The Intelligent Warrior: Command Personal Power with Martial Arts Strategies

The Principle of Relativity

When your body receives an impression of an attack, it will instantaneously react with the fight-or-flight response and, depending on the nature of the impression, will react with different levels of intensity. Generally speaking, the more extreme the attack the greater the reaction. So when dealing with the concept of self-defence we must understand the scale that these reactions can fall into. The attack does not necessarily have to be a physical attack against you; it could be something on a smaller scale such as verbal abuse or negative thought. As you can see from Figure 4, at one end of the scale there are life-threatening attacks, including attacks with weapons or by multiple opponents. At the other end of the scale are the ways in which we attack ourselves, including negative and depressive thoughts. Initially it may not be clear why we need to study such a wide scale but, as you will see later, we respond to many of life’s minor conflicts with our instinctual fight-or-flight response and we can gain valuable insights and experience of ourselves in such situations, which will help immeasurably to deal with the more intense reactions of extreme situations.

FIGURE 4

Principle of Resonation

The Principle of Resonation is one of the governing principles of vibration that I will refer to frequently throughout the book.

The principles of sound dictate that the vibration of any object is communicated through the atmosphere in waves. Each note of the musical scale vibrates at its own frequency, thus each sound wave is shaped uniquely according to its pitch. When two objects with similar pitches are in close proximity to each other, such as two guitars, the vibration purposely caused on one – say, the plucking of the B-string – will cause the B-string on the second guitar to also vibrate (with less intensity) because it resonates at a similar level. This principle is also known as sympathetic vibration and it relates to holistic self-defence in two basic ways:

1 Being in close proximity to someone who is in an emotionally agitated state will tend to make you resonate a similar state (this is similar to when someone has an ‘infectious’ laugh).

2 If you develop a certain quality or skill in the body (such as a sense of balance) it will tend to resonate a similar quality in the mind and emotions. The Chambers Dictionary (1994) uses this example in its definition of the word ‘resonance’: The complex of bodily responses to an emotional state, or of emotional responses to a situation.

Internal Conversation

Internal conversation is a subject broached by almost every system of Meditation that I have studied. Awareness of the continual conversation that churns inside our heads and the gradual conviction of its totally habitual nature is one of the first goals of Meditation. Internal conversation has a tendency towards negativity and being judgmental. Gaining a certain degree of freedom from internal conversation is essential for the Intelligent Warrior for internal conversation prevents us from receiving the impressions from the outside world directly. For example, something someone says triggers (action/reaction cycle) an association in your mind and you immediately start engaging in an internal conversation about it. This means that you are not only taking in the impression of the person talking directly but also listening to your own conversation, which is likely to lead you to lose track of what they are saying.

Internal conversation is also sometimes known as associative thinking because it uses associations to self-perpetuate. For instance, you are reading these words when suddenly your stomach grumbles, you tell yourself you are hungry and deserve a break, you start to think about what you are going to eat, perhaps imagine going to your favourite sandwich shop and recall bumping into an old friend the last time you were there, recall some of the things you used to do when you were younger, think ‘What a long time ago that was, is it really 10 years?’, ‘What have I done with that time? I should have taken that other job…’ and so on. At the same time, you sat in exactly the same place trying to read. If left unchecked this associating will go on relentlessly from the moment we wake up to the moment we fall asleep and rob us of many experiences and opportunities available in the present moment.

Internal conversation walks hand in hand with daydreaming and provides a running dialogue to the pictures thrown up by your mind. As mentioned previously, there is a tendency for this habitual talking to turn negative so our daydreams can end up with a picture of ourselves begging on the streets or something equally catastrophic! The Intelligent Warrior must learn to protect himself or herself against internal conversation because it burns a tremendous amount of energy, destroys self-esteem and has a tendency to increase in intensity when in a stressful situation.

Attachment, Detachment and Nonattachment

The concept of attachment, detachment and nonattachment comes directly from Taoism and is basically another expression of balance in that attachment can be seen as the Yang principle, detachment as the Yin principle and nonattachment as the balancing force between them. When a conflict or powerful event occurs in our life it makes us react. Our reaction then tends to polarize into either Yang (attachment), where we become obsessed by the occurrence, cannot stop talking or thinking about it and may even take some rash action on account of this, such as accusing someone of something before we have all the facts. The opposite reaction, Yin (detachment), is where we try to deny that the event ever occurred and pretend that the problem does not exist – for example, many people get into serious financial difficulties because they are afraid to face up to mounting debts and so avoid, for instance, opening any credit card statements. What these two reactions have in common is that they burn a lot of energy and stop you from seeing the event in an objective light, in turn stopping you from taking the appropriate action, which always involves an intelligent decision. Nonattachment allows you to sense these Yin and Yang perspectives simultaneously for in reality an Intelligent Warrior needs them both. The Yang reaction teaches us not to be blasé about events; it is the power by which we take action on something and gives us the strength to ‘grab the bull by the horns’. However, without the sensitivity from the Yin perspective, which teaches us to hold back perhaps to gather more information or to read the situation fully, we will be in danger of becoming a ‘bull in a China shop’ and making a particular situation a lot worse than it was to start out with.

