necessary. Meeting situations violently at all times can lead to a dissipation of energy, even if there is a short term victory. Of course, sometimes it is necessary to take decisive action and defend yourself to the utmost. At other times, it is necessary to sit and wait, to watch and learn.

When you meet fire with fire unnecessarily, you might win the contest, but you could easily end up burnt out and drained. It is often beneficial to sink into the posture, and contain energy until it matures further. This is sometimes known as ‘sinking the Qi’ in certain Chinese systems. Put simply, this means you ground yourself in a suitable kind of posture, and focus on the Hara Centre, within the lower abdomen. By lowering the centre of mass, you are able to relax tension and slow respiration for example, whilst maintaining energy. The idea is that you stabilise yourself through posture and gravity, instead of finding peace because you dominated someone else. Then, whatever the outcome, you remain stable and in control of your own internal situation because you stay centred, ready, and aware.

When you see practice as a means to contain your experience and practice self discipline, life returns and all energy becomes refined. In this way, the body is a kind of container which is used to let something mature slowly. This does not mean you contain pressure without any kind of disciplined practice and no release at all. For example, when you sit with uncertainty, it becomes an opportunity for discovery, provided you are disciplined and remain attentive to the process. There is a controlled release through breathing when one sits meditatively. This can be done whenever you get the opportunity, rather than during a formal practice session. For example, you might be waiting for a coffee, so you sink into the posture and become meditative for a few minutes.

There is safety to be found in holding ones attention towards this unfolding meditative process, even in times of uncertainty. There are many situations where sustained attention towards becoming grounded can be beneficial. For example, if you mourn the loss of a loved one in a state of full conscious awareness, this reduces the emotional hijacking often brought about by impulsive activity. There can be a beautiful sense of grief being transformed over time and a reduction in stress.

None of this means that difficult situations become a breeze. It means that you are able to recover more quickly and with less exhaustion, even when the situation becomes overwhelming. This is exactly what predetermined reactions and scattered behaviours do not make space for. In this way, many who experience loss develop prolonged anxiety much more than in the past, because there is generally a lack of training to regulate the system. At the same time, physical action must always take place in an environment that requires you to be malleability to it. This means that rather than the environment yielding itself to you, you must remain flexible to it. It is of course fear of the uncertainty, rather than acceptance of it, which brings about all kinds of anxieties.

“A martial artists must contain a certain sense of groundedness within themselves, whilst being flexible to the outside world.”

For the tree to grow, it requires a solid platform. This platform is the earth. As the tree grows into the wider atmosphere, it is more exposed to the elements and branches out into a more flexible form. This is very much like how a martial artists must contain a certain sense of groundedness within themselves, whilst being flexible to the outside world. If the tree remained as a root, it would never transform. It is only through transformation that a tree defines itself. If there were no outside conditions, there would be no transformation. Therefore, there would be no understanding about the internal process of how a tree grows, because there would be no context. In terms of martial arts, the outside environment gives meaning and expression to the internal form.

We perceive things and define them according to how they act as opposites. Internal and external, dark and light, these are all opposites which form a unified whole. In this opposition we find wholeness, a wholeness which we inhabit. Due to our perceptions of opposition, we think that things are actually spare which are not. In our own deeper experience, which is beyond all this duality stuff, it is a mistake to view opposites as fragmented categories to organise our thinking around. These separate categories which we perceive through the senses are simply tools so that constructions can be made. The senses distinguish so that relationships can appear and be built. Separatedness creates a map so we can understand how the terrain fits together.

“So, there is always localised pressure, which we may feel isolates us, and containment gives it a place to rise, circulate, and spread. In this way the martial artist moves from an individual form, to a universal one.”

Containment and Integration

The internal side of martial arts does not make you an entity of your own, separate from the enviornemt. If there were a total absence of external demands and we could just sit there at one with the universe physically, there would be no need to act as an individual, because the inputs we take in from the environment would be the same everywhere. What is you, and what is not, would be the same. So, there is always localised pressure, which we may feel isolates us, and containment gives it a place to rise, circulate, and spread. In this way the martial artist moves from an individual form, to a universal one. Earlier I mentioned about ‘Sinking the Qi’. The martial artist must sink the Chi in order to feel more integrated and whole, becoming organised in chaotic situations.

When the martial artist move from external to internal, they move from an individual form, to a universal one. Rather than releasing pressure through anger and frustration indiscriminately and suddenly, the martial artists uses the posture and breath as the valve and container. For example, they release pressure through the nose and mouth in a controlled and gradual way, whilst containing energy in the centre. This is why there is such an emphasis on the form and breath, because this creates an efficient container, with a built in filter system.

