Practicing martial arts
involves much more than the physical aspects such as kicking, punching,
throwing, joint
locks etc.
Major benefits can be gained by learning the correct attitude and ways of
behaving in the dojang
(training hall). All of these benefits can be transferred
to other areas of our lives.
Positive attitude
We strive to instill a
positive attitude in all our students. For example, in class we are told very
early in our training
not to use the word “can’t”. By using the word "can’t" we
automatically reinforce in our own minds our inability to
perform a certain
task. We should instead ask questions like, “how can I improve on this”, or
“what is the person
next to me who can do it, doing differently from me”.
Obviously this does not only apply to martial arts lessons it
is a very powerful
maxim for every day situations.
Discipline
Great emphasis is placed
on discipline in class. After a certain period of time a certain standard of
behaviour is
expected of all students. The more senior students are expected to
set an very high standard.
Respect
Respect for parents,
instructors, fellow students, even the training hall and equipment is an
important aspect of
training at YAKMA.
Zen
Zen Buddhism is an ancient
religion. Some of its practitioners beliefs are reincarnation and practicing a
way of
life that accepts things as they are and does not wish for them to be any
other way. One of the beliefs of Zen
Buddhism is that “all suffering and misery
are caused by clinging to the present”. By this they mean that our
problems are
caused by wanting things to remain the same. We must accept change as inevitable
and welcome it.
Acceptance of things as they are is another important aspect of
Zen. Things should be accepted as neither good
nor bad. Zen Buddhists think of
all the painful experiences they have had and realise that these events brought
them to the position of happiness they now have. Without the painful events of
the past they
may not have had
strength they now possess. How many times have you heard people who
have had serious illnesses say it was the
best thing that ever happened to them?
The concepts of like and dislike are alien to these people.
“If you
think you can or you think you can’t you’re probably right”
Henry Ford(founder of Ford
Motor company)
Don’t
you Know who I am?
The
armies of a conquering tyrant were laying waste to the country when they arrived
at a small village. All the
villagers had taken refuge in the surrounding hills
except for an old monk. The tyrant was enraged at this monks
audacity and
stormed into the monastery yelling , Don’t you know who I am, “I could draw my
sword and cut you
in two and not even blink an eye”.
The
monk looked calmly back and smiled, then said, “Don’t you know who I am. I could
stand here while you draw
your sword and cut me in two and not even blink an
eye”.
The ultimate goal of Zen
is to achieve enlightenment, the use of meditation is a cornerstone of this
ambition. Eventually
a group of people emerged who saw the wisdom in the
practice of Zen Buddhism but did not share its religious
beliefs such as reincarnation began to
study Zen as a way of life without the religious implications of Zen Buddhism.
Students at YAKMA are also
taught to live in the present moment rather than worrying about past events or
future
problems over which they have no control. The idea being that “The
present moment” is the only time we can do
anything. We can’t alter the past and
can’t live the future until it arrives and becomes now, so it makes much more
sense to focus our efforts in the present.
Another aspect of Zen
philosophy is to focus entirely on the job we are performing. It is often
referred to as “being
present”. This ability is crucial if we are ever to attain
a high standard in martial arts. The art of totally focusing the mind
on the
task in hand is found in many pursuits in Japan. Some examples are flower
arranging, tea ceremonies,
swordsmanship, but it can be used in every task we
do.
Focus
So everything is a
question of training and the power of habit. Whatever we consistently practice
we will perform under
pressure, whether it be physical or mental. By
consistently thinking bright and positive thoughts a happy disposition can
be
achieved. By consistently and diligently practicing our techniques we will
eventually perform them without conscious
thought. In the words of Bruce Lee;
"Learn it and forget it"
Some people say “practice
makes perfect” a more apt phrase may be “perfect practice makes perfect”.
Meditation
To practice meditation is
to focus on one thing only. Commonly used “things” are flames, sounds, your
breathing
(counting breaths), and mantras (words or phrases usually having no
meaning that are chanted aloud or “heard internally”).
The action of focusing on
only one thing allows our mind to settle without the incessant noise of our
internal “chattering
monkey” telling us “shouldn’t you be doing this”, “what if
this happens”, “oh you’ll never manage that”, “I’ve still got a lot of
work to
do, I’ll never have time”, the list is endless.
With regular practice
meditation results in a clearer mind. Often likened to a lake where the top is
choppy but underneath
the water is calm. Another analogy is a bowl of muddy
water which if left to settle long enough becomes clear.
From the previous chapter
on Zen it can be seen that such things as tea ceremonies, flower arranging,
swordsmanship
can also become forms of meditation.
In class we have a brief
period of meditation at the beginning and end of each lesson. These periods are
not long enough
to give a relaxation response in depth. The first one is used to
cut out the events of the day. Whether we have had problems
or a good time at
work or school, we give our mind a break to allow it to focus on the lesson. It
can be considered as a
mental barrier between the events of the outside world
and the class.
The second period of
meditation is to allow a quiet period for the lessons we have learnt during the
session to sink in.
Balance
At YAKMA we believe
that there is more to balance than standing on one leg. We strive to strike a
balance between work
and rest. Obviously if we train physically hard every day
we will become stale and exhausted, not only will we stop improving
at a decent
rate we may become bored, disenchanted or even injured. We should balance our
periods of activity with periods
of rest and meditation.
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