Friday, February 14, 2014
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Mental Toughness in Martial Arts
Below is an excerpt from an article about developing mental toughness in the sport of wrestling. It's a very good read. The whole article may be read here.
Mental Toughness Wins in Wrestling
November 19, 2010
By Steve Fraser
Toughness as defined in the dictionary:
- Able to withstand great strain without breaking. 2. Physically hardy; rugged. 3. Severe; harsh. 4. Aggressive. 5. Demanding. 6. Strong-minded; resolute.
These questions – when answered and mastered – can catapult us and our team to the top of the wrestling world.
The reason Rulon Gardner, Olympic Champion, beat the Russian superstar; Alexander Karelin in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games was because of Rulon’s toughness. Karelin had not been beaten in 13 years. The reason Matt Lindland won the 2000 Olympic and 2001 World silver medals is because of toughness. The reason our U.S. Greco-Roman wrestling team won the World Championships in 2007 in Baku, Azerbaijan was because of our team’s toughness.
I contend that the main reason wrestlers make it to the top in this game is because they learn to master their mental, physical and emotional toughness.
In my mind there is no doubt. Toughness in wrestling is the key to becoming one of the best! We can be brilliant technicians. We can be as quick as cats. We can be extremely talented. We can be strong as a freight train. But without exceptional toughness our road to the highest podium step will probably be very bumpy.
Saturday, February 08, 2014
Japanese Sword Making
Visiting A Traditional Japanese Sword Smith
While
visiting Japan recently, I had the opportunity to visit an old friend
who represents one of the rarest and most beautiful facets of budo.
Kawahara Sadachika is a traditional Japanese swordsmith, making
gorgeous blades in a tradition that goes back unbroken for over a
thousand years. Each of his blades is both a work of art, and a
traditional weapon of the highest quality. It is always a wonderful day
when I can sit and visit with him.
Like
most Japanese martial arts students, I spend a lot of time studying the
techniques of the styles I train in. Not nearly enough of us spend
time learning to appreciate the skill, craftsmanship and artistry that
go into many of the weapons we use. In truth however, the weapons of
the classical Japanese warrior were, if anything, even more refined and
developed than the arts they practiced. The tradition of the Japanese
sword is twice as long as any of the extant martial traditions, with
gorgeous blades that are clearly part of the nihonto tradition dating
from the 900s.
Kawahara
Sensei trained in the Gassan tradition of swordsmithing under Gassan
Sadaichi. Today he works in a small forge he built on the side of
mountain in rural Shiga Prefecture. The forge building is a simple, old
style Japanese building with mud walls, many of which were damaged in
recent typhoon.
The
basic forge hasn’t changed much in hundreds of years. Metal
ventilation hoods now cut down on the number of fires that burn down
forges, and most smiths can’t afford to keep a cadre of apprentices to
swing the big hammer that does all of the heavy work, so they usually
have a power hammer tucked into one corner. It does the same thing an
apprentice does. It smacks the same spot time after time while the
smith puts the steel in the right spot.
Wednesday, February 05, 2014
The Legacy of Zhuge Liang
Historian Ralph Sawyer has published a new book that examines the life and legacy of Zhuge Liang. Below is a post over at The Dao of Strategy which describes the book. The full post may be read here.
A decidedly historic figure whose legend was increasingly magnified over the centuries, Zhuge Liang (Chu-ko Liang) has long been regarded as a brilliant strategist, commander, administrator, inventor, practitioner of the esoteric arts, originator of arcane wisdom, military thinker, and a sagacious king maker. His geostrategic insights rescued Liu Pei from extinction, resulting in China’s Three Kingdoms period, and his innovative tactics – including the “empty city ploy” -- reportedly resulted in defeating vastly superior, often befuddled foes. His escapades and achievements have become the subject of tales and novels, movies and tv serializations, and he looms large in war games and contemporary media. However, understanding his extensive military writings requires penetrating the myths and stories, discerning Chu-ko Liang’s real accomplishments, and acknowledging his shortcomings.
Sunday, February 02, 2014
Answering Some Core Questions Regarding Xingyiquan
What is the Truth?
