Kung-fu is an art that entails not only self defense skills and getting in shape, but also teaches about the development of mind, body and spirit and how one can grow in all aspects of life. When our personal awareness is cultivated from within these three areas, it will reflect in our relationships with all people, the planet and the universe. In China, the spiritual and physical realms are traditionally not seen as separate.
In martial arts an important grounding force is learning to originate all your moves from the tan tian, (known as the sea of chi.) The psychic center that protects the center of gravity and produces a reservoir of force from which one can draw energy. It is located about two inches below the navel and inward in the body. In the martial arts tradition, it is the source of all power; our life force. Chi is defined as energy that can be directed through visualization from the tan tien to places outside the body. It is from this center that martial artists draw power to break concrete. When you study martial arts, you learn to use the breath to create a connection between the mover and the movement. Sometimes, when we are under pressure, threatened or intimidated, we move away from our power center into our head, where we can undermine ourselves. This rooting power centers the mind and body, so it is difficult to be dislodged or intimidated. From here you are able to control your mental states.
In martial art classes, white belts can be the most dangerous to spar with and are most likely to hurt you. Once while sparring with a white belt ground fighter, I had the advantage and this outraged my opponent. She lost control and flipped my legs behind my head, putting her full weight on me until my sternum separated from my ribs. I had to be rushed to the emergency room. A highly ranked martial artist will remain calm, unemotional and will have mastered their ego. It would be safest to spar with a partner such as this.
The spirit and feeling in training should be harmonious, working together as partners, not opponents. Working with another person helps both progress more rapidly. Working against someone is dangerous, as a calm disposition is essential in order to act with accurate judgment of your partner's movement.
Success is measured not by rank, but how the student's life improves. By learning to manage energy and emotions, and letting go of the need to be right, students become masters over their actions, rather than prisoners of their reactions. In ancient cultures, students studying martial arts disciplines did not practice to obtain a rank or belt. They practiced to develop themselves physically, mentally and spiritually. In Kung-fu, T'ai Chi and Karate the competitor seeks to lose all distractions of ego, analysis and self-referring thoughts, immersing him or herself completely within the activity. This is also known as being in the zone or flow.
In life there are many levels on which we can be attacked, but not just physically. Being centered physically reflects in being centered emotionally. How this translates into daily life is by not overreacting, avoiding conflict, standing ground, and allowing others to have their opinion without feeling like you have to convince them that you are right.
If you allow yourself to become defensive, a cycle is set in motion and, before you know it, the conflict has spiraled into negativity that has nothing to do with the truth at hand. Instead of making people over in a certain image or trying to force them to do things in a certain way, if we practice detachment, compassion and acceptance we create harmony. This positive state of mind prevents us from getting pulled into things that don't serve us or the higher good.
Part of the training in martial arts includes learning how to fall and to trust that you won't get hurt. We are often afraid of falling and hurting ourselves literally and figuratively. This can manifest as common fears ... fear of failure, falling in love and of the unknown. In all of our lives we sometimes fall or feel out of control. Learning how to fall physically without hurting yourself and bouncing right back up is an empowering lesson that teaches us we can come back from anything with speed and wisdom.
In meditation or moving meditation, we have access to an inner sanctuary to retreat; a safe haven, a place no one can ever touch or destroy, available to us at any time.
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I was speaking to a business associate Rose Simmons, just the other day about this subject and then your article came out re: Meditation, power-projection and being centered. Really.. thank you for your insight and devotion to the art of self empowerment and helping others.
I always become even more aligned after reading your article
Do you have a book coming out?
Dino Morra
CEO
Dino Morra Face and Body Care
DM. Global Care Charities.
peace, or the sensation of peace, is generated from a feeling of strength, physical, mental, spiritual, or all of the above. i know of no one, from buddha to the latest new age champion who achieved this state without a long, internal if not external, struggle, or "fight". there are the great, short, intense battles we all encounter and then there are the long, cool, simmering battles that last lifetimes.
martial arts, at their highest level are a recognition that nature forever presents these battles and that learning and transcendence comes from learning how to negotiate and mine these moments.
the tree does not have an intention to fight the wind. It is simply a tree. The wind does not intend to know the tree down, is simply the wind. When these forces interact, they do so according to their natures. It is not a battle. It is an encounter of forces. The trees do not fight. They are simply trees.
Peace is not a sensation. A sensation is something like the rush of cold shower, cool breeze, or relaxation of after a sip of hot chocloate. Peace is state of being. One does not struggle for peace. Certinaly phyical fiteness is not a precondition for peace. There are no real preconditions other than a mental facility that is not chemically or structuarlly altered in a way to prevent it, and the lack of resistance to what is happening. Martial Arts, in its highest form, is exactly that. Non-resistance. That is not to be confused with non violence.
"Part of the training in martial arts includes learning how to fall and to trust that you won't get hurt. We are often afraid of falling and hurting ourselves literally and figuratively. This can manifest as common fears ... fear of failure, falling in love and of the unknown."
The Psoas is the falling response so I too associate it with letting go and falling but really that sense of falling is more accurately the ability to get over oneself - literally and figuratively...getting aligned with the flow of gravity and being moved.....