Let’s use the example of a flask of coffee. When the pressure is contained in the flask, it rises up and redistributes itself. If the container is sound, the process happens naturally as pressure is neutralised through containment. When it is contained efficiently, energy does not blow up it just evenly distributes. The system remains potent if this is done sufficiently well. This is what internal martial arts is all about. Otherwise the energy is simply allowed to escape, or used violently and wastefully. This makes a person vulnerable rather than powerful, because they only feel relief after discharge, or they develop a need for constant indiscriminate expression. This is unlike the Tiger I mentioned earlier, who is actually the biggest presence in the jungle. In terms of human behaviour, reactivity often makes their personality more forceful, and their expression more performative. This is not martial arts at its core, this is survival and emotional projection.

“In the familiar example of cramming for an exam, the student holds within themselves a certain cognitive pressure. The short term memory becomes saturated in information, which increases cognitive arousal and activity.”

In the familiar example of cramming for an exam, the student holds within themselves a certain cognitive pressure. The short term memory becomes saturated in information, which increases cognitive arousal and activity. This is totally unnecessary for the martial artists who generally contains pressure, which is a kind of information, where it is supposed to be contained. If there is an unstable container, with no efficient means of pressure release, this naturally leads to anxiety about coping with pressure. This anxiety takes many forms, and explains why so many people experience anxiety whilst retaining only a limited understanding of the vast information they had previously crammed in their heads. It would be better if they had contained less and let the information sit within them until it matured into understanding. Otherwise, there is not the necessary time needed for the material to transform, or the time for growth and connections to develop.

“In terms of martial arts, when the martial artists learns to contain the lessons they learn and to embody this learning, there is no longer the need for explosive expression under tension.”

So, in short term memory cramming, there is a routine building up of tension and release, so that one learns to develop and kind of pressure management, rather than a fully vibrant and alive intelligence. As I said earlier, information needs time to sit in order to mature. This is very much like how a meal needs time to sit in order for the flavours to sink in and form together. In the example of people cramming for exams, such individuals only feel good after the pressure is discharged on exam day. This kind of cramming can of course be useful in some instances, particularly if the individual is well rounded and this is only an initial phases of practice to be outgrown after a certain point.

In terms of martial arts, when the martial artists learns to contain the lessons they learn and to embody this learning, there is no longer the need for explosive expression under tension. Otherwise there is just superficial learning, which although measurable and fast in the short term, does not remain adaptable or present across dynamic situations. This explains why people generally forget about martial arts later in life after being good athletes. The lessons they learn and the information they take in does not mature. Nor does this information hold in the long term, because there is no structural integrity, no stable base. Information is pressurised through repetition and anxiety, then released in an exam or short term window, rather than allowed to rest and sit within the system. The relief that follows is mistaken for mastery. Or in terms of martial arts, learning some moves repeatedly under tensions does not lead to understanding or capacity to act fully and dynamically.

“Dissolution doesn’t mean disappearance, it means integration. Another way of looking at this is that your energy finds freedom, which is all that really matters.”

When force is released prematurely, speed replaces timing. It is often better to foster a sense of containment, so that pressure dissolves itself within rather than wasted on externalities. This dissolution simply means a mature and subtle energy. Dissolution doesn’t mean disappearance, it means integration. Another way of looking at this is that your energy finds freedom, which is all that really matters. When energy is released prematurely, it is always limited. In this sense, dissolution means there has been a transformation. This is why it is important to perform action through the core and out through the periphery. There is often a waste product built up in martial arts practice, particularly the physical systems. This waste product can be flushed out in various ways, such as stretching, or taking a break from information overload. Waste product is best released by working from the centre and out.

Taking a break from information overload allows expression and release without depleting containment. In other words, you are able to fully integrate your energies, whilst naturally releasing tension which would otherwise build up and become harmful. It is very much like how a weight lifter must rest, and only train as much as they rest. That’s where the growth happens. It only happens within certain strict parametres, between two opposites – training and rest. This is what I was talking about earlier, and how overall sense can be made in terms of opposites.

Rest does not mean stagnation, it can be active and intense, just not so much in the physical sense. When there is containment and dissolution, there is a dynamic activity which is in a way a receding force, but in another way it is deeply transformative. This is why it is important to become meditative, stretch the muscles, or take some time out from physical exertion. These acts are restful in one way, but make you stronger in another. Becoming disciplined in this way will help improve sleep quality, as well as create a distance between yourself and any stressful situation. You are then better able to take on all challenges. This is because you are actually practicing being away from the harmful effects of being reactive, overdoing things, and building up unnecessary tension. Then it is not just theoretical, it is an experiential reality for you.

Containment happens at the centre, the foundation level. When you strike, you keep organised from the core, because the core is the Hara centre, the body centre of maintenance. When the core is stable and maintained in a certain way, the limbs move freely, and breathe and attention remain available to you without getting caught up in externalities. So the core dictates what pressures are felt there, rather than your brain getting worked up and projecting this into your system. As I said earlier, there is always a local pressure which allows for increased circulation with the whole. If this local pressure is localised in the brain pathways, then certain problems are a natural consequence. When breath and body release an action, it is brief and contained, rather than prolonged and unnecessary. There is no overkill. That means you move fluidly with the situation.