The way to practise nonattachment is always to move into the present moment, for it is only here that you can pull your energy away from the imbalanced reaction. This is one of the skills developed in the practice of Meditation. By doing this we learn to become more sensitive to the Yin and Yang reactions within ourselves so that eventually any small fluctuation is sensed. A good working example would be when an experienced poker player makes himself or herself very quiet inside and enters into the present moment in order to read the tiny reactions (called ‘poker tells’) given off by the other players that give away their bluffs or inability to conceal excitement over the cards they are holding. This allows the Intelligent Warrior to know ‘when to hold them and when to fold them’ as the country singer Kenny Rogers would say!

Another helpful way of visualizing this essential concept is to look at Figure 5. Here we see our Yin and Yang reactions represented in a waveform, which tends to be how emotional reactions operate – we go up but at some point there is a corresponding low. Moreover, each situation will make you react in a slightly different way (for instance, even the most aggressive bouncer may try to avoid a confrontation with his wife when drunkenly stumbling in late after work!).

The key to nonattachment is firstly to ensure that when you are up (Yang) and taking direct action on something you remain aware of the Yin principle. For instance, be sensitive to the effect you are having on the situation. Secondly, make sure that when you are down (Yin) you to try to find the Yang energy. For instance, the classic Yin reaction is depression and, as any experienced therapist will tell you, the key to relieving depression is to take action. So, instead of getting depressed about money problems, for example, face them and take action to rectify the situation.

FIGURE 5

Nonattachment does not mean that you suppress your reactions – reactions are part of what is to be human and are necessary for life – but it does mean that you become more sensitive to them in order to sense earlier when you are being pulled off balance. This is represented by the smaller waveform that is close to the straight line (the point of balance) and is a much finer level of vibration or sensitivity. In this way, you learn not to commit so much energy to your reactions, which will in turn allow you to pay more attention to your goals.

Preparation for the Unexpected

As mentioned earlier, we must always keep in mind what it is that Martial Art is training us for. The aim of this book is to gain an insight into how Martial Art strategies and practices can help you in everyday situations. Therefore, we must learn how to prepare for this eventuality. One of the main differences between martial sport and Martial Art is the fact that in a sport conflict situation (for instance a tournament bout) you know where, you know when, you know how (what rules) and you know whom you are going to fight. A real situation, on the other hand, very often means that you do not know any of these things. Martial Art should teach you to be prepared for the unexpected and then to be able to adapt almost instantaneously to the conflict as it unfolds. I once witnessed a cyclist riding down the road in a busy city centre, quite obviously daydreaming about being somewhere else. As the cyclist rode down the road, a careless van driver (who was about 10 metres away) opened his door and the cyclist continued towards it, saw it just in time, then reacted instinctively by swerving. The cyclist missed the door but his overreaction meant that he lost his balance and came crashing heavily to the ground.

This story illustrates very well what a real conflict situation is like. The cyclist was daydreaming and not living in the present moment. This state of ‘waking sleep’ tends to be extremely common in the average human being and because of it, the cyclist was not aware of the door opening soon enough to recognize it and make a controlled evasive manoeuvre. Instead, it was left to the cyclist’s reflexes, operating at a much finer level of recognition, to perform the manoeuvre. However, he over steered due to his body’s adrenaline reaction and consequently his balance was destroyed and no further riding technique was possible. The situation happened totally out of the blue – one minute the cyclist was daydreaming of holiday beaches or winning the lottery and the next minute the cruel reality of life almost literally slapped him in the face. His inner state changed with lightning speed from one of habitual daydreaming to one of extreme fear. In that split second his whole life and state of being had changed, perhaps not forever but certainly for the near future. This is exactly what happens in any unexpected situation.

So, we must first build a robust state of awareness so that opening doors, depressive thoughts, abusive parents or bosses, or physical attacks do not surprise us and we become aware of their presence at the earliest opportunity. We must then build a presence that is strong enough to deal with the situation, as opposed to an absence (a symptom of which is the aforementioned daydreaming). Then and only then will we be able to rely on any technique that we may have learned to deal with the attack.

