Mindset – Page 2 – Intuitive Martial Arts

Creating harmony within: Avoiding discord between yourself and the outside

Posted on 2nd August 2024 by joeharman8 | 17 min read | 94 views

“Deal with your own situation and all its concerns, which at the same time encompasses anything from the outside which influences it”

Sometimes, when you enter a room there is a hostility in the air. For example, say you walk into a bar, you might get looked at funny. This might be because the person looking at you funny has become territorial and starts glaring at you. On the other hand, someone in a martial arts Dojo, which has within it a certain etiquette, might not even get noticed by anyone if they walk in there. So these two situations and the environments are highly charged. The atmosphere however, is completely different. The people in the martial arts Dojo will be too busy training and occupied with their own work to even notice. This is the sign of a proper martial arts centre. This tradition has today been lost in many cases.

In many martial arts centres, people might think it’s their duty to notice outsiders and make a certain impression on them. This is a marketing and promotional strategy. This can be good or bad. However, basically the way of dealing with problems is to become too busy with your own situation to deal with them. In this way, you deal with your own situation and all its concerns, which at the same time encompasses anything from the outside which influences it. In other words, the internal situation and all of the challenges eventually merge with the outside situation too. This is called creating harmony between Yin and Yang. This is one way.

Emotion or Intelligence?

“You first become emotionally attached to some form of practice, or view it intellectually. This is a way in, a starting point. Naturally, as you organise yourself around this goal, your internal structure also becomes more integrated and organised, so that the very need for rigid routines goes down.

The other way is to become so into the practice on an emotional or intellectual level, that you surpass the limitations of both of these dimensions of experience. So you first become emotionally attached to some form of practice, or view it intellectually. This is a way in, a starting point. Naturally, as you organise yourself around this goal, your internal structure also becomes more integrated and organised, so that the very need for rigid routines goes down. You are then able to stick with the practices, but if the life situation gets in the way, you remain flexible to that. This is the beginning of various ritualistic and sacred forms of practice. These then get handed down through generations of people, which have practiced and benefitted from them. They need not still practice these as individuals, they may have surpassed the need to do so. These forms of practice must be modified according to the times, but the principle form of energy orientation remains the same fundamentally.

So the external forms of practice aim to raise your energetic experience to a new level. This is the aim of the physical martial arts, such as competitive sparring and belt graded pressure tests. The idea is to overwhelm you to the point that you disintegrate. And yet, you are so much more. If you simply do the practices for social prestige, it’s not the same at all. When you do them to enhance your experience of who you are and what you are capable of, then your whole experience becomes broader and more powerful, whether you benefit materially or not.

This is how martial arts can be used as a way to overcome certain limitations. What you believed to be anxiety surrounding an event was your means of salvation and overcoming. It is like if you fall in love. Your whole sense of who you are drops away. And then, if it succeeds, your anxiety about impressing that individual or not living up to their expectations, fades into the background as you merge with them. In term of martial arts, this entails initially being involved with the external aspects of training, but then shifting to something more when the time comes.

The anxiety around training is natural at the beginning, but when you have raised the roof, this becomes a smaller aspect off the overall experience. It is a necessary part, but becomes less and less of an emphasis. At the same time, the sense of achievement, which was a small spec to begin with, becomes more and more. It is not that you chose this achievement to happen, any more than you chose to fall in love with somebody. But carefully the Master has put you on this track. Or maybe it within you all along. There is no way around it if this is handled correctly, because it lies at the heart of human experience. It is the law and the path is set.

Once you have raised the bar of your experience, naturally you are then left with only dedication and discipline to surpass yourself. The energy has been used up and a certain sense of clarity and orientation towards more remains. That is, once you have overcome whatever trial you have been faced with. In both instances, mediation or physical training, you eventually surpass yourself. It is just like how the mother surpasses who she was before she had children. In terms of martial arts, one way involves blasting off the breaks, and another way involves maintaining a steady speed to get there. Physical training often involves pushing oneself to the utmost. Mediation is a steadier ride. The key is to consciously deal with the pressures of each situation. Do not think that mediation is easy. There are unexpected twists and turns that you must consciously handle, just as against a physical competitor. Against an external situation, this may be physically more demanding, but both require full conscious commitment to transform the situation.

Become Air Bourne and Grounded

Whichever the path, the inner or outer, there is the same level of testosterone and other bio chemical processes happening, but these processes are happening in a completely different way. Let’s look at why this is. Do not think that a hulking athlete has more testosterone than the meditator. The expectant Mother has as much chemically going on within her as any other woman. In the same way, you could say that the mediator is developing a child within themselves by nourishing their energy body. Indeed there are many mediative practices which speak of these things. The energies are just being used in different ways. One person is sustaining the energy body, and one is sustaining or developing the emotions and physical functioning. So what the mediator is looking to shed, the physical athlete is looking to build.

When a mediator sits and observes himself with enough light on the matter, he eventually disintegrates the particles and energy forms which the physical martial artist is using to integrate within himself for physical strength. Just as the child within the womb uses up energy, so does the spiritual body. This is both life sustaining, in the sense that you identify with this role, or life taking, in the sense that you feel it is too demanding.

Studies have recently shown that light, or electromagnetism, can destroy carbon particles with sustained energy being focused on it. In the same way, when the human system is allowed to function at a sustained level of focus, the energy body, which is associated with the nervous system, can produce enough energy to burn away other hard to get rid of particles. This has been named the body of light in certain practices. The aim is to disintegrate hard to remove stains. These so called “forever particles” which are so called because they are tough to get rid of, include many forms of disease which we today consider irreversible. This is why certain internal practices of martial arts have been called forms of energy medicine, because they are a form of medicine which is non chemical and are often used as preventative measures.

So energy medicine is working at the level of the nervous system predominantly, where as the other is working at the level of the chemical processes. But the two are not mutually exclusive. Say you were to practice certain hard styles of martial arts. This would raise the energies of the body, which over time would cause of build up of waste product within the system. This waste product accumulates over time and leads to various injuries and disorders which tend to develop later in life with many athletes. This has happened to many athletes. So the same thing which once kept you functioning optimally has now become a hindrance without the right corrective practices. This is where mediative and internal martial arts practices come in.

It is like if a rocket takes off and discards its launcher. The launcher has been used up and sends off the rocket into space. The rocket is now out of sight and has discarded its shell. The shell was what got it where it needs to go, and was useful to this end. Now, the launcher appears to be going backwards, but really it still hurtling forwards. It will eventually catch up with the rocket if the rocket stops. It is just that the forward momentum of the rocket is so greater by comparison. This gives the illusion that it is the only one moving out of the two. No, both are moving as they need to. In the same way, when you mediate, it is possible to soar off somewhere away from you mind and emotions to a large extent. They are still there but you, the rocket, is not. This is how mediation creates a space, which can be enhanced, between you and you emotional and mental experience.

The emotions and mind are still there. They will catch up with you again, because they have not disappeared entirely. The rocket eventually reaches a point where is can go no further, and you come back down to Earth. So a certain amount of activity is needed to build the integrity of the system, so that it can sustain and power itself for greater possibilities. It is not a question of which is better, physical or spiritual practice? This is why I say the human system is like a multi stage rocket, which launches and breaks away from itself. This is why physical martial arts as well as the mediative side have always gone hand in hand. This is a journey which happens over and over within oneself. So this is why the martial artist must remain grounded as well as airborne.

The Art of Martial Art

“It is not a question of destroying your enemies, but of transforming yourself to make use of your enemies and therefore greater use of yourself.”

Martial Arts means war turned into an art. This does not mean some frivolous or egotistical art of self indulgence. The art of war means to turn the process of destruction and creative energy inwards rather than outwards. The best way you can do this is to transform an enemy into a friend. In doing so you transform yourself. As I was saying before, if someone “falls in love” with you, they are no longer there as an enemy as they have been transformed and so have you. This is a beautiful thing, it is only ugly when misconceived.

So energy itself is the same fundamentally, wether or not it is used to create or destroy. The question is, do you want to hunt an animal for days, or do you want to run after it with everything you’ve got in one sprint? Both work perfectly well. According to your own tendencies and development, this will alter the path you take. Either way can be used to unshackle yourself. The key is to hold the utmost respect for the process of your own development and unfoldment. It is not a question of destroying your enemies, but of transforming yourself to make use of your enemies and therefore greater use of yourself. There are 7 Billion candidates for this role!

“Martial Arts has traditionally opted for creating harmony within rather than discord amongst yourself and your enemies.”

Respect for this body of energy, yourself, and a competence to use it properly is the only important factor in martial arts. When you maximise this potential, you are on the path of authentic martial arts. You might go to a trainer in this system or that, but these are encyclopaedias of knowledge. This is very useful, because such people can point you in the right direction. However, the knowledge itself is out there for any one to see in modern day. What is missing is the discipline and self knowledge. The problem is that todays knowledge is presented in such a frivolous way online, that you are almost encouraged to access it so casually that no sense of discernment or commitment is required. What you need as well is self knowledge and discipline.

What is this self discipline and self knowledge? When you encounter an enemy, you can either externalise them or internalise them. Poorly internalising a problem leads to depression or anxiety in many ways. Excessive outer expression of energy can do the same thing, or creates other problems, such as compulsions towards someone or something for your gratification. As I said before, it is about transforming this need so that none of it remains. Simply moving from one stage to another is not enough. What was once a self defeating thought finds expression in some sort of repetitive activity which needs to be sustained for self validation. This is not the most intelligent way to handle the situation.

Competition or Cooperation?

The best way to handle the external situation is to respect foster a sense of dedication and responsibility. This makes you more fluid and flexible to changing demands, whilst fundamentally strong. This is so everyone can benefit and you are also included and fully involved. For this reason, any duels or contest between two people traditionally put respect for each other and dedication towards each other as training partners as the first priority. This means that whatever war is going on, no one exploits the rules or makes advantage of some loop hole which fundamentally undermines the process of self transcendence. If you are not working for harmony, then there is duality and discord.

It is like if you marry someone, you respect them and dedicate yourself, which leads to a happy marriage. Then, what’s the problem if you argue? Anything is a means for harmony if the principle binding you together is strong. The dedication is there that you won’t run off. If you just use that person as an object, and take them for granted, then resentment grows and you fail to see them for who they are except a superficial image or an expectation. This happens all the time mainly because you begin to see others in terms of what they can do for you.

So in many ways, fights break out due to a lack of respect towards the Opponent, or the environment. Say you walk into a seedy bar, with people in there who are acting purely unconsciously, intoxicated with alcohol or other substances. This is not an environment which fosters respect or trust between people necessarily. At the same time, the sense of “us against them” is high. So now you’ve walked in, you have a problem. If you walk in and understand this clearly, you can walk in and out by not creating much friction, or even leaving immediately without hesitation, as if passing through. Instead of thinking “I have the right to be here, what’s the problem?” You clearly see the situation for what it is. Most of the time, you can anticipate this sort of thing easily with the right clarity if you practice in daily life. If you have to act you have to act, that’s all.

Seeing the situation for what it is, rather than what you think it is, is important obviously. In most cases, people flock around overly stimulating places because they are bored and in search of excitement. Otherwise, there is no need. If they had occupied themselves before hand proactively, the attraction towards these situations goes down dramatically. This is true in many other instances. So whilst it is not possible to eliminate all dangers, it is possible to eliminate the need for seeking out such risky situations by handing your own situation properly and avoiding certain environments.

The enemy within

How often does it happen that we think an enemy has triggered a certain reaction in us, when actually this happens just as severely in the absence of that enemy? Of course the enemy may trigger something within us, but at the same time, this would happen anyway if we have not attuned ourselves and handled our life properly in a disciplined and effective way. Martial Arts has always said “The only enemy is within”. It is this enemy which we are trying to transform into a friend in terms of mediation. It is there before a particular person exists, because these pressures are inherent in existence before any particular form takes shape.