Self regulation vs Repression

Let’s use the example of an anxious dog playfully jumping up at you. There may be an initial apprehension. This is not because the dog is dangerous, it probably isn’t. In any case, panic would escalate the situation, and aggravation provokes agitated animals. There is a need for self regulation, and there is a physical element to this, just as there is in survival response. So the idea is to act from the centre, just as you would in a fight, but with a sense of containment and discipline. So in a way you hold back physically, but collapse invites hostility and makes you an easy target. This is why you remain energised and balanced. What resolves this every day situation is grounded and disciplined presence. This kind of bearing leads to a sense of disciplined authority as you are fully integrated internally and externally.

Holding back from heightening a situation is not repression. Repression disconnects you from the situation, and numbs sensation and awareness. The idea is to orientate your energies properly, giving them structure and form. This involves external and internal factors. When you can hold the internal energies within, you are able to redistribute any external pressures, which you might acutely feel, without losing energy. In martial arts this is done by maintaining a grounded posture, whilst working with the breath. You are then not undergoing any unnecessary adrenaline surges and energy is conserved.

Together, breath and body acts as a container system. One who can do this kind of work effectively is never afraid of pressure. Nor are they unconsciously led by others, or controlled by the limited expressions of their less refined outputs of energy which reflect back to them. In terms of martial arts, the accomplished martial artist simply use energy as needed in the best possible way, and transforms it into a greater possibility than the external situation may immediately present. This is not to say they judge something as good or bad, they just do what is needed and no more than that. Then, they neither explode nor shut down, they become fully integrated, like a Tiger in the jungle.

When Experience Outpaces Recognition

Posted on 11th January 2026 Last updated on 11th January 2026 by joeharman8 | 10 min read | 108 views

“If you have put in the proper sustained practice, then maturity and full stature has to happen for you, just as others developmental stages happen naturally without permission. Readiness to accept this earns you the rank of black belt. This blackbelt not only precedes formal recognition, but it also does not need permission from others.”

The body learns before the mind is able to explain all of the details. In other words, you build an understanding based on experience, rather than theory. This is true in martial arts, and elsewhere. Let’s say, for example, you are learning to ride a bike. You are likely to fall off several times before learning to balance and stabilise yourself. In fact, learning to balance requires that you fall over a few times first of all. At the same time, you practice riding in a straight line and not falling off. In other words, it is not so much that you need to fall off to learn, but you need to accept the risks involved and learn from them if necessary.

In terms of martial arts, you sometimes need to take a few knocks and learn from them. This does not mean you need to risk your own safety necessarily. I am not saying that getting punched and kicked repeatedly gives you the necessary maturity to become a mature person. Often, it does not. However, in my opinion you do need to take responsibility for your own experience, which may include receiving knocks along the way. Rather than outsourcing that experience to some industry approved representation of events, what you need is a certain presence within your own experience.

Depending on who you ask, people may say that you should either seek or avoid risk. let’s say you ask a doctor about your health. They will identify several risk factors to your health, and ask you to avoid certain things. If you seek advice from a businessman, they might tell you to go for it, despite the risks involved. So it is not that authority is risk averse, or risk friendly, it just depends on who you ask. So there is no right or wrong when it comes to risk taking. When you take responsibility for the development of your own development, you accept risk and safety at the same time. This acceptance precedes authority from one vested interest group. In other words, when you develop your now judgement, then this eventually becomes the wisdom you need to make informed decisions.

“Throughout most of history, they could not afford delayed maturity or competence. Neither were there many tools to make somebody outstanding. In reality, simply accepting the reality of the situation, as it is, is in itself a way of becoming outstanding.”

Throughout most of history, they could not afford delayed maturity or competence. Neither were there many tools to make somebody outstanding. In reality, simply accepting the reality of the situation is in itself outstanding. In the past, people did not live so long or have as many years of training, and by the time they were in their 30s and 40s, they were already standard bearers and mentors to others. This was, in my opinion, a more honest way of looking at things, rather than thinking that people need to be much older before they get fully wise. It is just that, today, training and systematic thinking has tended to be seen as the only real way to develop people. However, this is merely one way of many, and it is not necessarily the best way at all. The problem with it is that systems should be made to evolve and build on themselves, rather than to just start again and ignore evolved patterns and consequences. Any evolutionary change needs to take into account these consequences, rather than just seek to ignore or eliminate them as a matter of development.

Rather than artificially delaying and extending maturity, full stature was something that arrived not after certification and training, it was just expected to occur quite naturally. There are obviously environments which are conducive to this seasoning happening in the best way possible. For example, an environment which has enough members in it that have accumulated insight is superior to an environment where age means decline. In some ways, age often means decline of course, but it means more than that. Systematic or structural systems often tend to treat experienced people as non compliant or out of step, rather than whole people with developed insight. This is a generalisation, of course, but it is often so.