Like many people know, I get a deep, perverse pleasure in asking the question "Why?" In that one word is the stumbling block for most belief systems and methods of practice. I know it's not mature of me, but sometimes I can't help myself when someone starts to talk about something that is outlandish or not based in reality. I also understand that my love of that question can make me come across very poorly to some people, especially those who I question. I come across very brash and judgemental, but most of the time I just don't care enough to explain what I mean on a deep level (I know that sounds terrible) But maybe I can shed some light on my personal views and the reasons for them here.
I would like to start by sharing a little about my martial journey that I haven't shared before. Several years ago I felt totally lost and had no idea where to go as far as the direction of my training. I have been lucky enough to meet and train with several amazing masters of Xingyi, but not one of them shared the same beliefs on training or what Xingyi was actually for. Each master held a different origin story to be true, each one believed that the art evolved differently, and each saw a different goal for high level practitioners. So while I was lucky to train with them, this left me deeply confused at the same time. Where did Xingyi come from? What was its original purpose? What is high level? So after a lot of soul searching and coming very close to quitting due to frustration, I decided to use the tools at my disposal and proven methods to see what I could learn about my favorite martial art. Since I'm not the most learned person I was left with simple yet irrefutable techniques. I decided to base my research off of the scientific method of hypothosis, experimentation and conclusion, the technique of "Occams' Razor" as well as a method from our legal system, namely "Its not what you know, its what you can prove" Now obviously that is a quote from a movie, but its sums up very well how we as Westerners fuction and understand things. And that is the only way I will ever understand things, no one can honestly say that they completely think and understand another culture without having lived in it for many years, so I would have to make do.
So having said this, nothing I say in this article is meant to insult or degrade anyone's personal beliefs, but I am simply putting out the plain facts about Xingyi that can be proven easily. I will speak in general terms, but please don't take that as an attack, its not meant to be. But really, if writing about my research bothers people, they are forgetting a great quote from Aristotle "The mark of a great mind is being able to entertain an idea without accepting it" So I hope that I get the chance to share this with many great minds in the hopes of starting a positive discussion.
Now that the disclaimer is out of the way, lets speak honestly and bluntly. Xingyi is an amazing art with a world full of potential, but it's dying. There is no sugar coating it, it's simply true. I believe the reason for this is that Xingyi teachers are so far scattered and when we meet most of the time we can't agree on simple practices. How can we ever work as a whole to propegate our art? We can't.
There must be a core of common knowledge and understanding for Xingyi practitioners so we can present a united front to the world. We all must work together in the future, the old method of the wandering teacher doesn't work on a global scale. Often times in the past it was only effective in a single province, not even across the whole of China, so how can it work across the world?
Where to start? For me, that was easy. I wanted to learn the most logical and provable origins of Xingyi.
The next question is "What was considered good Xingyi 200 years ago?"
The 3rd question "What is High Level?"
Friday, January 31, 2014
Chinese New Year 2014: The Year of the Horse
The spirit of the horse is recognized to be the Chinese people's ethos – making unremitting efforts to improve themselves. It is energetic, bright, warm-hearted, intelligent and able. Ancient people liked to designate an able person as 'Qianli Ma', a horse that covers a thousand li a day (one li equals 500 meters).
StrengthsPeople born in the year of the horse have ingenious communicating techniques and in their community they always want to be in the limelight. They are clever, kind to others, and like to join in a venture career. Although they sometimes talk too much, they are cheerful, perceptive, talented, earthy but stubborn. They like entertainment and large crowds. They are popular among friends, active at work and refuse to be reconciled to failure, although their endeavor cannot last indefinitely.
WeaknessesThey cannot bear too much constraint. However their interest may be only superficial and lacking real substance. They are usually impatient and hot blooded about everything other than their daily work. They are independent and rarely listen to advice. Failure may result in pessimism. They usually have strong endurance but with bad temper. Flamboyant by nature, they are wasteful since they are not good with matters of finance due to a lack of budgetary efficiency. Some of those who are born in the horse like to move in glamorous circles while pursuing high profile careers. They tend to interfere in many things and frequently fail to finish projects of their own.
