The Dao De Jing, #49: People

The Dao De Jing is not only one of the world's great classics, it is one of the foundations of Philosophical Daoism. A free online version of the Dao De Jing may be found here.Below is verse #49,People

49. People

The sage does not distinguish between himself and the world;
The needs of other people are as his own.

He is good to those who are good;
He is also good to those who are not good,
Thereby he is good.
He trusts those who are trustworthy;
He also trusts those who are not trustworthy,
Thereby he is trustworthy.

The sage lives in harmony with the world,
And his mind is the world's mind.
So he nurtures the worlds of others
As a mother does her children. 

 

Women's Self Defnese, Pre WWII Great Britain

One of the favorite videos of all time here at Cook Ding's Kitchen is a video clip depicting Women's Self Defense in 1947, starring Pat's redoubtable Aunt Mary.

Two other old women's self defense clips that are certainly deserving, but didn't make it to the all time list can be found here and here.

Well, we have a new... old one. Again from pre WWII Britain. Listen to the commentary, it's great.

I like the way she tosses her head after she tosses one of her attackers.

Enjoy.

An Introduction to Baguazhang

For the past several months, I have become interested in the circle walking practice of Baguazhang.

Below is an excerpt from an article that appeared at Plum Publishing, which is an excellent introduction to the Internal Chinese Martial Art of Baguazhang. The full article may be read here.

Bagua Explained

NOTE: This is not so much an article as an ongoing process which will expand over time. The Art of Eight Trigram Boxing is deep and wonderful but not intuitively obvious. We hope to aid the dedicated and guide the wandering. Read a little here and there and use what seems to help. Ba Gua Zhang is worth the effort and – while some sections might not seem immediately clear – the art will unlock itself to the persistent.


INTRODUCTION

To many people Ba Gua is the most exotic martial art. It can also be one of the most confusing. Part of this confusion derives from the richness of the style. It came late (1860′s) on the martial scene and folded many of Kung Fu’s best ideas into a very small space. Ba Gua is a miniaturized martial art, almost a nano-art–not that the information is small, but that it is extremely compact. Studying Ba Gua can be like listening to a world famous teacher who is totally fascinating but whose ideas and words come so fast and brilliantly you are dazed rather than enlightened.

I didn’t write the above paragraph as preface a but as a premise. If we use this suggested template of sophistication and compaction we’re going to get along just fine. Ba Gua’s not mystical. It’s not fake.
It’s not “too Asian.” It’s not transcendentally impossible. But it’s also not the “baby steps” approach to Kung Fu training.

At PLUM we are receiving many questions and comments in the vein of, “I don’t want you to send me the Mother Palms unless they have Changes.” “What is Ba Gua San Shou?” “Do you have the Eight Changing Palms or the Sixty-four Changing Palms of the complete XYZ branch?” “I want ONLY the moving changes, not the static changes.”

BASIC VOCABULARY

Before we get any further, let’s establish a vocabulary. As with everything in this article, you may disagree with my usage of certain terms, but it will help to share a code while reading.

PALM: means the whole body
PALM CHANGE: a specific series of actions which reverse your direction on the circle
SIMPLE CHANGE: any of an assortment of actions down to just shifting the feet that perform a change of direction without the choreographed “Palm Changes”
EIGHT MOTHER PALMS: Arm postures held in certain positions while walking the circle or standing
EIGHT CHANGING PALMS: A choreographed series of movements divided unto eight sections including the Single Palm Change and the Double Palm Change. These are performed on both sides. Each of them reverses the directions of the walker through a complex series of moves.
HAND POSITIONS: hand positions in BaGua mean entire postures including the waist and feet
WALKING THE CIRCLE: The basic practice of BaGua is a stylized method of walking in a circle while performing the actions of the styles.
MARCHING: Walking in a straight line while performing self defense series.

MOTHER PALMS



(Also “8 Big Palms” also the “Old Palms.”) What is the problem with the Mother Palms? Well, people often see these as very simple minded basics, something like the intermediate stages between circle walking and the really good stuff (The 8 Palm Changes). But the Mother Palms are absolutely crucial to doing one of Ba Gua’s most difficult tasks: actually changing the way one is thinking.

Without going on at length here are some of the training methods connected to the Mother.
Dispelling toxins from the body!
Strengthening certain internal organs
Strengthening the arms
Opening the chest and exercising the waist
Key elemental actions for fighting
Preparation for weapons work
Divorcing the torso from the steps
Bridging between standing practice and the later Palm Changes
Introducing all the elements which will be used in the Changes
Developing the essential BI-dimensional thinking
Feeling animal qualities

Training the mind to control the body through “intent”

The Mother Palms are often associated with the Eight Original Trigrams. They are performed in a circle but while the arms don’t move much they do engage and disengage.

As you walk the circle you change. Let’s say you are walking the Lion in CW direction and want to change to CCW. What do you do with your arms? Herein lies a vocabulary problem.

A. Some teachers let you do whatever you want. This is Mother Palms with no changes.
B. Some teachers use a standard change like Lion change to other Lion (slap hands together, separate them). These are Simple Changes.
C. Some animals have multiple possible Simple Changes.