Today, we often find ourselves in a strange situation where we accumulate experience, but hesitate to embody it fully. We continue to defer to experts long after we have reached maturity. It is not a bad thing to defer to experts in certain contexts, such as when deciding which course of treatment to take at a hospital, for example. But there are many areas of life where one can have the necessary expertise and experience just by virtue of naturally arriving at maturity and competence in terms of life experience. This is not some anomaly, but is actually quite natural.

Some understanding can only be arrived at by sustained attention, as well as honest appraisal of one’s own life experience over time. This sustained effort does not rely on guarantees or reward or meeting objectives, nor does it lead to the completions of goals. If you can sustain your attention towards life, rather than all the details in the happenings surrounding life, then you can naturally develop the raw materials to flourish naturally and reach full maturity. These raw materials naturally develop themselves along a certain trajectory of lived experience. This process does not require societal permission, it just requires awareness of reality in the full sense.

“Wisdom doesn’t switch on in old age. It is instead claimed by one who is able to see the emerging reality in front of them in the fullest possible sense.”

Wisdom doesn’t switch on in old age. It is instead claimed by one who is able to see the emerging reality in front of them in the fullest possible sense. This can happen at an advanced age, or just at a certain point of maturity, for example, in one’s thirties and forties. This emerges over time naturally. Historically, people were expected to step forwards rather than recede into the background once their narrow usefulness had run out. Today the reverse is often true, and one often finds themselves irrelevant in places where peoples are used as raw materials rather than as peoples to bring up to full stature.

“When martial arts is full of energy, in all of its possible varieties, it becomes dynamic and unpredictable. Then, there is presence and engagement, there has to be, it is inevitable.”

If a martial artist retires from competitive training, they often simply exit the community. At best, they become an instructor of a technical and systematic approach to martial arts. This is one reason why martial arts can easily become overly dogmatic and ritualistic, out of touch with the evolving environment. However, when martial arts is full of energy, in all of its possible varieties, it becomes dynamic and unpredictable. Then, there is presence and engagement, there has to be, it is inevitable. Ritualistic training, where everybody is doing the same thing at the same time has its benefits in the right context, but today there is so much variety and diversity, that it often becomes irrelevant.

It is often better that people develop in their own way as unique individuals. This requires a level of discipline that is often missing in many people. However, when one is able to develop as a unique individual in the best way possible, they are an example and a nurturer of others to do the same, even though they are not a perfect representation of systemic design. However, in rigid systems, rather than imparting what they have learned, experienced martial artists are usually expected to stop developing and simply stand above others to be looked up to as a finished product. However, one does not get to a point where they have all the final answers freezing into an authority, they stand where they are fully, amongst others rather than on top of them. That way everyone is always in the making, evolving fluidly rather than in friction with one another.

Embodied competence precedes recognition. This includes your own recognition, as well as that of others. If you have put in the proper sustained practice, then maturity and full stature has to happen for you, just as others developmental stages happen naturally without permission. Readiness to accept this earns you the rank of black belt. This blackbelt not only precedes formal recognition, but it also does not need permission from others. Waiting for the formal kind of endorsement often just delays the inevitable, and the inevitable only happens through sustained use and employment of your faculties on the right kind of pathway. Then, it is only natural that your competence emerges, and hesitation surrounding this natural development has its own consequences.

One needs to be functional in real time, not just when it suits some establishment. Deferral of this proper functioning is a luxury you cannot afford, rather than a necessity that you must oblige. What I mean by that is, if you are training according to what is necessary, rather than all that is unnecessary, then you naturally arrive and there is no waiting around or deferring of your peak maturity. When you have already arrived, then there is no more to do than to do as needed. This arrival is simply there in your presence. No amount of following of a process can replace this awareness of being present.

At a certain point, you stop copying others and putting them above your own development, above your own flowering. Instead, you start carrying the responsibility, and this responsibility becomes a reference point for others as well as yourself. You might say that this is a heavy weight to bear. In fact, it is not, it is just the way things are. Then you move from being above others, which carries its own challenges, to transmitting your insights because of your depth of experience, which is an enriching experience in itself. Rather than out of your power or influence over others, which requires conflict with others, you accept them and yourself as a kind of ecosystem. This is not a perfect powerful authority, it is instead a sincere and authentic authority of responsibility.

In the context of martial arts, refusing to take this responsibility is seen as unethical, once one arrives at a certain point. The reason for this is not to pressure people into some system or position in the hierarchy, but because one must eventually stand by their own experience and developed capabilities rather than against it. When I say this, I do not mean some egotistical image of an authority that you have made for yourself. This is a delusion. Formal recognition of your authority should follow natural development, rather than you trying to live up to an image.

“Formal recognition should recognise reality and seek to conform to it, rather than replace its richness.”