The Four Main Areas of Study

Having studied Martial Art now for over 25 years, it has become clear to me that there are four main areas of study that need to be addressed. These areas make up as it were the anatomy of a martial artist. They are each linked and interdependent on one another, and provide a different perspective of the same picture. A practical understanding of each area is essential if one is hoping to study Martial Art authentically. The four main studies are:

1 Meditation: This is really about the relationship you have with yourself and it opens the lines of communication between your mind and your body via sensation. This develops a state of awareness sensitive to both the inner (Yin) and outer (Yang) aspects of your life and strengthens the balance between your body, mind and spirit; I will refer to this balance as your presence. Awareness and presence form your first and second lines of defence respectively.

2 Chi Kung: The practice of Chi Kung harmonizes breath and movement. It is, if you like, a moving form of Meditation. It develops internal energy, strengthens the natural breath processes and develops freedom of movement. Chi Kung enables you to meditate whilst moving.

3 Martial Science: This is the study of body mechanics and the laws that govern human aggression. It is the study of techniques and their applications. It introduces various strategies based on common patterns of attack. By studying Martial Science, you will learn how to meditate whilst in relation to another human being.

4 Martial Art: Martial Art trains your ability to express yourself in all kinds of conflict situations. This is the culmination of the previous areas of study. It allows you to find areas in your life where you can apply your self-defence skills. Martial Art enables you to meditate whilst dealing with real situations in your life (as opposed to the artificial setting of a dojo or gym).

An Energetic Language

An Intelligent Warrior needs to develop an energetic language, a communication with his/her own body that allows them to experience their study from the perspectives of the body, mind and spirit. It is only by working from this perspective that we can make the written word come alive, and the process of embodiment can take place. Over time, Westerners have become increasingly more divorced from their own bodies; they view it from the outside, looking back at themselves as if in a mirror and asking questions such as: ‘Am I desirable?’ ‘Are they better than me?’ ‘Are they better looking than I am?’ This is a symptom of a materially based society, and in such a society, it is inevitable that we start to see our own bodies as material objects and begin to have attitudes towards them. This in turn may bring feelings of isolation, of separation from ourselves and the world around us; we are wary of people, suspicious of ulterior motives, anxious about the future or afraid of being alone. In this way we become strangers to ourselves, always commenting and judging with our internal conversation and becoming increasingly vulnerable to one of the most powerful fears in man: the fear of loneliness or from another perspective the fear of not being loved. We have lost the ability to sense our bodies from the inside, to connect, appreciate and celebrate the feeling of life itself within us. Therefore, perhaps the greatest benefit of studying Martial Art is to regain the ability to connect with one's own life and the energies that animate it.

PART ONE

MEDITATION

In terms of meaning, consciousness (mind), energy, and the body are clearly defined as three facets or cooperating functions within one indivisible system. Among these, mind is the initiator of systematic movement, so it is the directorate, or high command. Energy is the capacity of systematic movement. The body is the army. Ming and Weijia (1994: 11)

Before your opponent can strike you they must first rummage around to find an available hand to do so. Sun Li

Introduction

The word ‘Meditation’ conjures up many different images in people's minds, from shaven-headed Buddhist monks to stoned hippies to New Age dilettantes. Therefore, before beginning our study of Meditation we must clearly define what it is. The word ‘Medi-tation’ originates from the same root as the words ‘mediate’, ‘medi-um’, ‘medi-an’ and, most interestingly, ‘medi-cine’. This is significant, not as an etymological exercise, but as a clue as to why the word was first used to describe the practice. We find signposts pointing towards a sense of balance (mediate) and of being in the middle (medium, median), and a hint that somehow this has a part to play in healing (medicine). So, what exactly are we ‘mediating’ between when we engage in the practice of Meditation? Moreover, what part does it play in Martial Art?

In the practice of Meditation, we are trying, via our attention, to facilitate a connection between the mind and body, which is the foundation that holistic self-defence is built upon. It has been said, in various ways and in many different traditions and teachings, that humans have two bodies: the physical body and, for want of a better phrase, ‘the body of attention’. Our physical bodies are rooted in the present moment and, as the laws of time and space govern them, cannot be anywhere else. However, the body of attention is not rooted in the present moment but has the ability to project itself into the past, the future (through use of the memory or imagination) and/or to a different place (than the physical body). This is commonly known as daydreaming and occurs frequently, for example, how many times have you found yourself turning the page in the book that you are reading to find that, while your eyes read the words, your mind was elsewhere and did not register them? Your physical body had not moved but had remained sitting, continuing the task it had been given (reading), but your body of attention had disappeared to another place in time. The work of the meditative process is to bring the body of attention back into the physical body and to strengthen their connection so that they are less likely to separate so easily. It is only when the physical body and the body of attention are together that we can truly enter into the present moment and receive the many and varied impressions, both from inside and outside, available to us. I cannot emphasize enough the profoundness of this connection and its importance in applying Martial Art to life.