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Martial Arts Illustrations
If could draw well, I'd love to illustrate my own practice. I imagine that a lot of learning goes into making each drawing. There are more drawings at the link. Please pay a visit.
Monday, January 27, 2014
The Virtue of Practice
103. Practice Does Not Necessarily Make Perfect
(Note: I originally sent this email to my students prior to an iai practice.)A note on training:
Lately, we’ve been focusing on basics, going over the shoden level seiza forms over and over again.
There’s a reason for that. I’m still not satisfied with our basics.
In all traditional Asian combative arts, there is a strong emphasis on reaching a particular expertise in the repetition of proper form, none, perhaps, more so than in iai. Since iai proper does not have competitive matches (although lately they have instituted a kind of forms competition in some organizations in Japan) that pit one person against another, the only way to evaluate expertise in iai is through perfection of form. This emphasis has become such a fetish in iai that even some koryu folk will admit that watching iai is nearly as exciting as watching grass grow or paint dry. It is just going over a form, over and over again.
However, that is why I keep emphasizing working on basics, all of us, myself included. Proper form is really important in iai.
When you study a particular ryu, or ryuha, you are basically trying to reach an appropriate level of “form” that indicates you are in line with a certain way of doing a kata, a series of linked movements.
There may be variations from one dojo to another, and one teacher to another in the same school, but there are some basic signposts that declare that you either “get it” or you don’t: Your timing, perhaps, or the way you move, handle the sword, the angle of your chiburui, or angle of the cut with the sword. This is one step beyond simply repeating the steps, or procedure. This is polishing the steps and instilling in them the particular WAY you move with the sword in hand.
When you begin to “get it,” your swordwork begins to assume an actual personality: that of your own, of course, but also that of the ryu you are performing. That balance, that tension between individual character and the characteristics of the ryu is the hardest to attain, as beginners. When you start with iai, everything may seem random and arbitrary. If you progress, however, and you observe other ryu, you should come to a realization that there are implicit reasons why you do things a certain way, and why another ryu does things a different way. You will begin to grasp the differences in timing, technique and mental kamae (posture). What many of you who have been doing it for some months need to do to break your logjam is that you have to somehow internalize the ryu’s sensibilities as your own, and subsume what your mind and body seem to want to do under the mantle of the ryu’s methods.
You may want to slouch and hunch your shoulders because all your life, that’s how you stand. Or your body wants to use your shoulder and arm strength instead of your hip muscles. You have to consciously, mentally, force yourself to make the corrections. The other part is you also have to make the connection with your own body, forcing it to move that way too when you perform the kata.
Again, there may be long-standing habits in your body that you have to break.
You have to see what is being done, internalize the concept in you mind, but you then have to transmit that movement to your body. A lot can mess things up in this two-step process. Be aware of what you are seeing and doing.
Koryu study is basically this: you break down bad habits and try to institute new ones, hopefully better ones. I know, it doesn’t happen overnight. It takes years of training, but training without thinking or self-correction is no improvement. You are simply reinforcing bad habits and making them harder to break. I think it was football coaching legend Vince Lombardi who said something like, “Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect.”
Friday, January 24, 2014
Make Your Martial Art Your Own
I think some karateka have a tendency to over engineer their techniques, as if a good one is like finding the holy grail, buried treasure, or the final resting place of Jimmy Hoffa: but I don't train that way. I see the type of karate I practise as being defined by certain parameters, so I'm not at liberty to "take the best from each style" as some like to imagine they do, I'm obliged instead to work with, and within, the ideas put together by Miyagi Chojun sensei.
Am I free to make karate my own, sure I am; but doing that is not the same thing as making my own karate! I have benefited greatly from the efforts of previous generations, I've been steadily engaged in my own training for many years, and I'm also providing opportunities for others who will follow. If in fact karate is an evolving art held together by a set of core principles, then we all share the same obligation to preserve those ideas.
Give your karate any name you like, but without sound combative principles and mindful training, what you're left with is Tae-Bo!
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