If you take an aggressive and hostile person and put them into an intensive activity where the process of work is more important than an outcome, this will transform that person. For instance, this happens in the army as well as in sports. So you have somebody who could be a big problem, becoming a big success. A change of circumstance has delivered them from there problems without fundamentally changing who they are. Any particular outcomes of this takes care of itself according to the dedication and focus on the task.

In todays world, many of the algorithms and ways of presenting oneself, particularly online, are geared towards attention grabbing. For instance, you might see a martial artists posting videos online. A lot of the time, there will be a focus on their muscles and body image. This is entirely different to viewing such a person under the pressures of working and seeing them respond to life’s struggles in a dignified way, for example, as you might see them in a martial arts contest or in the army doing drills. It’s not the the army or martial arts centre is better, it’s just that it can be a more productive way of managing ones time and energy. On the other hand, forms of practice which glorify certain egotistical personas, tend to distort ones energies over time even though it appears as though they are very successful and attractive.

Focus on the Work, Not the outcome

“Ones scope for development and self transformation occurs in direct proportion to the expansion they allow for it.”

So these were always the fundamental unbreakable laws of martial arts, to focus and strive for improvement. Whether or not martial arts worked in any practical sense was meaningless in this context, because not only does work and dedication cause results and progress, but assumptions tend to screw things up. For example, if you assume that you will be able to beat an opponent easily with a small amount of training, then this itself is an impediment to learning and progress. On the other hand, if you have clarity and strive towards whatever you know best, preconceptions come down drastically. You get to the point of attaining what you never thought possible, rather than what you thought about on day one. In other words, ones scope for development and self transformation occurs in direct proportion to the expansion they allow for it.

Of course, it is perfectly normal to go around making enemies of people. People do this all the time. But it is certainly not an optimal way to function in most situations today. There are more and more people populating the Earth, so a certain acceptance of this and methods of handling things more diplomatically are needed. This is why Martial Arts has traditionally opted for creating harmony within rather than discord amongst yourself and your enemies.

Diversity and Sustainability in Martial Arts

Posted on 28th April 2024 by joeharman8 | 10 min read | 95 views

“The need for extreme states of adrenaline is just like the need for cocaine or other such substances. The need for silence or space is just like the need to be out in nature. Out in nature, there are vast periods of inactivity, but there is a certain intensity about it which can be used to energise the system.”

Efforts to increase the varieties of practical martial arts training have left them all with similar flaws. Because the modern commercial styles are so popular, the benefits outside of immediate practical application have been forgotten largely. Traditionally, martial arts meant a complete system of health and well being. Today, there are systems of self defence, and then there are separate well being exercises. So there is a separateness about it, rather than a unity of diverse aspects.

By focusing only on self defence, rather than health, this leads one open to other dangers, such as disease and other ailments. Disease is one of the biggest threats to humanity, much more prevalent than a mugging on the street. None the less, people opt for self defence over general robustness against disease. If there were infinite time to do both, this wouldn’t be an issue. In reality, there are severe constraints placed on us by our circumstances, as well as scarce time and resources. So it is important to prioritise.

Let’s say you exhaust yourself each day with physical exercises. You might end up with big muscles, but a run down immune system. So it is about getting the balance of exertion and restfulness. However, when you stress the body with over exercise, it is increasingly likely that you will end up mentally stressed too. Then you experience interrupted sleep and feelings of hyperactivity. This can lead to various patterns of addictive behaviours, because the body is out of balance. This takes years to come into effect, so people tend to think it happens out of nowhere. Then the panic can set in, and in such a state it makes sense to feed off of extreme states, rather than steady ones.

The system of practice itself will depend on what you consider the best way to fulflil a need. The need for extreme states of adrenaline is just like the need for cocaine or other such substances. The need for silence or space is just like the need to be out in nature. Out in nature, there are vast periods of inactivity, but there is a certain intensity about it which can be used to energise the system. You may have noticed that traditional system stress the importance of training outside and away from the masses. However, modern day training environments cater for other requirements. We have moved from nature to the laboratory of study. In the lab everything is seen in isolation.

So getting away from stressful environments can also be a means of combating stress. The body’s reward systems, such as endorphin release, can be triggered by being away from external reward triggers. How is this achieved? The subtle and less extreme states experience in more natural environments go through kind of cycle, where they start off small but with large effects. They take a while to kick in, they go through a longer cycle, but this is a more sustainable means of energy cultivation. This does not eliminate external need or dependance, but reduces it drastically.

Take the example of nutrition. You break down the food, digest it, and then it ends up assimilating into the body via the mind and gut connection. Along this cascade of events, various hormones are created and neurological signals are sent internally which promote a sustainable sense of health and well being. So you are creating and fulfilling the pathways for your growth naturally. The receptors which uptake this energy cultivation are directly targeted by various chemicals, which trigger such receptors into stimulation. Let’s say you take some steroids. You will probably get more muscular. At the same time, the hormones won’t pass through your entire organ system. this is why many people who abuse steroids suffer organ related ailments. You then end up being weaker overall, even if you have a strong muscle.

The mistake everyone makes is in thinking that it is the chemicals themselves which cause health and growth. However, many scientific studies are now showing that these receptors, which are target by drugs, can naturally be activated by internally produced substances common to all people. This is why meal times have been considered an important, and often sacred, aspect of the day in many traditions. Because nutrition is a means of growth, and the more this becomes a mediative process, the less reliant on external supplements you become. You will even need less food to fuel you because it is being used more efficiently with less waste.

Martial Arts has been admired for its exotic appeal for centuries. However, the mysticism surrounding it has given way to clinical applications. For example, it makes no sense at all to take part in the mediative practices if all you are looking for is to knock out another person with a punch. So because people fail to see the value of meditative practices, they get increasingly ignored.

Despite the large number of martial arts styles that are popular, they all seem to share a common mentality. This mentality is limited to only a few generations of thinking. For example, Taekwondo, a Korean Martial Art, is known only for its commercially viable appeal. Most people assume it is all about flashy kicks and athletic performance. However, even just under twenty years ago, when I started training, there were many popular practices which are no longer widely taught. For example, one needed to sharply exhale and make a “Kiap” shout when kicking or punching as part of the practice. This was based on ancient knowledge that the sounds you make with the breath has a deep impact on power expression1.

“If you have a fast car, you don’t need to run at full speed all the time. Just having a high performance car allows you to drive slowly but with optimal efficiency, this is a blessing in itself, to be able to enjoy the ride. Driving slowly does not indicate incompetence.”

It is generally considered that the western inspired martial arts styles are superior to the Eastern ones. But the Eastern ones are not for wimps, as is often thought. There are various movements which involve stick fighting, animal forms, and energy cultivation in the Eastern styles. These have a practical value in themselves. For instance, because the eastern styles are based on ancient agriculture, rather than hunting, it makes sense that they have developed from a different platform to the West. In agriculture there are seasons. In western thought it is summer all the time. In the Chinese systems, the practices you engage with will often depend on the season largely. This is just one aspect.

Day to day life in the Eastern cultures, has largely centred around defending oneself from animal attacks, and worshipping the Earth. Obviously, this is not always so much the case now, but traditionally this is so. So how you defend yourself against a snake or a wild animal, will look different to how you defend yourself against a person. More than that, how you defend yourself against a force of invaders will look different to how you fight in the ring. An invasion can happen anywhere and at any time, not just when you are fresh and prepared for the date of the fight. So the need for general health, rather than specific conditioning was valued.

Western heritage is largely thought of in terms of conquest2. In fact, Western culture is also deeply steeped in agricultural heritage, but more recently there has been an aggressive culture of conquest and expansion. Violence is very much apart of day to day experience, physically, mentally, and emotionally. Whereas in the East, it is common to never even witness a crime, much less an assault. Obviously, every culture has its problems, but largely it was traditionally accepted that you stick with your clan in Eastern cultures, rather than look to take over your neighbour. It wasn’t considered a good idea to destroy an opponent in order to achieve liberation. The basis of creating good karma for yourself is that if you mind your own business, then you don’t quire baggage or excess that you don’t need.

So this loss of diversity in martial arts, in favour of conquest and strength, could leave us open to disease and disaster. For example, many of the practices in Yoga, as well as Tai Chi and other styles, are beneficial in disease prevention as well as relieving stress. In modern times, we have shielded ourselves from dangers to a large degree, such as petty crime, and violent killings. Obviously the dangers are there, but in general our safety has never been so secure. But at the same time we have opened ourselves up to other dangers. These include pandemics of mental and physical health issues. These dangers were always known in the Eastern tradition, which has already been through material affluence many centuries ago and so knows what happens when you are not careful what you wish for.

With the modern hybrid styles of martial arts, only a small amount of the diversity of practices is held onto. We have already looked at what some of these involve. It is important to hold onto ancient practices, because they contain a certain wisdom within them. It is not that they need to be practiced all the time, but they should be held onto. Nor is it that everything is about self defence and preservation of the species. It is like if you have a raincoat, you don’t need to wear it all the time, but you hold onto it none the less. Most of the time it may be so sunny you don’t need it. But that doesn’t stop you wearing it when necessary.

If you have a fast car, you don’t need to run at full speed all the time. Just having a high performance car allows you to drive slowly but with optimal efficiency, this is a blessing in itself, to be able to enjoy the ride. Driving slowly does not indicate incompetence. At the same time, if you run at full speed, you must be aware of the dangers and become increasingly switched on and intensively engaged when necessary. You need to be aware of every inch of the car, and how the weight is distributed. You need to feel it. This is why the traditional systems spent so much time tuning up and engineering the body’s performance in martial arts. They spend a lot of time in the garage engineering so that peak performance was possible without becoming run down and exhausted.

The reason these more traditional practices are not held onto is that due to passing fads, changes in industry standards, etc., force certain popular trends. However, there are individuals and organisations which always preserve the purity of systems of practice. Another reason is that due to the vast quantities of energy consumed in fitness practices, these require bio chemical enhancement or supplements to train in such methods. We have looked at this already. So at the same time as increased output, and decreased down time, we see an increase in the use of performance enhancing drugs in sport. Looking after and enhancing your health, rather than just aspects of physical fitness, can reduce the number of chemical supplements that are needed by the modern athlete.

References

1 https://intuitivemartialarts.com/2023/12/20/sound-and-form-part-1/ Sound and Form [Part 1 of 3]

2 https://intuitivemartialarts.com/2023/04/24/conquest-at-all-costs-drugs-and-the-evolution-of-martial-arts-part-1/ Conquest at all costs: Drugs and the Evolution of Martial Arts.

From Expectation to Inspiration

Posted on 9th March 2024 by joeharman8 | 12 min read | 108 views

There in many in Martial Arts who believe that it is best to switch off your concerns about the opponent. For them, the thinking is “We should handle it severely, and that’s it, to Hell with the other guy”. When you follow this line of reasoning, then you justify maiming your opponent or worse. However, when you say “There is no opponent”, it is possible to lapse into defeatism and accept your fate. This has always been the problem with the spiritual side of martial arts. However, the goal is always to develop your consciousness and awareness, without being defeated. In other words, you do what is needed to ensure your survival, but when your survival is ensured and you just want revenge, this becomes a sickness.

It is not about embarrassing the other guy. This requires a certain resentment towards the opponent, that they are the bad guy and you are delivering justice. When you hyper develop egotistical thought, your own mind stabs you in the back. It cuts you just as a sharp blade wielded by a novice. When you carry bitterness in your heart, or sow the seed of it, then this is not what is referred to as the empty mind approach. This is a sickness.

So the idea behind taking action is to ensure that it does not grow into something bad. For instance, the goal of winning a contest is to strive to the utmost. this becomes bad when you try to secure a victory, or you fear losing such a status. This is because such accumulated baggage becomes burdensome and you are no longer driven by inspiration but by narrow minded expectation. Never waste time become self satisfied in such a way. If you are never satisfied, then that is good, it means you expect a lot from yourself. If you expect little from yourself, it means you have given up hoping to stretch and surpass expectation.

Empty Mind

The empty mind approach simply means you have emptied the car of its petrol. This does not mean you forgot to fill it up, or that you drove nowhere. No, instead “empty your mind” means drive to the destination, not anywhere that’s unnecessary. So you empty only after you have reached. So you are driving your own inspired action to its natural conclusion, rather than an unrealistic or unnatural conclusion.