An image is something you or somebody else has made up, and has no existential relevance here. In other words, formal recognition and titles should not replace life experience. Formal recognition should recognise reality and seek to conform to it, rather than replace its richness. So in the end, martial arts teaches you that readiness is proven in capability and action, rather than grounded in the opinions of others.

From Shock to Strategy: Harnessing Fight-or-Flight into Surged Clarity [Part 2]

Posted on 13th December 2025 Last updated on 7th December 2025 by joeharman8 | 7 min read | 163 views

The body does not distinguish between overload or inertia, the quickest way to boot up the system is through the survival circuits.

In the previous post, we already looked at how fight or flight is expressed differently for different people. In order to reclaim fight or flight so that it is a more focused power, one thing is to remain switched on, but not hyper vigilant. If you are switched off completely, there is no hope of doing much of anything meaningful. To compensate for this off state, the amygdala will be overloaded the moment an emergency situation presents itself to you. in fact, the emergency response can happen due to overactivity or under activity of one’s attention.

Let’s say you were zoning out and then suddenly a certain situation triggers your fight or flight response. You would go from zero to one hundred just like that. On the other hand, if you were hyper vigilant over something, anxious about it even, then fight or flight would happen out of that. So there can be an unwillingness to prepare properly, creating a deficit, or there can be a total lack of awareness. In either case the void of energy needed to mobilise for action will be filled by the survival circuits so that you become primed for action. This can be helped by harnessing other aspects of the system, such as awareness, so that fight or flight happens to that too, not just the survival circuits.

This has nothing to do with psychological misinterpretation of threat, the biological response to the void is very real. If you are under powered, fight or flight hypes you up. If you become one dimensionally aware of only your own immediate physiological needs, then this constriction of awareness creates an artificial sense of emergency. So the only way out is to remain aware of more than your immediate needs, the bigger picture, whilst remaining in a balanced state as much as possible.

With something as simple as catching a ball, you could jump out of your skin and fail to catch it if you were switched off or too tense. The body does not distinguish between overload or inertia, the quickest way to boot up the system is through the survival circuits. This explains why people who get struck by inertia end up in a similar state to burnt out people. If higher intelligence fails, which involves wider awareness and sense perception outside of immediate needs, survival takes over. If there is no survival instinct, fight or flight kicks in and fills the void also. This is simply the quickest and most efficient way for your system to get things going, which has worked throughout history.

Under powered or over powered, it just means lack of overall balance and nature takes over.

There needs to be a certain level of survival activity for there to even be a heightened intelligence, or a greater well being. This is important, because if you become either overpowered or too dim, the survival process initiates to prevent collapse or a vacuum being created. Under powered or over powered, it just means lack of overall balance and nature takes over.

It doesn’t matter whether it is the mind or emotions, if there is a deficit somewhere, the brain tries to keep up in the most efficient way, by reacting and powering the survival circuits to give you a boost. At the same time, this boost has its own consequences. Boredom turns into irritability, and emotional outburst often follow overindulgence. In other words, excess has its costs, and when something as costly as a survival reaction kicks in, there are usually deficits later on in terms of energy.

It is possible to make yourself in such a way that you supercharge aspects of yourself which generate the best returns. That way, you benefit from any kind of high energy state because you are ready for it.

Mental burnout leads to inactivity, in the same way as lack of purpose leads to restlessness. In other words, overactivity and under activity are two sides of the same coin. However, it is possible to make yourself in such a way that you supercharge aspects of yourself which generate the best returns. That way, you benefit from any kind of high energy state because you are ready for it. If you are adequately prepared, you are not caught out and surprised, you process everything clearly and act accordingly. This involves planning and preparation, and applies to sport as well as emergency situations. The idea is to think clearly, but not overthink, whilst acting as needed rather than underacting.

Gracefully catching a dangerous hammer being thrown at you uses the same internal wiring as flinching away from something desperately. The quality of expression is different in both cases, and they cannot happen ate the same time.

Rewriting the Reflex: Overlaying Mastery onto Instinct

If there were a hammer being thrown at you, you would be injured by the thrower if you were unprepared. Gracefully catching a dangerous hammer being thrown at you uses the same internal wiring as flinching away from it desperately. The quality of expression is different in both cases, and they cannot happen ate the same time. This is the reason for the beautiful forms which have arisen in martial arts. They wanted to capture this beauty in order to develop a different kind of energy within a survival situation. This enhanced energy could then be used just as potently as a desperate survival response within life threatening situations. This is why there was always an insistence on discipline and striving for more.

If the sprinter did not warm up, they would be able to produce the same power in a different way. None except the essential pathways for running quickly would be active. This would lead to diminished performance in the long term even if they got through a race or two without injury.