Awareness and Presence

The type of Meditation that is presented here is what I would call Dynamic Meditation and has been specifically developed for the purpose of holistic self-defence. Unlike most usual forms of Meditation, which are done in a sitting or lying position, Dynamic Meditation is done supporting your own weight in a standing position. It is broken down into two complementary halves: Inner and Outer Meditation. Inner Meditation deals with the connection to various aspects of our physicality via our attention – each aspect brings a particular quality or skill to self-defence techniques. Outer Meditation develops the devices we use to receive impressions from the outside world: the senses. Before bringing the two halves together to form one whole awareness, they should first be studied and developed separately, but together they form the basis for the first two lines of defence: awareness and presence.

1 Awareness, along with presence, is the first line of defence. If we are not aware that something is attacking us then we cannot apply any intelligence to protect ourselves from it. Awareness is twofold – we have awareness of the physical world around us, but also an awareness of what is going on inside ourselves, such as muscular tension, emotional agitation or internal conversation. By meditating we are bringing the inner and outer aspects together into what the American Indians sometimes describe as a ‘seamless web of awareness’. This web functions as an early warning system so that we are not surprised by an attack; it is like radar, or a scout listening to the ground for the sound of approaching hooves. A certain degree of awareness will always be present in the body – many of our instinctive defence mechanisms are triggered by an almost unconscious awareness but this unconscious awareness only goes so far. In terms of what we are trying to study in this book, we wish to understand the mechanics of awareness and to develop this potential.

2 Presence is really the aforementioned balance between the body, mind and spirit, for when these three aspects of our being come into harmony and we are ‘present’, a tangible force emanates. Presence starts with the ability to allow some degree of attention to return to your physical body (“come to our senses”), not daydreaming or engaging in internal conversations but feeling your body at this moment in time. This is suggested in the very word ‘presence’: to be ‘present’, or ‘presense’ (what comes before the senses). Thus, without attention in the body, in other words if the attention is not connected to the senses, you cannot ‘open’ to the present moment, which is the only place that the relationship between your body, mind and spirit can be forged and maintained.

Through the process of Meditation we aim to strengthen this heightened state of awareness and presence. We aim to bring the body, mind and spirit into a state of integration to act as a safeguard, because when we feel fearful, anxious or stressed the relationship between the body, mind and spirit has a tendency to disintegrate. An example of this occurred when I was younger and living in Oxford, England. One day I was sitting on a bus when it stopped outside Queen’s College and a then quite famous mathematician boarded. In those days it was imperative to have ready the exact price of the bus ticket, but the professor fumbled in his pocket for the change and took a little longer then the driver would have liked, and was informed of this in no uncertain terms. Immediately, the professor became visibly agitated, mumbling half apologies, turning bright red and sweating. He peered intensely into the hand that held his change and finally handed over the money to the bus driver. However, he had counted the money incorrectly, which further irritated the driver who, cursing, grabbed our poor professor's hand and counted the money out. Here was a bus driver counting for an Oxford professor of mathematics! The impression of this exchange struck me greatly and seemed to really illustrate the debilitating effects that fear can have on us. The poor professor became so disintegrated that he could not even perform the most basic of mathematical calculations. When he was verbally attacked by the bus driver he went into a mild state of shock that disturbed the balance between his body, mind and spirit and rendered his formidable intellect useless.

We all have a certain balance between these three primary energies in the body but, for the most part, the balance is very fragile and we know little to nothing about how it operates. Everyone has one of these areas that is more active than the others, some people are considered intellectual, others more emotional, while still others are more physical. If you have not already started to do so, think about some of the people in your life, including yourself, and you will begin to see what I mean. It is possible through the process of Meditation to become aware of how these forces behave within you and to participate in the process of balancing them. This is one of the reasons why in traditional Kung Fu training, emphasis was placed not only on the fighting skills but also on skills such as calligraphy, music and healing, each demanding a slightly different emphasis on the body, mind and spirit. Whenever we are attacked in any way there is a tendency for the relationship between the body, mind and spirit to disconnect; sometimes we can manage to ‘pull ourselves together’, but at other times we cannot and we ‘go to pieces’, ‘fall apart’, ‘come unstuck’ or ‘lose our head’. If through the regular practice of Meditation we can develop a movement towards integration, strengthening our attention in the body, then we will have a very useful tool that we can call upon when we need it in our lives. The point is that we can strengthen this relationship between the body, mind and spirit just as we would a muscle and by so doing we add a very real and tangible weapon to our arsenal. Therefore, I am not presenting Meditation as a vague notion or practice, but as a practical study. For this to occur you must first gain some understanding of the internal aspect of Meditation.