Let’s say you wanted to become the greatest martial artist ever. It is only when there are such grand expectations that inspired action becomes possible. So reaching the goal would only inspire less action. It is better not to reach that goal in that case. Or, if you did somehow reach it, you would quickly need to find another way of staying involved. This is where most people fall short. When they have achieved their dreams, they no longer see the point. But you can always push a little further, couldn’t you? If your dream was to achieve ten thousand hours of practice, then raise that expectation to double, and then triple!

Empty mind means you take no sides and you just see things the way they are. It is said that there is honour among thieves. What this means is that when you take from a situation to benefit yourself, you will find many other corroborators to encourage you for your efforts. So a thief is never short of friends. If you lower your expectations and inspirations to something achievable, you will find no shortage of encouragement. This is self robbery. It is only when you disregard such encouragement that you will truly surpass realistic everyday goals. This is important, because most goals people make are usually too easy to remain motivated with for long, or they are inspired by others expectations for them. This is for them, not for you. Quality is measured not by fulfilling some goal. So the goal need to be measured in terms of whether you are applying yourself totally or not.

Becoming Aware

But when you remain aware, aware for instance that your opponent could be less dangerous than you immediately think, you open up different possibilities. This is equally so if you see them as more dangerous than you. We will get onto this shortly. It is often the case that people walk around without concern for how they are behaving towards others. If you walk in a forest loudly, you will disturb the wildlife so that they run away. This is happening everywhere, people disturb each others peace and then blame each other for their own lack of consideration. I would say that this is how the vast majority of fights break out, due to sheer ignorance. This is a huge development of the ego that was never there in previous generations.

Assailants are often like wild animals, they pay attention to these things and are in a hurry to react. This is partly because they have hyper developed their survival circuits so that they are on red alert all the time. To achieve this is beneficial, but to stay there indefinitely is a disaster. From the survival perspective this makes sense. From a well being perspective, this is every day torture because it’s overusing the senses which become unavailable for anything else. Your whole experience then becomes one of emotional chemistry geared towards survival rather than prosperity. So the survival circuits should be available when needed, but not compulsively reacting to outside events indiscriminately.

The human being is built more for well being as its ultimate goal. The same body that hates can contain the opposite emotions too. Therefore, it is not about the body. It is instead how you perceive the world and the way you orientate the energies which itself creates the chemistry. I frequently change from struggling at a task to being dead to the world. this is not a problem for me because one state naturally transitions into another if you go about closing and widening the gap between activity and rest form that occupation.

When you look at what people fight over, these are petty, useless matters. Someone spilling your drink in a bar has nothing to do with you. This is simply societies experience playing out in a social situation. It may be happening around you and in a situation you are involved with, but it would happen anyway without you there. These situations are just thousands of years of evolution by trial and error still happening. The intelligence within you should guide you towards intelligent action.

Being No. 1

You should not have a problem that someone is bigger and stronger than you. If you meet somebody more capable than you, this is good because you have an opportunity to learn. If you can befriend such a person, then this will be a great partnership. If your idea of winning and victory is beating down somebody else, just to secure your own image, then this is a horrible waste of potential. If however, you engage in a martial arts contest with somebody far better than you, then you are pushing yourself to the limit. You will reach your full potential. You can never do this against an easy hand picked opponent, or an easy target. If somebody is pushing you to the limit, then this will just make your experience more intense and meaningful. It will make you perform better and experience the richness of life.

So far we have looked at how, most of the time, just paying attention to how you might rub people the wrong way in an environment stops most altercations. You see their intensity as a means to switch yourself on and become more aware rather than threatened. Through certain meditative practices you can be totally involved in chaos yet keep a fire between yourself and the outside world. Fire is a pressure that burns everything.

I would say that around ninety percent of fights can be avoided by paying abolsute attention to how you are in your surroundings. This makes such situations positive rather than negative. The problem is people pay absolute attention to fixate on how somebody has looked at them the wrong way, or bumped into them. You cannot pay absolute attention to two things. You can have the two things going on at once, but they need to synthesise into a coherent vision. It is not either or.

Instantaneous Analysis

In martial arts, it is necessary to develop an instantaneous analysis. This isn’t a case of stopping the response to danger and slowly going over the options. No, because then you set yourself up as a mark who cannot think on the spot. You don’t want to come across hesitant. Hesitation kills. If you hesitate, you are then clearly demonstrating that you are incompetent to act. It is about seamlessly going over the options and doing what’s necessary instantaneously, there and then.

Similarly, in a martial arts match if you are going over some exercises in your mind without perceiving what’s in front of you, you miss the point. You are building an experience based on the past rather than building a future based on the present. This way, even if you make a mistake, you are paying absolute attention and full awareness so you know where you went wrong instantly. You can then auto correct in a kind of flow state of improvisation. This is something master guitar players do, they play the wrong note on occasion but it is dealt with then and there and actually opens new possibilities. So a mistake accepted as a pathways becomes a means of liberation from hesitation and inertia. It is part of the creative process, not fearing mistakes. This requires a certain clarity and consciousness about life.

From powerlessness to Power

When a cornered animal fights, it just goes into survival mode full on. Does this require any sort of power? No it requires a powerlessness to do anything else. When one is powerless and insecure, they always seek to squash somebody else because they know they’ve had it otherwise. This is not a bad thing, there is no good and bad in nature. This kind of emergency mind set is obviously what will happen if somebody comes along and butchers your family in front of you. This is not meant to scare you or sound harsh, but in all likelihood you will grab the nearest thing and survival will happen as it does in the jungle. You will just do what’s necessary to stop them, yes or no? This requires responsible action to avoid. So this doesn’t need to be practiced or rehearsed. This is what we want to avoid, but it will happen if we don’t take precautions to ensure our own security.It is the avoidance which needs to be practiced as means to gain control over the situation.

Fear is a powerful externalisation of energy which happens whether you want it to or not. However, the way it expresses itself can be changed. So even the automatic survival process can be harnessed to some degree, or it can be left to react with events on its own. Men in particular tend to become more aggressive when under threat. In martial arts we say that the greater the challenge, the greater the potential power to overcome. This means that under extreme circumstances, if you can harness the energy and squeeze opportunity out of it, this is where true power lies. So when under threat, you can just dissipate the energies at the level of the instinctive reactions, or you can send it upwards. There are many ways to go about this.

Not for the faint of Heart

Say you have particularly powerful energy emitting outwardly. You need to develop certain tools which are purely receptive and absorb this energy. This is where the breathing comes in, as well as the postures and stances. The Hara Centre1 is the powerful energy centre for generative purposes. The Solar Plexus, or heart centre, absorbs this energy when breathing becomes properly attuned to the internal system. This proper attunement does not happen when you are breathing purely in reaction to external events. So by concentrating here, at the Hara Centre, you remain more in control.

The other way is to make certain sounds2, which create the right kind of internal attitude and synchronise the breathing patterns with a strong posture or stance. So remaining mindful of these considerations can greatly enhance your ability to respond to emergency situations and find cunning ways of subverting them altogether. This takes the fire and intensity of a situation and transforms it into something beneficial. The idea is to become aware that the situation is happening, but conscious there is more going on than just the survival process.

In many self defence classes, you are advised to fight back automatically. For example, there is the whole “It’s me of him” mentality, or “he’s trying to stop me feeding my family, so I must put an end to him”, this kind of thinking. Either that, or you are told to pre meditate a minimal damage response. The thing is, that if you’re wrong about this, you have a big problem. This kind of thinking came about when martial arts became a mass production affair.

Just like we predicted that people would always work in factories, we predicted that the situation could be planned for in advance. Evolution does not work this way. So it become necessary to pre package techniques which are said to work in the absence of awareness or even basic competence. This gets people moving and gives them a bit of confidence to take further steps. However, if you make the mistake of taking on some sort of quest to defeat people, then then existentially this requires a huge level of self responsibility and competence. It is not me saying this, it’s a condition of taking things on in life. This is why martial arts was deemed not for the faint of heart.

References

1 https://intuitivemartialarts.com/2024/02/13/hara-centre-seat-of-creation/ Hara Centre: Seat of Creation

2 https://intuitivemartialarts.com/2023/12/20/sound-and-form-part-1/ Sound and Form Part 1

Hara Centre: Centre of Creation

Posted on 2nd February 2024 Last updated on 13th February 2024 by joeharman8 | 16 min read | 109 views

“The earths atmosphere, which is electromagnetic, would not be possible without the earths core being the way it is. The Earths core is hot and high pressure, like our own physical centre. The surround electromagnetic atmosphere of the Earth can be likened to the nervous system. So the core directly affects the nervous system, and the nervous system is not possible without the core. So you can transform you energy and situation by working with this core in ways that are not possible otherwise. “

When you perform an action from the core, it radiates outwardly to the periphery. This is the case for any martial arts movement. In fact, it takes a lot more competence to do this than to perform the move superficially. So the idea is to move the core, the abdomen, and then extend out from there. It does not happen the other way around, that you start with the limb first, and hope that this creates a whole body motion.

It is like how the Earths rotation begins at the core, and this moves the mantle and the plates. The plates and the surface do not move the core. In the same way, the chemical receptors on a plants do not make its roots grow. If pesticide is used too much, then this just impedes the plants overall development of certain internal processes which produce these things naturally. The same thing goes on in the human body. In terms of movements, the internal signals which are related to the core, function much better if the core is the initiator of the movements. This helps you memorise and imbed certain movements more deeply. Even on a superficial level, it is better to perform core movements because the core leads all basic movements. In this way the only things that changes is the particular limb you are using when driving from the seat of the abdominal core. So your kicking and punching becomes very similar.

Knowing the Unknown

When you do a punch, it is only a punch from the core if it starts at the core. This is why in martial arts they say “Hit from the core”. This core is the abdomen or Hara Centre as it is known. “Ha” means Sun in Chinese. According to the Indian Sutras, “Ha” means the same thing too, and “Ra” refers to a radiant sun, the centre of the Universe. So together, “Ha-ra” can be taken to mean the earths centre, or the universal centre. It is from the centre that the rest of creation happens. You can only illuminate the vastness of the unknown from the high pressure centre which eventually creates light. In the Solar System, energy starts as non visible. This energy only becomes visible light after some time when it extends out from the Sun and certain particles react at a certain distance from the source as the pressure drops. This is the case with Martial Arts.

The Hara Centre, the physical centre of the body, is the only energy centre which can transmit itself anywhere in the body directly. It manifests differently depending on the action. In terms of technique, it can go to the arms, legs, or elsewhere physically. This is why it is universal in nature. In others words, it is not just located in the abdomen, the energy can be transported anywhere. The lower abdomen is the source. For example, if you drive a nail into a block of wood, you do so from the core, just as you do with say, a golf swing. This applies to everything. It starts one place and ends up somewhere else. All these things are driven from the core. It is impossible to start from the end, because this isn’t yet in your experience. This is why in the traditional arts they never rushed learning, nor were they given to over analysis.

It is just because you don’t know how to do a movement before you have learnt it that we say “drive from the core”. You cannot do a complex kick before you have learnt to do this. So you practice something you don’t know by doing something you do already know. This is why I always say “drive from the core” first. Personally I don’t bother with explaining all the details of a particular move because this becomes obvious over time with the right fundamental platform. This platform is a strong core. It is not necessarily an athletic strength, but the right energy and maneuverability.

So develop the Hara Centre first. It is only possible from there to know the unknown. It is only when this unknown comes into your direct experience that you learn the mysteries of martial arts. The core functions much better in children. this is why they learn everything naturally. The adult core usually becomes lazy from excessive sitting and poor lifestyle habits which we develop in society. The point is that we can switch on this source to learn anything like a child does, even as an adult. So this core is like the little white dot in the Dark space of the Yin Yang symbol. This is called mastering technique, so that it manifests properly.