So there is no problem for someone who is ready to catch or even juggle a hammer. This is because they have prepared themselves, like a sprinter prepares themselves for a race by warming up the neurological pathways before hand. This turns a reflex action into an expression of self mastery. By warming up and getting ready beforehand, the sprinter is able to run gracefully as well as effectively, without overthinking or trying to warm up whilst running the race at the same time.

If the sprinter did not warm up, they would be able to produce the same power in a different way. They would be running in a desperate state, trying to warm up, prepare, and run the race all at the same time. This type of race can only be run in a state of reactivity, rather than complex and dynamic planning and execution. the survival response traditionally spreads resources thinly, so that nothing can be done optimally. None except the essential pathways for running quickly would be active in the purely reactive state, and these pathways would be doing the job chaotically and inefficiently. But they would get it done in a messy way. This would lead to diminished performance in the long term even if such a runner got through a race or two without injury.

Let’s say you become tired and irritable, and then someone annoys you in some way. All of a sudden you get flooded with adrenaline and kick off about nothing. If there is a steady supply of energy to those pathways which can become overreactive, such as the amygdala within the brain, then these sites do not race from zero to one hundred as soon as it kicks off. This involves activating others site’s, so that the adrenaline does not flood into one active place but across many pathways. For example, if there is activity of the prefrontal cortex, as well as other regions, then you end up in a more balanced and regulated overall state when survival kicks in. This leads to a more intelligent response, creating a greater sense of balance across several areas. Because of this greater intelligence, you are able to exert more and more control over your situation.

Each Breath Stirs the Tides, and Each Heartbeat Shapes the Shores.

Posted on 5th October 2025 Last updated on 5th October 2025 by joeharman8 | 11 min read | 115 views

“In terms of martial arts, this ecological growth means internal renewal and overall health improvements over time. So there is an incubation period which fleshes your system out as the energy settles in. It is not just a case of flooding yourself with hormones so that you can dissipate them in some kind of activity.”

In martial arts, people want to practice in such a way that they become physically capable and healthy, as well as mentally balanced. However, in practice this often does not happen in any meaningful way. When you look around, most of the martial arts styles out there are teaching tricks to get you out of a sticky situation. Or, they are teaching you to take part in some kind of elite sport which has no meaning outside of competitive circles. Whilst it can be beneficial to practice these tricks of the trade some of the time, most of it can be learned fairly easily, even on the internet.

In terms of output and fitness, the activity levels have gone up, but the internal development has not”

A few years ago, learning something like karate or Taekwondo meant you had to go to a dojo. Even then, most people quit without learning much at all. Today because all of freely available technical information which is so easy to find, you see lots of people able to punch, kick, throw, and all sorts of other things. The information is much easier to obtain and people are able to do these things even if they have never been to a formal class. Going to the class should create a conducive atmosphere in which you learn to develop as a person. However, all we see nowadays are classes packed with people going through the motions or getting hyped up and excited into activity in some way. So it has taken on the character of a nightclub in many ways.

The idea behind martial arts is to empower the internal side of the human being, not just to cover their external requirements. This is not happening at the moment on any large scale, even if there are more frequent training opportunities. So in terms of output and fitness, the activity levels have gone up, but the internal development has not. Without upgrading the internal side, the external activity will not develop in a self sustaining way or become meaningful to the individual. As people go through the motions, the body will just accumulate injuries and other stresses which will wear it down over time. This is what happens when martial arts turns into a competitive sport or business enterprise in the market place.

Just as the minerals from the sea rise and spread across the land, bringing nourishment to support plant growth, the hormones produced from the gut and elsewhere are distributed across the body to facilitate growth and repair.”

When you perform powerful activity, such as in martial arts, it is important that the energy is delivered from core of your being, extending itself more widely from there. Every action you perform has an impact on your own internal health and well being. During strenuous martial arts activity, the bloodstream delivers hormones to the organs and tissues, just like a river delivers water to the land. This ensures growth and renewal as the process of self development unfolds. Just as the minerals from the sea rise and spread across the land, bringing nourishment to support plant growth, the hormones produced from the gut and elsewhere are distributed across the body to facilitate growth and repair.

The gut is like the deep ocean vents, the activity of it creates currents and forces which lead to environmental change. This environmental change leads to ecological growth. In terms of martial arts, this ecological growth means internal renewal and overall health improvements over time. So there is an incubation period which fleshes your system out as the energy settles in. It is not just a case of flooding yourself with hormones so that you can dissipate them in some kind of activity. Doing so just puts you back to square one. Each individual will act according to their needs and compulsions. This might mean that some energy is allocated to physical activity, whereas a certain amount is also allocated to spiritual growth. For some people, martial arts means just moving around and expending energy. To others, there is more of a transformational element to it which ends with internal development.

Today, lots of people talk about medical interventions to correct poor health without any idea about how to kick start the internal health process. In many cases, these interventions can also be used to support internal growth, rather than constantly relying on external supplements. Internal martial arts means you manage your state of health from within, with or without outside help. According to the internal martial arts perspective, external supplements or external activity is just a way to trigger or kickstart the system predominantly. You can then do anything in a positive state.