Drugs and Chemicals

The expression Energy takes can vary dramatically depending on a number of factors. But when it originates in the Hara Centre and finds expressions elsewhere, then there is some discretion and volition as to where it ends up. Otherwise, if it starts elsewhere, it is often an unconscious act, or simply accidental. Conscious acts are always intentional and consciousness is always a choice. Let’s say that the energy is taken in from external sources, such as some sort of chemical supplement. Such chemicals tend to inebriate the system so that it acts purely from a chemicals basis, or dampens other energy sources in the body. This is the problem with drugs and chemical supplements1.

So chemical energy is itself a manifestation of pressure and heat. These are naturally occurring when things begin in the gut. For instance, many chemicals can be created internally which people are now ingesting more and more because their system has gone taken a kind of backwards step. This takes a bit more time and particularly a mediative digestion, so that the body can rest and regenerate properly2. But people are “Go, go, go” all the time. It is for this reason that Excessive physical training can happen at the surface level, because the chemicals are just being replaced by supplements. It is like with plants. The soil quality is going down, so fertiliser and chemical sprays are needed just to get some fruit and ward off disease. None of this is necessary until you exceed the natural capabilities of the earth. The Hara Centre is like the Earth.

So chemicals come in, then they will run their course over a certain period of time and then dissipate at some level. Often, these chemicals are being abused, so the natural production goes down and a kind of external dependance happens. Of course, the biggest intoxication from outside occurs when greed and corruption take over in the mind. It is for this reason that in the traditional arts, they urged against competition and prestige. Competition is fine once you have develop the necessary mental fortitude. In my experience, there are so many life lessons which I have absorbed that it almost derailed me completely. So if I didn’t have the necessary inner tools of development, I would have been broken by certain experiences. This is why I stress “Meditation, meditation, meditation”, or some kind of meditative dimension and development of this.

Overcoming Self Deception

The biggest deception if from the intoxication of conquest. The lust for conquest brings about the same disorders as actual chemical abuse in many cases. This is a false high. This is referred to as Maya in the Indian systems, or simply self deception. This is because when you overcome the need for these things, it is as if they never happened and the events become meaningless. This is not so with any reality which is learnt from the core of truth, which is the Hara Centre. There is nothing wrong with chemical supplements, they can be taken if needed. But the very same things can be created internally, setting in process and lasting mechanism. The results are often the same but more sustainable. But what a difference it makes if you can produce these things internally.

Inter Transformation

We have looked at how the Hara Centre can transmit itself anywhere in the body. With the other centres of the body, such as the chest or head, these act as relay points, so the energy takes a more roundabout route. There are exceptions to this, such as Martial Arts masters whose physical body’s have failed them but they have developed the proper energy channels. These are exceptions however. With the Hara Centre, it can reach anywhere. It is like how you can create a heater with the use of electricity, there are transformers involved in that kind of technical process to convert energy. If you want to create heat, movements is needed for example. Movements is a kind of transformer in the human body. There is all sorts of mind work that goes into it, such as knowledge and motivation to move. This is why in many ways, reality begins in the mind. Importantly, the mind is linked to the gut, not just the brain.

The earth itself transforms heat into water, and then water into steam. All of these processes are only possible because of the earths core dynamo, which is molten iron largely. This is like the Hara Centre. The earths atmosphere, which is electromagnetic, would not be possible without the earths core being the way it is. The Earths core is hot and high pressure, like our own physical centre. The surround electromagnetic atmosphere of the Earth can be likened to the nervous system. So the core directly affects the nervous system, and the nervous system is not possible without the core. So you can transform you energy and situation by working with this core in ways that are not possible otherwise.

Let’s look at technique. If the punch begins at the shoulder, then you are not punching from the core. You can still do it, but a lot of additional steps are taken, often unconsciously. So the idea behind “using the core” or the abdomen, comes from this idea that from this centre of mass everything spreads outwardly. There is an inner intelligence that grasps this intuitively. So if you get this, then you are 90% of the way there. Why 90%? because the microorganisms of the body account for 90% of the body’s make up. And these guys are largely in the core and work according to the gut primarily. From the core, the rest radiates outwardly. In terms of cognition and learning, if the brain and nervous system attempt to perform a particular movement without the cores involvement, the results are limited. This can produce many problems, such as over use injury and a whole host of physical ailments, particularly later on in life.

From Gross to subtle

If you point a finger, this can be performed from the core, or you can simply wave the arm out and point the finger. If the action is led from the core, then the finger pointing is just the final expression at the end of the movement. In other words, it is the end phase of a core movement. You might say, that everyone can point a finger, what’s so special about that? However, anyone who doesn’t pay attention and concern towards these things on the path of martial arts is setting themselves up for problems. This is why in the traditional systems, the master would look at how you conducted yourself in every aspect. So to take care of the large, you can pay attention to the small things, which is required if you wish to transform these initial steps into greater possibilities. The idea that you can do something carelessly but repeatedly and yield good results is completely wrong. You go from basic to complex, from gross to subtle expertise.

So one initial movement sets up the possibilities for the next. It is the same with a punch. You rotate the core into the punch and there is a lot more power and transmission of energy as a result. This is because it began from the centre of mass and transformed into a punch as part of a complex process. It’s not like you get each phase technically correct separately and then it works. No, instead you have to transform one phase into another. It is like the pressure of the earth gradually dissipates as you move away from the core. This creates the complex physical reality around us. Due to this pressure release, other forms of energy, such as gravitational energy and electromagnetic energy, gradually express themselves. These act upon the physical word we experience. This is a complex process, but it is an intuitive one. Gravity can then act upon larger masses, whereas it is weaker the closer you get to the centre. This is because other more powerful forces of Chi energy, or radiation in Scientific terms are happening closer to the centre. This is also known as dark matter1.

So in the human being, when you perform a punch, it is only possible because of a release of energy which gradually takes another form. This is how you create something from nothing. This nothing actually contains the whole possibility, it just that this has not been Brough to bare in your experience yet. But it will the more you work with it. This is why there are no set traditions other than oral transmission in most traditional systems. You have to work for it internally.

Self Creation

If you just swing the arm at the opponent, then there is an entirely different effect even if it looks the same as a punch from the core. This is why there is so much emphasis on breathing from the core, digesting properly from the core, and moving from there in the traditional systems of martial arts. The diamonds are produced there. In the Earths core, Molten Iron erupts out of the surface from the core. It is only when the atmosphere changes that we see the diamond formation of this same heat energy, which has now solidified. These diamond are what we create in martial arts, expressions of high pressure which have materialised. The Earth doesn’t think about it, it is an energy intelligence. These diamonds can absorb electromagnetic waves from the earths atmosphere. So the Earth itself generates an electromagnetic fields which sustains the outer surface. The same thing happens in us, and this is entirely intuitive when you develop the right perceptions through practice. When you rely too much on physical strength of the limbs, you can easily forget about using the core properly. This leads to various injuries, which although inevitable sometimes, become chronic and excessive. It is just like if you exploit the nutrients of the earth more quickly than they are created, you will likely have issues.

Let’s take the example of digestion. If you eat whole foods, or healthy foods generally, then these have to be digested in the stomach properly. The thing about sugar is that it goes straight out of the stomach and into the blood stream. It doesn’t go into deep nourishment, such as bone and deep tissue regeneration. This is why it is linked with so many internal problems, even if it gives you a sugar hit. Healthy whole food on the other hand, goes into reproducing the cells and creating an entire person. Over the course of around seven years, Science has show the the entire organisms cells are likely to be replaced. This isn’t so if degeneration is happening too much at the same time as replenishment. So when anything is done at the surface level, whether that is learning or nutrition, there is a certain level of nourishment which gets neglected and undermined..

When blood sugar builds up too much, you can get a range of health complications, such as nerve damage, and inability to produce enough insulin. We have also looked at how osteoporosis may happen too, because the bones need nourishment, not just the muscles and blood. So when a person exists at the surface level, what you end up with is an irritable or excitable mood with a kind of frantic and compulsive disposition. This undermines health obviously. This can in itself lead many of types of mental health conditions, as well as physical ailments. The variety of these are countless, and exploding across the world. From this, we can see that a physiological problem can become a psychological one quite easily, once certain patterns of behaviour become habitual. So certain patterns of behaviour are thought replenish or undermine ones pre birth energy, or chi.

The point is that what appears to be a mental health issue, often has its origins in the physiological or energy realm. So by taking care of the physiology, you end up taking care of the mental side. This is the same with martial arts. It is often the case that people train with all sorts of gels and sugary liquids, just to keep certain chemicals active in the blood stream. From a performance perspective this has some benefits, such as making one more aggressive and reactive. This comes at a heavy price, because it intoxicates your system just like a drug. Drug and chemicals are just a different part of the cycle. You take them in and perform some activity. It is possible to take in various supplements properly, but that is something else. It requires a level of self restraint and awareness to perform certain activities properly. From a health perspective, over supplementation is not only stupid but disastrous. So when the body eventually breaks down with age and wear and tear, the solution for many is to take a cocktail of supplements to keep the game going. But this only hastens decline or fails to get at the source of the problem to change things.

References

https://wordpress.com/post/intuitivemartialarts.com/2227 Conquest at all costs: Drugs in Martial Arts.
https://intuitivemartialarts.com/2024/02/02/how-to-use-stress-for-your-own-health-and-the-importance-of-the-hara-centre/ How to Use stress for your own Health, and the importance of the Hara Centre.

Sound and Form [Part 3]

Posted on 21st December 2023 by joeharman8 | 9 min read | 106 views

When you laugh you might make the “Ha” sound with the breathe. If you laugh very loudly you will hyper ventilate unless you set yourself properly. This requires internal and external aspects. For example, you want to feel comfortable and open enough to stretch your body to create the necessary space for the sound to loudly roar out. There are many everyday examples of sounds which happen naturally. This is what working with the sound in martial arts aims to achieve, a natural expression of the sound with added awareness and control over the body

The Moving Sound

With the help of certain sounds, we can express various sentiments and feelings. There are various techniques for this contained in martial arts to this end. For example, the physical forms in Taekwondo, called Poomsae, are used to express proper breathing and flow. I use this Taekwondo example because this is what I’m trained in formally, but the similarities hold true across the various martial arts. To do the forms properly, one needs to develop mastery over the breathing as well as the movements. Some forms of martial arts don’t do much in the way of movement and focus more on the sound. Other arts focus on slow and controlled breathing, which is also useful for different reasons. In this way you aim to become one with the movements by synchronising with the breath.

According to the mood of the form, or Poomsae, that is how it is performed. Some are faster, some are slower. I won’t go into the details, it will take too long, but you can look all this up online. You will see how some are slower, and others are faster. Others will go from fast to slow in moments. This is all common sense but there is a science to it. So you would move differently to enhance well being than you would to secure survival. and once you have attacked, it is useful to reset. You would however want to work at both levels, of attack and resetting, according to what needs to be done at different times.

When you look closely, it is not just speed and pace, but different qualities that are expressed. Some movements have a certain swing in them, just like music does. This cannot be demonstrated on the music sheet or in a book. If you try to perform a swinging motion or sound in a step by step way it just doesn’t work. This is why physical demonstrations are needed, rather than step by step instructions alone. Because a form can be broken down into beginning, middle, and end, doesn’t mean it is performed that way mechanically.

The main thing to remember is to control the volume of expression, which brings about all kinds of different effects. If you create a huge volume of sound in the movements, and you create a lot of noise, you obviously want to spread this across a big space. This is the reason for stretching the body whilst remaining rooted. You are fixed and stable, yet able to contain a large volume by extending the body.

The Twelve notes

Before you do any of the forms, you first learn the techniques individually. There are said to be 14 different movements in the Korean System of Taekwondo. Actually there are twelve, but more were added in, such as flying kicks and twisting kicks. So it is likely that various adaptions have been made for various reasons over the years. However these are really just variations of the twelve techniques. The number twelve is significant because there are twelve colours and twelve notes, so there are also corresponding movements. Of course there are many more movements than twelve, but the relevance of the number twelve is that there are twelve notes, and an infinite variety of combinations.

In the classical forms on Indian music there are twelve ways to perform a sound. This is the case for sound more generally too. For instance, we will take the example of the “Aa” sound. You can perform it rapidly, as in when doing a punch. As noted in the previous post, the “ah” sound is for engaging the abdomen or Hara Centre in martial arts. You can perform it in a circular fashion, as when performing certain circular blocking techniques. This means it goes up and down, such as when parrying an attack and blocking in a circular fashion. This would make it more drawn out and up and down a certain scale of volume and tone. These variations although subtle, create huge power and output.

There are also twelve colours, all represented in different ways. In Martial Arts, there are normally seven belts, just as in Western music there are seven main notes. Each colour represents a particular quality, so they are not just arbitrarily chosen. At the same time, the different colours are given different meaning in the different arts. This does not matter about the different interpretations, because one who is fearless as a blackbelt, should also aim to be as cautious of danger as a red belt. So you want to encompass all the qualities in one. Where you start just depends on what is being emphasised in what system.

So each system represents itself differently according to what it wants to promote. Some are hard styles, such as Karate, others are soft styles, such as Tai Chi. Obviously they will have different representing qualities. You wouldn’t put a competitive athlete on the Tai Chi notice board, not would you put a mediator on the Karate competition flyer. However, both qualities of meditativeness and movement are contained within each system.

There are also around twenty five forms to display these movements in Taekwondo, which is roughly double the number of twelve. This is because the later half of the forms are reserved for blackbelts, so you effectively start again learning a different set once you reach black belt level. The reason I’m mentioning this is that the numbers are related to the sounds and colours on a spectrum, which is itself all blended together, even though distinctions can be made. So these sounds and colours feature all over martial arts, and go back to ancient tradition and knowledge. So the number twelve is defiantly relevant.

Today, they focus only on the movements and try to make them look flamboyant and flashy. This is not the way, but it’s a cultural thing that has developed in terms of technical appearance. Actually, the real centres which preserve the arts are still alive and kicking. It’s just that they have taken on some back of shop role because they don’t do the whole Pr thing well. This is certainly true in Taekwondo. There is nothing wrong or right about this, it’s just that there are other measurements as to what is the correct form other that the visual aspect, which is kept in tradition.

So finally now we will look at some more applications.This is impossible to explain fully here, but essentially whatever you do with the hand supports what you are doing vocally. This is the case with anything. So the hands are used to follow the sound and create a form out of it. this is the case with the other limbs too. If there is a rapid up and down sound, then the hand follows this. In meditation, the hands go up and down with the breathe in some forms. When you make a more audible vocalised sound, rather than the so called “unstuck sound” of the breathe, the hands play a role in further emphasising this.

So you might punch rapidly and powerfully in a shaking kind of way, or you might push outwardly and then swing back before doing something else. This is obviously too detailed to cover extensively, which is why there was so much emphasis on practice and experience rather than book learning. The above video goes some way to demonstrating what I am saying. It appears as though you learn quite quickly with a book, but you want to bring these qualities to the practice within. This is the main purpose behind the more traditional training forms which emphasise actual experience rather than theory.

There are many different techniques to produce the various sounds. Some of them use the diaphragm and chest to support movement. This has obvious benefits to the cardiovascular and postural system, which directly affects health and physical capability. When one is performing such movements, you make a rapid up and down ascending and descending noise with the mouth and hands. This draws the sound and therefor the energy up and down. So the “Ah” sound links the abdomen to the movement, and the ascending pitch brings it up. The descending one bring sit back down. One example is that you tend to descend down when kicking, because the kick is directly related to the hips or lower body. The opposite is true of punching, which tends to draw the energy up in a more rapid way. This all requires experience and practice to get to know all this.

Much of this would have been originally improvised according to certain rules as the situation requires. Later these forms were to be handed down rather than spontaneously realised on the individual level. This is the problem with the written tradition, it is taken literally as it is written. At the same time, it helps to persevere the physical visual aspect, so on balance there are strengths and weaknesses here. The problem is today that we are to obsessed with the visual aspect often at the expense of the inner dimension of sound. The previous generation were not so lopsided in their development, because what they could see was so limited. So they needed these methods.

Once again, this is difficult to put into words, and has to be experienced directly. At the same time it is common sense and accessible to anyone. When you look at the snake like waving movements of the Chinese forms, these faster forms represent this idea of rapid escalation and deescalation. The snake symbol is actually used because its form best demonstrates this quality, rather than the human body. So to demonstrate the waving movements which go up and down, the snake was used to clearly make this obvious in such a way that words could not. The snake is used because its being is closely related to the human beings energy form, not because the human wants to physically mimic the snake.

The Beginning

Posted on 14th October 2023 by joeharman8 | 13 min read | 88 views

This is the first of many stories about our protagonist, Rahul. Although he won many contests, Rahul often comes out the loser. But this is only part of the story. Todays world sees the story of a loser as a waste of time. Rahul sees wasting his time as a means to an end, a development of patience, and reaching that point where you realise that you will never fully get it anyway.

The essence of martial arts lies in dealing with adversity and overcoming seemingly insurmountable challenges. You have to be a loser to take on the impossible, if only to make that a possibility for you to eventually overcome the impossible. In doing so, you lose a sense of certainty within, or detach from it. These are the lessons which Rahul imparts to us. If he is to become a loser, then this is because he has chosen this form, either consciously or unconsciously. By losing a sense of certainty within, you become uncertain but prepared. Let us begin with the first time Rahul entered the temple with this sense of uncertainty…

Rahul approached the temple grounds, unsure of what he would find there. He had gone there out of curiosity. At once he was told by the Master there, “you must fight against my chosen opponent”. Who was this opponent, and why had Rahul been given such a challenge on his first day? He was not expecting this. So it would be a contest, but the rules weren’t made clear. In truth, he knew nothing about the culture of martial arts, only vague stories and fantasy. This would become a tremendous boon for him. The question is, can he retain the sense of childlike uncertainty as well as deal with the responsibility of knowing?

Rahul had heard of these martial contests, but could not understand the need to finalise a winner. For him, a winner is a loser because he has ended the journey. At the same time, a loser can excuse himself from responsibility and succumb to the self deceit of excuse making. So it was not about taking sides. So far he had partaken in physical sporting contests, and never found himself out of his depth there. At the same time, he had never found himself better than anyone else particularly. Some days he won, other days he chose the losing side to try and contribute to it and balance things out. It all depended on many factors what the outcome was. Rahul’s love of the game made him in such a way that the humanity in him would always give the opponent the advantage if that evened the odds. This was not due to some moral code, it just made the game more interesting and always fresh.

Rahul was a well rounded athlete, but not yet a fighter. He had pushed himself athletically, facing his fears an insecurities as a game rather than to vanquish them in a contest. H was about to come face to face with these fears, which would be brought out in the form of sparring partners, which he would face alone. Up until now, he saw such states of fear and apprehension as transient states. It never had occurred to him that there was anything at stake, or that victory was final. This was correct, but he had not yet come full circle. He had not yet logically assembled the foes within himself into formidable sparring partners to overcome. They just came and went without form. Never before had he entered into the world of martial arts, where the culture was that you directly fight in order to win. Or so he thought.

In martial arts, participants push themselves to the utmost. This often appears pointless. Rahul had heard that people often went mad with the desire to win, and in the process they became overpowered by fear and greed. These are the enemies within which were furled rather than minimised. Their desires become over nourished and morphed into various forms. He could not stand this on the playing field. He had seen that such vulgar displays undermined the integrity of the game. This way of thinking had not happened to him yet, but it was time to step into this world, of positive and negative polarities within himself, which was to be like managing a nuclear power centre.

Rahul would have to logically construct a certain form to pit himself against, whilst seeing that he himself was not that. This is the challenge each fighter must face, to keep the enemy at a physical, emotional, and logical distance, so that you don’t become what you are battling against. Like this you can classify the enemy without reducing the energy situation between you and them. This energy situation, between yourself and the enemy is the fight itself. When you don’t pick a side you become the fight.

Whether or not you win or lose, the experience is often the same. You can experience the downfall of pride, or the humility of innocence or defeat, whether you win or lose. More specifically, the experience is what you make of it, and you can evolve through it and be come more than a result. Fear, pain, misery, ecstasy, these feelings are common to all in martial arts circles, from champions to recreational fighters. But after some time, they fade into obscurity and you must renew all sense of self rather than relying on past glory. It is like the Water Lilly which rises out of the water. It is nourished by the sun and everything else rots away. When the sun goes down, obviously this is a problem, because the foundation crumbles. Like this the fighter must switch from roots to flowering when needed.

It is useless to hang on to that which is within the memory or imagination and not in direct present experience. So these psychological states are enemies, friends, and transient partners. A stimulus to beyond. Rahul did not understand all of this yet, and he was yet to become proud of anything he did, or saddened by any loss. He did not see these things as linear developments which remained for long. He was yet to classify into his logic that which remained in day to day experience.

The Master called Rahul to the pit, and said it was time to fight. Rahul did as he was asked, without hesitation and readied himself for battle, just as he did on the fields of play. Anxiety arose. Rahul was momentarily overcome by the very emotions he had created within himself as he perceived the gravity of the situation. So he quickly assumed a confident posture, and sunk deeply into it. So he transformed the anxiety into confidence to pursue his challenge. He then turned confidence into activity, which again changed his disposition, his very form. He did this automatically, it was natural to him. He went though the entire process in an instant, experiencing the entire contest before it begun. This again was natural to him. It never occurred to linger this process, or attribute aspects of it to an outcome of any kind. He needed no carrot.

He began warming up, preparing for the contest. He played it over in his mind. He was at first the loser, and then he become the winner. He experienced both possibilities even before anything had happened. This was a glimpse. Rahul learnt his first lesson, to transform the energy of a situation to his advantage, as needed. This was not something he learnt formally, it was knowledge transmitted to him as the first part of the nameless trial. This could only be experienced directly, not theoretically. In the same way the teacher teaches the fight show to punch. He does not teach how to experience all the possibility within it. The anticipation was the same as in his sporting contests, except this was more intense, there was something different about it. The difference was he was now a beginner, and took on the form of one just as anyone else would starting out. This is an essential first step. It creates the conditions for development and evolution. he took on the form of a nobody gladly.

That is what Rahul is like, he does everything without hesitation, absolutely uninterested in whether he can achieve victory or not. For him, there is no victory, because there is no sense of self worth or confidence. There are just ebbs and flows, it is not a linear path. This linear expectation only comes about when you identify with a particular side. “I won therefore I’m an eternal winner”. He had not yet learnt to take side. when you don’t take sides, it is impossible to conclude what will happen from any particular perspective. So right away he had to make a distinction. Was he going to win? Was he at a disadvantage? He quickly decided that he should become a winner. He didn’t really know how this would happen, so he drove this image from his mind which became blank. His approach was existential, rather than psychological. How can you experience that which you have not experienced? You become empty, devoid of anticipation or past knowledge.

At the beginning, Rahul became receptive to experience rather than what was going on in his mind. His mind had got him here, his emotion had been satisfied in staying for a while. The third step was beyond mind and emotion. It was into the unknown own he must step. He forgot to create an image of himself, to separate himself into a winner or a loser, for there was no need. He would later become both at various times, tearing himself apart in the process of heart wrenching training. But for now he was nothing, the possibilities endless.

When you are without self regard, without egotism, you see yourself as nothing but at the same time without limitation or boundary lines. The path to nowhere is an inward path, a path which starts where it ends. This makes no logical sense, but at the same time he has already left logic to one side. So Rahul is everything you would not want to be, there is no goal or timeframe. But at the same time he is a blank slate full of possibility.