Once you reach a state of good health and well being, you know by inference how to manage this and what to do as time goes on. It is like when you get to the age of thirteen or so you automatically begin to understand why people generally get married and start a family. This does not need to be taught by strangers. At the same time, there is guidance needed. When you study life closely, rather than just what is written about it, you naturally become aware of how to manage things.

Exercise, digestion and stress, all trigger hormonal development. In order to prevent dissipation of this internal energy, you need to a get a wide spread happening.

Martial arts schools these days are managed in such a way that you train in the evening and then flop in front of the television by the time you get home. So there is often no momentum gained from spring boarding yourself into activity during the martial arts practice. Most of the time a martial arts school means a recreational activity, so it is not quite right to call it a school. In any case, the norms of society are the same, you work hard and then you relax by drinking alcohol or taking intoxicants to subdue the system again. Otherwise, without the necessary teaching, people tend not to be able to sustain higher levels of energy for long without burning out. When people try to manage high pressure and energy states for prolonged periods of time without the necessary personal development, it is only natural to get into emotional upheaval trying to manage their overall situation.

Exercise, digestion and stress, all trigger hormonal development. In order to prevent dissipation of this internal energy, you need to a get a wide spread happening. If you are just enjoying the effects of your hormonal system as it is, then you are not creating anything new out of it. For you to exploit it as it is, it needs to stay as it is. This is fine, but the human system is capable of immense possibilities when you link the different parts of the system together in dynamic ways rather than separating things out for limited functioning. For example, just as the rising seabed pulses waves across the shore, the bloodstream has far reaching potential which can nourish and regulate the body. In Chinese martial arts, the Qi energy is said to circulate vital energy through the meridians and across the body. In modern terms, the hormonal flow mirrors this subtle current.

In the Eastern martial arts system, the subterranean forces are said to emerge from the depths, bringing clarity, focus, and wisdom. What does this mean? It means you have within you a tremendous pool of talent.

So when you are training in martial arts, it is not about becoming a killing machine irresponsibly. What you do or do not do may make or break peoples lives, or even your own life. What can build a healthy body if neglected can deteriorate the body. If you exploit one aspect of the body at the expense of the whole, the result is that you become a minus in terms of functioning. When competence is developed, you have a responsibility for yourself and others. Then, you have to put in a lot of effort to remain disciplined and on the path. When I say on the path, I do not mean sticking to a regimented or commercial style of martial arts. These are on and off systems which do not offer anything in terms of and how to navigate life at all times or in terms of internal development.

In the Eastern martial arts system, the subterranean forces are said to emerge from the depths, bringing clarity, focus, and wisdom. What does this mean? It means you have within you a tremendous pool of talent. The only problem is, these days people lack the organisation and discipline to sustain their internal energies and bring them past a certain point. They are like broken down cars, they bang and crash but it amounts to very little movement and a lot of expenditure. This is not a sign of life, but a sign of death.

Hormonal activity, muscular activatation, and breath work, can all be used as a means to create new possibilities. In this way you become a creator of form by working with the existing form.

When we think of martial arts masters, we tend to think of people capable of dominating others and fighting in a championship. But a master does not need to be able to get to the top of a hierarchy, they must be able to operate across several layers, which is something that has been missing in my view.

When you move, you do not need to move according to your tectonic tendencies. In other words, you do not need to be guided by instinct and reactivity, even if this generates a potential. Hormonal activity, muscular activation, and breath work, can all be used as a means to create new possibilities. In this way you become a creator of form by working with the existing form. This is what is meant by self sustaining practice, you turn everything into an inside job. You are then able to work with the tectonic shifts and core activity in many ways, as the hormones and neurotransmitters from the core become rising minerals able to spread in a far reaching way. What this means is that each breath stirs the tides and each heartbeat shapes the shores. The seabed lifts and extends itself to feed the landmass.

So the aim of martial arts, particularly the internal side, is to create masters who are capable of working across any sphere or life. Whether you are an established leader, an entrepreneur, or an office worker, it is possible to empower yourself with wellbeing, inspiration and competence so that you are able to fit seamlessly into any organisational structure you find yourself in. Otherwise it traps you in its walls, like a ghost in a shell. You can say that these walls are imaginary, because it is within your power to break free. If there is no such striving, then you might just gear yourself up to put up with things as you see them.

The world you inhabit gives you the energy to contain the kind of power needed to burst out.

Whether it is a dojo or business suite, the idea is to self organise in such a way that you become more than a scattered set of aims and intentions. Then, rather than working you, the waves around you are shaped by your internal resolve to transform the situation around you by starting with the core of who you are. It is at this core, the seabed, that power is generated from the weight and pressure of the world above it. In other words, the world you inhabit gives you the energy to contain the kind of power needed to burst out.