The Master said to Rahul “You must fight against my chosen disciple, and whether or not you are declared winner or loser, this is just a metaphor.” This was the first hint of the masters wisdom. Rahul was intrigued. The fight is unitary, and which side you are on depends on many things. Above all, you can decide the perspective, not the situation deciding for you. So it is better to lose if that is the biggest contribution to the overall experience, the dance of duality. The aim is to destroy the limited vision of the intellectual mind, which always divides, and enter into no-mind, which always unifies. This had been Rahul’s experience thus far, he had always enjoyed the process in the many sport games he had lost himself in. Now however, he was overcome by a restlessness, a certain agitation. This was his first opponent, over which he would seek to gain victory. He did not know why this was happening. The Master said “I can see you are hungry, and to fuel the fire you must test yourself in combat”.

The Masters disciple was called Gakeet. Gakeet was a seasoned fighter. He did not play games or enjoy them. He wanted only victory. He did not yet possess the wisdom to know anything other than all out aggression. He did everything on a whim, so the master paired him up with Rahul, who was not in such a hurry to dominate. The Master always had trouble directing Gakeet, who was unstable yet powerful. Gakeet simply let the emotions of the situation charge him up. When he went about his furious ways, others regions within himself would wither away or cease to develop. He didn’t care about any of that so long as he won the fight.

To stabilise Gakeets efforts, Rahul was summoned to become the foundation of the Masters new form, which the two of them would create and perpetuate. One would balance out the other. For Rahul, there was no reason to fight, so Gakeet would rile him up to create some kind of big bang within him. Rahul would be an example for Gakeet of the other dimensions within, which one day he would need to develop. This was the real challenge, the outcome of the fight was meaningless really. T This whole process would require both to take on a role. The two of them would befit from the arrangement, and thus the rivalry began. Because Rahul formed no conclusions he always had time to spare. For Gakeet he was in a hurry to finish everything.

Gakeet took on the boxing stance, his fists held high. Rahul did the same, as this is what he had seen in all the classical forms. Gakeet was much bigger than Rahul, so naturally he was the aggressor. The master said “no headshots”. Knowing this Gakeet rushed in and started pummelling Rahul using his natural strength to his advantage. Rahul thought, “I could attack his head an any opportunity, why is this Gakeet leaving his head open to attack?” Obviously Gakeet was exploiting the rules to win, there was no other concern. Rahul received several body shots, which although powerful did not subdue him. After 2 minutes the master called an end to the contest.

Gakeet had outpointed Rahul, and at once declared himself the winner. Rahul did not feel any real contest had taken place, but it was clear he had been made an example out of. As proof of his victory, Gakeet explained how many points he had scored in the exchange. Gakeet walked away happy.

The Master turned to Rahul and said “To claim victory in an unending process, to win within rules where none exist except for technical analysis, this is the beginning of certainty. In a process where there is never any certainty, this is self deception.” He went on to say “When you become full of what you have done, then you deprive yourself of the privilege of not knowing. To awaken from ignorance to the no mind state is to enter the borderless infinite. We want this for Gakeet, and his path is different from yours. Rahul listened on.

The Master said of Gakeet, “He must must win many pointless contest to see this, and you must waste your time with him to rid yourself of any nonsense you have accumulated to exhaust your body and mind.” Rahul thought about these words. He decided that he was no better off than before, which means he is still seeking the truth. At least he had not found ignorance or untruth. He decided to agree and become the masters servant and accomplice. His job would be to continually rid himself of any accumulated matter which might build up. Gakeet on the other hand would be taught these truths by winning contests. He would have to win thousands of more times in order to leave behind this limited state of experience and move beyond it. Gakeet was told by the master that he too was chosen to teach Rahul how to become a champion like him. This is the strategy the master used, to impart the teaching in such a way that it seems like an abuse or a lie to anyone who is unwilling.

Udemy Course Update

Posted on 24th September 2023 by joeharman8 | 7 min read | 92 views

Those of you familiar with our Udemy courses, which can be found using the link on the homepage, should be made aware that they are probably being taken down. This is not something that is within our control, however it seems that the platform requires that the courses be constantly updated. I don’t know whether this is to free up space on there to keep only the most up to date and popular stuff on there, I’m not sure what their policy is. At the moment there is over a thousand students enrolled on there on our courses, which is great. No money has been made from these course, it’s simply to raise awareness and make what’s on the YouTube and website more accessible and to give it some context. At the same time, it makes everything else more clear in martial arts if it becomes demystified and common sensical, which is the aim of this intuitive martial arts business. When I say business, I’ve never been into the whole vulgar “I’m the best” mentality, or even competitive. I’ve competed only to gain knowledge nothing else.

The course themselves are very simple and require no particular training, they just introduce you to various concepts. Even so, Udemy have communicated that the content is going to be removed, so what will happen instead is that they will be re uploaded on here at some point. If I make any more, it is unlikely that they will be so organised and step by step. When I was making the videos I often froze in front of the camera, not because of nerves, but because I couldn’t think of what to say. Only when I just go through what I’m doing as it happens am I able to articulate it properly. This is because I learn by doing not by making it theoretical. So it is the experience as it unfolds that I am able to communicate, rather than memory of it happening. It tends to lose all its potency if I’m discussing what passed by attention last week or the day before. For the Udemy stuff I had to structure it is the opposite way, I had to present it in an organised conclusive way, rather than in an open ended one. This is good in some ways but limited in others.

In my opinion, the course are quite good, and there is enough there to get anyone started in martial arts. The feedback has been very good overall. However, there is some confusion about what it’s all about. I can keep going over the various points as I have been doing, but what I’m keen to do is not become misinterpreted. For example, if I say this is the way to do a kick, obviously there are other ways. However, due to industry standards, as an expert you are supposed to deliver one right way to do something. This is a huge shame for one who is seeking to expand rather than condense and dispense. It is even more shameful to turn it into an “I’m better than you” thing against others. So this is my disclosure, whatever I am presenting as a definitive answer, if relied upon as the truth it will just become a deception unless you evolve the practice further. The truth is an evolving process not a conclusion to stop you enquiring.

So I have been in a predicament not to dilute the content into something attention grabbing, but also to make it accessible enough that it appeals to the general audience. The whole point of martial arts as I understand it, is to seek it out rather than to become influenced by some marketing gimmick. In other words, to enter the training hall you need a certain commitment. it’s the same thing online, you need to be willing and to grab it, to become open to it rather than the click bait. This has always been the way, and it continues to be so today.

I’ve left things deliberately open ended and inconclusive simply because what a beginner does and what an expert does are the same thing with varying degrees of competence.The guitar virtuoso is going over the same simple notes as the novice. He adds speed, poise and variety within this simplicity. It’s nothing more than that. But it looks like something else entirely. In other words, it’s not like you do something special just because you are an intermediate or an expert, it’s just you do the simple things more fluidly as if they were totally different. This has to be experienced to be appreciated, and it is my wish that this happens to you. everything then becomes more clear. The effects are different in this sense but the process is the same. One thing the courses don’t offer is an easy way to do this, or a guaranteed way to do that. There are no promises, because it is fifty percent you in this partnership. This is not to make things unnecessarily complicated or mysterious, its just that anyone who practices a set of simple exercises over many years with commitment is bound to reach mastery, simply due to their commitment and dedication in the face of uncertain external conditions.

The message here is that it is down to your own individual will and effort to make ordinary things extra ordinary, in other words to make every day activity into a powerful possibility for yourself. So what’s on the course is neither simplistic nor complicated, it just makes more and more sense the more you practice the simple things. By digging deep into them, you evolve them in many different ways. It’s not about learning all sorts of techniques and then on to the next one. It looks like that, but really this is only operating within institutional boundaries which are not an experiential reality in practice. In this sense there are no secret techniques or step by step processes towards mastery, because this depends on the commitment of the learner, rather than some technical drill which removes uncertainty and discomfort in the learning process. The learning process is a path fraught with uncertainty, and only when you remain unwavering and single minded anyway, no matter what’s happening, will you make complete sense of martial arts teachings.

The original aim was to provide a library of content using the Udemy platform, however it seem there are too many pressures to conform to various industry standards and too much hinges upon casual reviews which may or may not reflect the quality of your experience. It was a huge effort for me to even figure out how to format it in such a way that it was aceesabll to the casual viewer. To me, whatever I’m talking about is to do with everything else, in other words there’s an underlying message which is the main point rather than the topic itself. So if I’m talking about kicking, I’m talking about punching. And if I’m talking about single-mindedness I’m talking about including everything within that. I get a sense that this has become clear over the years of delivering various courses, which makes them interesting even though there is no clear and organised structure most of the time. the Udemy courses were an exception, which is amusing for me to look at because I’m not about structure and organised formats at all. It just so happened that for a brief time I had the time to discipline myself to deliver them. The course link is below, there are more listed there too.

https://www.udemy.com/course/martial-arts-striking-techniques/learn/lecture/36153226#overview

Fullness and Emptiness

Posted on 9th September 2023 by joeharman8 | 9 min read | 97 views

Fullness and emptiness are two aspects which work together. Say you have a cup of water. You will drink the water, which will lubricate the system and go towards creating energy. This energy can be used to do various things. If you eat food, then it becomes part of your body in various ways. It can be used as energy which you immediately expend, or it can be used to regenerate cells. If you wish to regenerate cells, this takes a lot more time and energy than simply eating and then rushing off somewhere to do an everyday task. this is why various forms of energy healing rarely work in peoples experience, because in todays world they are often expected to rush around from one appointment to the next as if they never run out of energy. Either that or it is as if you just go and get a job done, and then rest if there happens to be time. However, there is never Time unless you see the value of waiting and slowing down from time to time.

When you eat food, it can be delivered to the blood, or stored in the liver. This happens in different proportions according to a persons lifestyle and approach to nutrition. Today it is common for athletes top eat blended food. This is because due to their demanding schedule, they don’t seem to have time to sit down and eat. Digestion takes a lot of time and energy if it is to be done properly. This is why elaborate rituals in the past have been established around eating. For example, in fast food restaurants you sit in an overly stimulated environment and eat sugar and salty foods. this is because the senses have been ramped up to cause a kind of craving, whether you are hungry or not. So for someone who is always stimulating the appetite unnaturally, they want to be full all of the time. This has caused all kinds of health complications. However, if you can find some time to sit and eat quietly, this not only improves digestion but also helps restore normal appetite.

The air you breathe can be used to fuel digestion, or it can simply be used to get through the day in a haphazard manner. You can use it to deeply stimulate the internal organs, or simply breathe in an everyday shallow way. All of these things, nutrition, water intake, lifestyle, and breathing, form a complex interaction which produces various results health. So the more you become conscious of all of these things, the more you can make an informed decision. If they are simply done unconsciously, the body’s processes will function just enough to eat reproduce and sleep. However, this kind of ordinary functioning can be ramped up in various ways. One such way is to become empty. As we have seen fast food environments make you feel empty when in fact you’re full. if you sit quietly, or go for a gently walk in nature for example, you are able to increase digestive functioning so that you are more aware of when you need to eat. You then eat what you need rather than out of some kind of built up compulsion through habit.

If your cup is full, then you must do some work in order to empty the cup. Emptying the cup happens in different ways. You can exert yourself in the gym, or simply sit still and let the food assimilate into the body. Or you can do both in varying degrees. So training in martial arts involves converting food into some sort of output, which shapes the person into a martial artist on the physical level. This is why in martial arts, the clean diet was stressed. By clean we simply mean not too much additive or artificial chemicals. Then you are responding to the food rather than the additional chemicals added into the food. Chemical dependance becomes a problem over time, and it is much more difficult today to find food which doesn’t have artificial elements to it. So a good ways to ensure that you diet is healthy is to not eat food which is as untreated as possible, and according to the body’s needs rather than in response to the taste buds only.

So by filling the cup, you create the conditions for emptying it is you are able to take some simple steps. Filling the cup well becomes part of emptying it properly. Emptying the cup properly happens according to certain patterns of energy which can be built up and experienced. These are the reasons for focusing on the energy meridians and chakras. When you focus on maintaining and upright and relaxed posture, you will increasingly feel these established channels operating. They do not happen at random and are a reliable source of feedback as to whether your energies are functioning well. This is known as the way in martial arts, which is beyond form because it is the basis of creating the form itself.

So when you have experienced emptiness, this creates a different kind of fullness on another level. You become more full or vigour and enthusiasm, rather than lethargic from overeating. This is so even if you don’t eat. At the same time you appetite will increase because you are more able to perform work properly as the demand is there. It is not overeating itself that creates lethargy, it is just that if you try to eat a lot of food and then set yourself down in a lazy inert way, then this energy does not convert particularly well. So there is sitting meditatively, and sitting casually. Whereas if you go for a gentle walk, or sit in an upright relaxed posture, this in itself can be a good way to burn clarions in a slow way. More accurately you are converting calories. So there is fast burning, which uses up quickly, and slow burning which happens as a long term process of transformation. it is not a question of good or bad, but if you overdo the fast burning then the need for slow burning increases due to the level of stress hormone which can build up in the body. This is why athletes are continuously looking for recovery solutions artificially.

many people only sit down in an lethargic manner. They believe that you should sit only when you are exhausted. However, you won’t make the most out of this time if you don’t put any kind of effort into the process. I’m not talking about mental or physical effort, only momentum of energy which requires a different kind of effort. For example, you can sit and perform various breathing exercises, which cause deep pressure on the organs and breathing muscles, which give you a deep core workout without moving the limbs around. This is why people athletes often go to high altitude when they train, to stimulate the core breathing muscles. This then clear the lactic acid away from the body effectively by increasing blood flow and circulation. You are then more effectively able to train even though you have not done much in the way of conditioning exercises. The same thing happens in deep breathing without the need for high altitude. Otherwise various drugs can be the way. So you actually want to be full of energy in order to do perform breathing exercises effectively, rather than just as an afterthought once you are empty in other ways. Eating food stimulates the core for this energy, which requires a certain period of rest before you can engage properly. This is why digestion is so important.

Becoming empty pesters the system into various states of need and demand. This is why people who are always exhausted can still remain active even though in many ways they are empty. They are full of a certain kind of anticipatory agitation, which is a kind of energy spike. Such people can go all out but then often require days to recharge. This kind of expenditure is enough to ensure survival, but because it is unstable requires various other kinds interventions to support. For example, the mind and emotions play a big role in supporting such states of stress, whereas one who has done the necessary preparation can become self supportive because when the energies have built up to a certain level, these energies are never wrong. The mind however can be wrong, just as emotional response can be wrong. But when the energies are driven in a powerful way, the emotions and mental energies follow in their rightful place. This is a kind of intuitive intelligence. It is not a question of better or worse, it is just that when the energy systems are cultivated to a certain extent they are able to see much more of reality than the normal mental and emotional states of energy alone.

So in Martial arts we say that to become full you need to empty the cup. At one level, this means expenditure of energy. At another level, it means conversion of energy. To heal the body after a fight or stressful situation? This obviously takes a large amount of energy if it is to be done quickly. This means that you apportion a certain amount of energy to stretching and breathing exercises for example. There are many such exercises, which can be easily found online so I will not go into detail right here now. Even a small amount of this will have some effect.

To engage in a fight or stressful situation recklessly, this is a certain expenditure of energy in itself, which obviously cannot then be converted into something else. If people thought about it carefully, they would see that massive expenditure has a knock on effect the next day. It is not that you just get though the stress of a situation and then back off and hope for the best. This is a limited approach. If you recognise the toll a situation takes on the energy systems, then it becomes immediately clear when these systems have been compromised because they reflect the tuth of a situation. Mentally you tell yourself you’ll be fine. Emotional, you are involved. There are many deceptions here. However, once the mental, physical and emotional energy shave found their appropriate place in the hierarchy, they will follow the high systems of energy, the energy body, which actually overlaps the other physical and mental bodies, and has an entire reality of its own. This is why the bodies were so called in Indian systems, because they are entire realities of experience rather than just offshoots of the physical body.

What is Real Martial Arts?

Posted on 3rd September 2023 by joeharman8 | 14 min read | 98 views

The purpose of traditional forms was not to practice them as though you were fighting. Obviously, fighting proficiency is best achieved by actual combat practice, otherwise it’s predominantly in the imagination. This largely took place experientially rather than in theory. There was no shortage of the threat of combat in the past, as it was all over the place, so it was a constant pre occupation. When something is constantly around you, it is natural to want to move beyond it. This is the case with war. It was not by avoiding it that we become more civilised, it was because we knew the serious consequences if severe efforts were not made to avoid it. This is how the world moved on from World War Two.

The question is, did the fighters of the past believe that by practicing a martial arts form without an opponent, that this was the way to learn how to fight? No, because they already knew how to fight, just as the people involved in World Wars one and two did. They could not have just picked it up before hand, because a lot of them were Youths. So it was not through training, which was very rudimentary, but through an awareness that it was needed. When people put their very lives into something, then there is no question of holding back or being unsure. You simply jump into it without thinking much, overriding the cognitive process altogether.

Today, the cognitive process is often what people validate everything with. So today, like never before, people are thinking about everything and overthinking things. this can be good or bad, however it makes everything much more complicated in many ways. However, It is this awareness of what is needed, rather than theoretical knowledge, that makes apparently difficult concepts obvious, such as what works and what doesn’t in so called real martial arts. so condition can point you in this direction, or make you avoid it altogether.

If you have got to a certain stage of development that requires survival skills, then there is no question that you will fight. You may also choose to rune away, but the important point is that you are shown through experience what needs to happen for you fighting capabilities to work in some way. This isn’t so much a training principle, but of an awareness and perception of certain realities in life. Today, we are shown different realities predominantly, for example that it is important to win a contest rather than to simply get through it irrespective of the result. However, the reality is that for many who won a fight or war, would anyway be dead slightly later, because they would be infected with something and there was no medicine, or even clean water. This is why, certain codes or conduct and moral teachings prevailed over brute force in societies. However, there is no need for this and more than there is for ongoing organised training, if you become profoundly aware of the consequences of your own actions.

Training makes the learning process a habitual one rather than simply one of life and death. This can be good or bad. Say you know how to fight, but you want to train for a particular style of competition. A certain habitual practice is engaged with to channel your activity towards a certain goal. This can be beneficial or not depending on what your circumstances and goals are. If for example, you learn to grapple properly in a match, you may be taught to avoid punching and kicking. This is wrestling. However, in a no rules setting, this attitude may make you miss what is obvious to an untrained fighter, who may even be a savage. So for most people, the middle way is best, to channel the innate aggressive tendencies into some for of productive exercise or skill set.

In the past, survival and enemies at the gates were just part of everyday life for many people. It is commonly believed that Buddhist Monks or whoever else, practiced the so called traditional arts as if they lived in total ignorance of what worked in fighting. In fact, they had usually chosen to renounce certain survival based ways of life, in order to live the temple way of life. There were many who did so out of fear or societal pressures, but there are those who did so for reasons of self evolution. This in no way presupposes that they avoided violence altogether or had no experience in it.

Say, for example, that you had numerous fights in your life and were sent to prison. You then get out, and feeling the same pattern of dishing out street justice to anyone who you think deserves it, you decide to break the cycle altogether. You can sit around in sorrow for all the bad you have done, or you can skip this step as well and go straight into action for your own development, regardless of your past. This is to become free from the cycle of karma, by taking on a new body. This is not a new physical body, but is the energy body, through which you alter the physical and mental bodies. This is the reason for imitating Buddha.

New brain patterns, habits and cellular growth can occur in the right internal environment, and it is as if the physical body becomes invigorated by the new energy systems you are working with. This is why the internal systems work from within, you can begin this process of identification before results start to show outwardly. This can be done with behaviour too, however, this is more easily achieved with the youth who naturally want to copy a role model. Another way is that it all starts with the mind, which is actually related to the body anyway through the neural pathways and other systems. This is the meaning behind the internal arts, it wasn’t to satisfy the needs of the existing nature, but to create an entirely new energy nature and form, which altered the physical in many ways. There were many ways of doing this, but essentially cells come and go, being replaced every few years, so it is important to establish new patterns of growth too over time. This is different from just copying a system of martial arts superficially and expecting such impressions to make a profound inner change.

So breaking the cycle of the past is known as breaking the karmic bond, which means through your actions you overcome your limitations. This is obviously difficult, because others around you may assume you’re getting soft or not understand. However, the reality for many fighters is that they feel the need to break free from certain societal pressures which they react to with violence, but they don’t have the tools. Otherwise the fear ending up in prison and wasting their lives. It is obvious to them because it is something strain g at them constantly. It may be realised intellectually too. The point is, that when you are familiar with something intimately, you naturally want to see what’s beyond it rather than just stay there. If something is fleeting anyway, then you just want to hold one to it in many cases.

For the people of the past, it cannot be the case that they were somehow ignorant of stress and violence. In those days society would have been steeped in war and threat for ones survival, if not from an invader then from the natural conditions of the environment. Growing up in such circumstances, it wasn’t that you could just chose to take part of not. The situation melded you. These threats included simply getting infected by a blade someone might be carrying, or poisoned by an animal for instance. This means you can’t hunt for food and you can’t feed your family. You had to be clever. Then, there is no question of honour and victory because the basic conditions for survival have not been maintained if you slip up.

So for one who is constantly engaged in holding onto survival, there is no spare resources for much else. at the same time there is a driving force to move beyond it. So this is the Yin and Yang, the push and pull, which are very much connected. At the same time, if your whole life becomes martial arts, then you do not need to rely on theories and styles. This does not mean that you training repeatedly, only that you whole being becomes martial arts, which simply means turning warfare into an art. Art is war, and war is art. This can be the inner or outer form of warfare, depending on the individual and context.

So due to the fact that an opponents blade could infect you and you would lose an arm, it was not considered particularly good to go out and look for a fight. It was not considered glorious as it might be today. There were no such pretentiousness. There was an inner sense of who could pose a threat and who couldn’t, which is still true today. When you know the consequences, no one can tell you “If you do this technique, you will be safe”. The stakes are too high and you know better through your experience and life knowledge. In society nowadays there are still such dangers, but these are in the back of peoples minds. This is particularly the case when people try to learn martial arts. For example, you might try a techniques on someone without the awareness that at any time, there could be an opponents friends ambushing you at any moment. The attention gets fixated on a techniques rather than the environment. This is good practice but a bad habit to get into in the wider environment.

So when there are so many considerations, multiple opponents, dangers of minor injuries having fatal consequences, it is not so simple as dedicating your time to practicing a particular style. You cannot formalise something into a system in that sense. You have to bet your life on it, otherwise it’s not worth it. You also had no theory about what worked, because necessity is the mother of invention, which means if it didn’t work you were dead. This sense of urgency brings out a whole new level of attention to detail and awareness, which is rare today. Therefore, to make up some theoretical system of self defence against an opponent was not a luxury that could be afforded to most people at many points in human history.

Once violence and day to day strife is assumed to be a given, you no longer need to condition yourself to some kind of fighting system, because war is an everyday reality. Even if it doesn’t happen to you, you may still sense a deep feeling of loss or victory, depending on the situation. For example, because communities were much tighter in the past, what happened to you happened to everyone nearby. On the individual level, when you develop a certain inutuitve sense of empathy, it is possible to feel the loss of you opponent as if it were you. This has always been my experience, that I often can’t tell what is my victory or my loss. On the other hand, you can also feel victory yourself without any need for a particular result1. It is not that it needs to affect you directly, but you feel it like you might watching the emotional ups and downs of a reality TV show which you experience through others and yourself.

If you go out looking for a fight, it means your family won’t be fed if you end up in bed for a few days recovering. This was the reality for most of human history. If you get through a fight and injure ankle for instance, then your ability to work the land all day is impaired greatly. You’re as good as dead. Emotionally speaking, engaging in fighting is a costly endeavour, so bringing up the family whilst being a fighter and waking up emotionally drained from a contest has to be factored in. Contests of high intensity are costly in terms of energy, which is a pre requisite for serious spiritual training. By spiritual I mean inner martial arts. So serious competition and violence costs a lot. This is even the case today with modern comforts and systems of recovery and medical care, and many athletes put life on hold until they retire. So it is not difficult to imagine what it would have been like to become a fighter as well as raise a family, have limited life expectancy, and no medical care in the not so distant past. The life expectancy up until relatively recently may have been around 30 years old, so to get everything in order before then would not be possible if you were constantly battling the people unnecessarily.