Total Involvement in Self Defence

Posted on 2nd February 2025 Last updated on 2nd February 2025 by joeharman8 | 6 min read | 100 views

“it is possible for the brain to distort the situation when it becomes flooded and overthinks the situation. This should not happen where possible.“

The important thing is to remain in a state of total awareness. Keeping the hands up in a state of unawareness is just going through the motions. Even if you cover your face with your arms, peek through your guard with at least one eye. That way, you can see what’s coming next. If your guard obscures your vision completely, you don’t know who is around you, or what they are going to do next. It is for this reason the hands hands should be fluid and used in many different ways.

Putting the hands in the way of the opponents face or body runs interference on them. This creates a series of diversions. These can be fidgety movements with the hands and body, which divert the opponents attention away from you being attacked. Much of the activity involved in fighting has to do with distractions and misleading the opponent, rather than creating any kind of definitive outcome.

If you need to, you can simply stick your hand in their face. If you distract them with your hands by grabbing out at them or poking them in the eye, this buys you time to run off. This is a kind of strategy to find an opportunity to make your escape. It is not that you want to poke them in the eye just to cause harm or for any kind of outcome in particular.

The enraged opponent always attacks meaninglessly. Meaningless aggression is one of the most powerful ways to attack. The opponent is distracting you with meaningless yet dangerous attacks. This is the basis of their power. You do not need to try and understand this in any intellectual sense. If some wild animals are howling in the night, preventing you from sleeping, you do not need to decipher what they are saying or doing. You just keep out of their way and keep a barrier between yourself and them. We know that wild animals make noise.

Act to put a stop to the situation, or distance yourself from it, as and when required.

Just as a boxer sends out a series of feints to make the attacker back off or stop, the individual defending themselves does the same to buy themselves an opportunity to escape. A moment is all you really need. Wild attackers rarely know why they are doing what they are doing because they are acting largely unconsciously. This does not prevent them being effective. If you respond to the situation with total conscious awareness, rather than turning it into just a thought process, you are able to become more toally involved in the situation.

Nobody made the planets round. This is just the way nature made them. It didn’t require any kind of building process. In the same way, nature endowed us with the capacity to intuitively respond to urgent situations so long as we remain aware and pay full attention to the process consciously. Just as the planet is rounded by nature, we too become rounded and balanced by becoming totally involved. We can become aware of this or not. Like the planet itself, it is possible to be at it twenty four hours a day, by offering yourself to the process of ceaseless development and conscious awareness of this process.

Most fights happen because somebody who is acting out of a need to dominate others in some social situation goes up against another person who wants to deliver them justice. Who is wrong and who is right is just a matter of opinion. Two such individuals will naturally gravitate towards each other unless they are not in the same room. This is why it is always best to leave the situation if you can, even if you think you’re in the right. Never trust what you think about survival situations, just see them for what they are. You can only think logically by comparing yourself to another. Instead it is better to cut through this and act totally rather than as one side against another. That is the whole meaning of sacrifice, to commit to the wholesituation and act from there. It is only though bypassing limited thought processes and committing totally that something else more powerful happens. At the same time, such an act of total commitment creates the best possible conditions for the thought process to happen most clearly.

You need to focus when the danger becomes imminent, but also remain aware of the periphery. Where are the exit doors? Does the opponent have any friends waiting nearby to help them? When the opponent is very close, you become very heightened and reactive. Due to the intensity of the situation, blood rushes to the brain. This is usually accompanied by a fight or flight response.

If the brain gets flooded with hormones and blood, the body can become drained. If this happens for prolonged periods, then over time distortions happen within the system. In this way it is possible for the brain to distort the situation when it becomes flooded and overthinks the situation. This should not happen where possible. Maintain an awareness of your stance so that you do not lose all the energy from your body. Then it can communicate intelligently with the brain. This is one important reason why it is important to focus on the Hara Centre, the body’s centre of gravity,and maintain equilibrium. Maintain a certain pressure and energy there by locking into the centre.

It is often important to move off centre to avoid an attack, whilst at the same time re directing its energy. For instance, you can step outside by pivoting on the front leg as the rear leg steps around the back of yourself. This takes you out to the side. The front leg stays where it is as the rear leg steps outside of the opponents line of attack. You can either grab the opponents arm, or thrust it away with the palm. It is as if you are kneading dough. You do not slap the dough but you sink the palm hand into it, gripping it somewhat whilst at the same time applying a kind of pressing force down and away from you. This redirects the opponents force against their own equilibrium. The idea is not to dissipate this force but to make it oscillate back and forth from your own centre, linking you to to the target. This prevents you becoming too drained of energy, and allows you to use the opponents force against them.

Fear: A Catalyst for Consciousness and Transformation

Posted on 7th December 2024 by joeharman8 | 7 min read | 100 views

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.

Rest and Sleep

Posted on 22nd September 2024 by joeharman8 | 4 min read | 111 views

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.