It is only in modern times, where we are fortunate enough to live in relative ease and comfort, that we have the choice whether or not to engage in some sort of martial arts fighting system. Before, you’d better be ready to fight at any time, and more importantly you’d better be aware of how to strategically avoid fighting most of the time. It is possible even today to obtain this level of awareness but it is increasingly rare. The systems of martial arts were set up to fulfil certain social obligations to society, much like the systems of sport are today. There are other ways of going about it, and other things that can be done, but for the most part people equate an organised system with the practice itself. This is a goos starting point and it is not necessary that everyone achieved the same mastery, but it gives everyone the opportunity to become aware of certain possibilities. So today, this is the role of martial arts, to demonstrate how to improve and progress, which is up to the individual to decide for themselves.

When I look at the forms of Tai Chi for instance, it is obvious to me that these things were performed as an internal medicine because that was what was missing then, not the ability to fight. Now that health is taken for granted through medicine, it is equally obvious that there is a need to remind people of their roots by engaging in martial arts. If this is obvious to you, then there is no need for such organised practice, except for such things as competition and social recognition. Anyone who has practiced these for a number of years and looks at themselves will see the possibilities contained within some of the most simple exercises.

Avoidance is not necessarily through incapability but through necessity. Anyway, anybody when they are under constant pressure all the time is vulnerable to collapse. we are beginning to see this more and more, as for various reasons stress is happening more widely even with increased comfort and ease. The societies of the past obviously knew how to survive, probably better than now, and their well being was completely related to competence and survival. So to combat the modern problems, I think it is essential to become aware of the same level of urgency towards health and well being that was the case for our ancestors regarding survival. Because really there is not much difference whether you are lieing in bed due to injury or due to certain states of depression. Both are dangerous to ones physical and mental health in different ways, and certainly your energy for supporting life. This is the value of the inner practices, such as breathing and traditional forms.

References

1 How to experience Victory all the time http://intuitivemartialarts.com/2023/08/23/how-to-experience-victory-all-the-time/

Martial Arts is a Chess Game

Posted on 24th August 2023 by joeharman8 | 13 min read | 98 views

It is often said that martial arts is like a game of chess. What does this mean exactly? Well, a game of chess is not any different from any other game. You plan the moves you make, expanding your repertoire in preparation for the game. These are typical exercises in martial arts, such as punching and kicking drills for instance. And then when you go into the match, you concentrate your focus, moment by moment, on the move you are about to make one at a time. This one at a time is not in terms of stopping and starting the match. This happens in real time, like driving on the motorway. If you over think driving on the motorway, you will likely miss what’s happening on the road and suffer from anxiety about the whole thing. this is what happens when we overthink martial arts at the wrong times, outside of specific drills and scenarios. This doesn’t mean we forget the drills, these become imbedded in our procedural knowledge. It’s just that too much output from thoughts prevents enough input from the unfolding experience of reality that is in front of us.

So it isn’t that you gather a collection of combined movements and try to play those out in the match. we are not repeating history This may be what you do in training, but not in the live situation of a martial arts match, or self defence. In the match or contest itself, you only need to think about one move at a time, even if you end up doing several. These single one moves blend seamlessly together as if they were rehearsed, but in fact this is the dance itself playing out spontaneously and fluidly. If the mind becomes flooded with too many thoughts when this is going on, then all that tends to happen is that anxiety builds up and emotions take over. In a way this prevents overthinking by provoking an emergency burst of energy to ensure your survival instincts take over from thought. But this is a back up system, what we want to do is find a method to get it right in the first instance. This is why, in a chess match or martial arts, you think one move at a time, but with the utmost intensity. In this way your thoughts transform into effective action rather than a distraction.

So as in Chess, the same for Martial arts. This is a game that plays out fluidly, and can be broken down and analysed post mortem, after it has finished. If you try to process what’s in front of you at the same time as trying to remember what you did in training, then basically everything, thoughts, emotions, and information, comes in at a rapid pace. At this pace, everything becomes excessively stressful and impossible to process as events happen in from of you. This is the cause of competition stress, it becomes too burdensome to do this. Then, you will probably end up going behind in the match. People hold on to their thoughts because they haven’t found an effective way to transform them into action. However, the natural transformation of thought into action can happen only when the mind is free to evolve and respond as needed.

This was my experience early on in my competition years. I would try to remember what to do, and then all of a sudden the match would be over. The opponent was more present than me, and I was trying to condense the experience to my limited sphere of understanding at the time. As time went on, I learnt to have a basic strategy that my instructor would shout from the side lines, such as “Step outside” or “Left Kick’. These were just reminders rather than commands, and I was familiar with the terminology so it triggered a certain reminder of what to do intuitively. This allowed me to react more swiftly and in real time. This cannot be taught, it can just be experienced and transmitted to others for them to put into action themselves.

Having a rigid plan just causes too much tension within the system to respond properly. This is alright if your opponent is handpicked or not very competent. In any case, it is not about beating the opponent, it is about performing and experience life at the highest level possible. If you strive for this, then many of your illusions about your own limitations will simple fall to the floor. They are largely imagined because you think of yourself as a beginner or an expert, or some other conclusion you might have made for yourself. But even then, anyone can rise to the occasion surprise you. When I used to watch other competitors, one strategy I used was to watch fighters who were beaten badly and kept fighting. This is how I wanted to be. So I looked for those fighters who were completely able but took on a situation that didn’t favour them. I found that usually this helped them evolve as competitors, whereas fighters that had it easy early on where often protected and stagnated when things got too much later in their careers.

If you just focus on what you have to do in the moment with total clarity, then not only will you react faster, but you will also respond appropriately in ways you could not pre determine in advance. A whole new possibility is then opened in your experience as you go with it. This involves a level of reckless abandon, which if handled appropriately with the right discipline, ends up being the safest option. This is the case if you have already assimilated a number of years of training and are familiar with the basic movements which make up a martial arts contest. You also have to develop an iron will and an unstoppable attitude. So you want wide exposure to various exercises, but it is not necessary to win these training exercises, just to gain exposure1. If you have no experience, then of course a limited game will play out. So familiarise and plan to the extent that you can, but don’t make the mistake of thinking this will make the process happen by itself. This is because the training is not the contest, they are two separate things. You can train to get more familiar with the live situation, or to get familiar with the various movements. But you can never train the perception, because it is at the core of who you are.

The core of who you are is your perceptual awareness. This need not be trained, it needs to be released and unhindered, that’s all. If you are worried about the outcome, who you might let down, whether you’ll lose sponsorship, or whatever else, then you are not functioning from the core of who you are. Therefore, you will be less than what you are capable of. People rely on you, that’s great. But you can never live up to this anyway. They will rely on your still even if you lose, if you become an evolving process of success. In martial arts, it is said that you must be the best you can be. This says nothing about winning or losing, because these are self defined2. This does not mean you practice the moves and then try to make them happen in a live situation unconsciously. There needs to be awareness, full consciousness, then you are becoming what you really are. Otherwise it is a shadow of what you are capable of, even if you win this or that. This is why, traditionally, the outcome was not planned or worried about in advance. Not because they didn’t want to win or become good, but because the only crime in martial arts to is become less than you can be, which is to divide you attention in critical moments.

If you get beaten in a match, then there is nothing wrong with that. If you lose because you didn’t play the game with enough involvement and attention to being present, then this is not acceptable. If that happens, the only thing to do is learn and move forward. This can be a vital lesson, so there are no mistakes really. If you train hard for as longs it takes, and then fully immerse yourself in the game, then this is the best way to maximise your chances of success. I understand this goes against every competitive mindset in the martial arts industry, but don’t go out and try to reduce it to the exercises you have performed in various scenarios.

Don’t try to win everything, just focus on what needs to happen right now, al, the time. If you increase the scope of your experience, then naturally growth will happen. Your focus on one thing will come to encapsulate everything. This is why I’m always talking about increasing your awareness and being present, because then you become increasingly aware of what isn’t obvious at first rather than just what is immediately obvious. So start with a punch, and then see that it naturally relates to other things. When you were a baby, a staircase seemed like a mountain. It wasn’t a mountain, because you saw it later for what it really was rather than retaining this limited vision. So when you work on your vision, and see things for what they really are, then everything fits together properly. you can then analyse everything properly because you are seeing it from a transformed perspective which is less and less limited. This is chess in action. So you can only do the right technique one move at a time. If you do that with full attention, then the next move is taken care of too because one leads to the other. And so on.

So we have looked at how to make sure you are present, and doing the appropriate move, making the appropriate response in that moment. So any talk about the right move, or the correct technique to use, has to be understood in terms of perceptually seeing one move at a time. It is only in the mind that these things are one at a time or disconnected. One move is actually many when you experience it totally immersed in the game, whatever that game is. You cannot do any more than this, but you can do that well or not so well. This knowledge will prove decisive in whatever you do if you apply it properly. this doesn’t mean you need to disagree with others, who may be of the opinion that planning needs to be excessive.

Excessively planning is exploitative or exclusive, because it includes only the educated in a particular style or discipline, leaving out vast sections of society from participating. This is business, to respond to the market. When the potential market is untapped, this is where the true opportunities lie. So my approach with this website is to hopefully one day include many more rather than just working with the existing numbers. Those who are established move beyond their confines anyway at a certain point, so they will know what I’m talking about.

Say you want to win a contest in a particular fashion. This situation may or may not present itself, because it is in your imagination. It is not necessarily doing the right move for that present moment in front of you, which is reality. The mind grasps little bits and pieces of the past, which are a reflection of the present moment. Many competitors who were good in the past lose sight of this simple fact, and get beaten out of nowhere seemingly. Even memories are distorted, taking on new shapes as time goes by which is why the mind remains flexible, grasping onto different possibilities and changing those as the situation in front of you unfolds. This is adaption, and it means the memories of the past were never fixed. This can be liberating. So in reality you can only make one appropriate move at a time, because the past impressions are not complete by themselves. They need to see the light of day in the present experience.

You can plan, to some extent, what the opponent might do. However, if they themselves do not know what to do, then they are as clueless as you. This cluelessness is called nothingness, or letting go. Actually, this is the most dangerous kind of opponent, because they are just responding rather than thinking and then responding in a two step process. There is only one process here, which is precisely what is meant by emptying the mind. The mind is emptied when it contains a thought which you let pass and unfold as need by the situation. So you can only give your attention to one thing at a time. If you are trying to think of a tune in your head, it is impossible to think of another at the same time. at the same time it can evolve into something else and take on a new tune. So becoming mindful and present in this process is more important than any plans and conclusions you may have planned.

If you are playing chess, you can only move one move at a time.You then observe the opponent, what they do, and how they respond. They may not respond appropriately, so you dominate in the exchange by imposing your will on them. If you don’t see this and you respond according to what you think should happen, you end up missing such an easy opportunity. This happens all the time in martial arts, and elsewhere. People miss such easy opportunities because the respect the oppoionet t too much, or miss what is obvious because they are not paying attention consciously to the present moment unfolding in front of them. In other words, theory gets in the way of reality, and it becomes a two step process rather than direct perception. It is then like experiencing things through a mirror rather than as they are totally. This is because they think they’re so good that they need not pay the proper attention.

Play the chess game well and everyone will see whether you’re good or not. Attention is everything and opens up all possibilities. The good thing is that this can happen right away without training. Then your existing training begins to make more sense. So what I’m saying does not invalidate anything else, it’s just about experiencing things more absolutely. Experience has nothing to do with thoughts and imagination about how good or bad you might think you are. To experience the contest in thought only, rather than the perception that makes these thought even possible, is too limited by itself. So go direct to the source, the human attention which perceive reality as it really is.

References

1 https://wordpress.com/post/intuitivemartialarts.com/2572

2 https://wordpress.com/post/intuitivemartialarts.com/2576