In my school there are at least three ways to get from Lion CW to Lion CCW. (Really there are almost infinite methods but that’s another story.) So the Eight Palms have three each or 24 changes.

That’s if there are no changes from one animal to another such as Lion to Snake. What would be the combinations there? Well, the combinatorial is, I believe, 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 or 5280 changes.

BAGUA SAN SHOU

San Shou can mean miscellaneous or “free” hands so “San Shou” can mean almost anything including Jimmy Woo’s famous fighting system. It can mean partner exercises ranging from a completely choreographed set to a series of exercises that are barely structured. It can also, for instance, denote Ba Gua Applications. But one of the most important and specific meanings is a sort of free form “riff” exercise where all that one has learned can be mixed spontaneously or nearly so.

What do I mean by “nearly so?” Well to sort of jump start the spontaneous (as in Chinese painting, for instance) teachers have created forms with three classical levels of “ad libbing.”
A. A completely choreographed set but hinting at the many ways of bridging.
B. A choreographed set with sections where the student may ad lib.
C. Completely spontaneous mixing of moves.

The first method may introduce another term: Ba Gua Huan Lian Tao Lu or a Ba Gua “Linked” or “Linking” set where the Changing Palms never go back to the other side of the circle and just morph into other moves. The odd thing here is that such a form may not even look like Ba Gua. It may resemble some other style like Lost Track. However, it sure feels like Ba Gua from the inside. (It also shows that Ba Gua need not walk in a circle. A friend of mine was tossed out of a tournament by a well known Chinese teacher of BaGua under the injunction that “Ba Gua is always done in a circle.” Ah.)

The second method is obviously a bridge allowing some spontaneous sections inserted. The third section is obvious.

The Meaning of Kata

Philosophy practiced is the goal of learning. - Thoreau
 
A kata is not just a collection of techniques. Today there is particular interest in bunkai, or applications derived from the study of kata. While valuable, there is more to kata than that as well.

A kata is the physical manifestation of the philosophy and strategy; what in another post I might call the Phoenix things, of a particular martial art. The practice of the kata is meant to impress these into your body, for you to understand at a visceral level.

Charles James, a senior Isshinryu practitioner wrote a very nice article on the meaning of kata at one of his excellent blogs, Isshindo Blog. The whole article may be read here. An excerpt may be read below this expert demonstration of a karate kata. Enjoy.

This post on the surface may seem obvious yet I find many have not clue as to the principles involved. People tend to skip over such important things to get to the fun or exciting stuff. Regardless ......

It came to me that what may be the most important change to kata practice, training and teaching is to gear it away form bunkai and focus it directly into teaching and practice of the fundamental principles with emphasis on the physiokinetic, i.e. breathing, posture, Triangle Guard, Centerline, Primary Gate, Spinal Alignment, Axis, Minor Axis, Structure, Heaviness, Relaxation, Wave Energy, Convergence, Centeredness, Triangulation Point, The Dynamic Sphere, Body-Mind, Void, Centripetal Force, Centrifugal Force, Sequential Locking & Sequential Relaxation, Peripheral Vision, Tactile Sensitivity, Rooting.

I don't mean we leave out theory, technique and philosophy but since bunkai as it stands today seems geared more toward dueling or sport the self-defense aspects should focus on these principles that are the essence of all combatives. It makes sense then one can take the appropriate training in self-defense that makes use of the principles as the foundation and then the applications can remain - open-ended.  

It seems to me that to focus on the principles then use them in reality based self-defense would make the kata of martial systems more relevant to modern times especially with all the road blocks one encounters in applying self-defense, i.e. psychological, physical and legal, etc.

Cultivating a Calm Mind

I've said many times that while I am interested in martial arts for many reasons, the one that rises above the rest is that the study helps me to cultivate a calm mind.

In his excellent Zen Habits blog, Leo Babauta recently had a post about cultivating what he called a flexible mind, which in much in line with what I'm talking about. 

Below is an excerpt. The full article may be read here.

Why Develop Flexible Mind

The root cause of frustration, irritation, anger, sadness is an inflexible mind — one that wants to hold onto the way we wish things were, the ideas we’re comfortable with. When things don’t go this way, we are then frustrated, angry, sad.

So developing a flexible mind is a way to be open to anything, happy with change, prepared for any situation. Think about it: if there’s a major disruption in your life, it’s only a bad thing because you’re holding onto the way you wish things could be, what you’re comfortable with. If you let go of that wish, the change isn’t bad. It’s just different, and in fact it could be good if you embrace it and see the opportunity.

It’s about developing the ability to cope with change, to be flexible, to simplify.

How: Small Practices

You don’t develop flexible mind overnight — your mind isn’t as easy to change as your outfit. You have to develop mental habits with small changes, consistently over time.

Here’s how:

1. Make a commitment, for one week, to try to let go of what you’re holding onto when you get irritated, frustrated, sad, etc.
2. Make a list of the things that trigger these emotions — being interrupted, someone cutting you off in traffic, someone being loud when you’re trying to work, people not washing their dishes, etc.
3. Create reminders for when those triggers happen — paper notes, a bead bracelet, something written on your hand, a sign on your car’s dashboard, etc.
4. When the trigger happens, pause. Notice the emotion rising. Feel it, but don’t act. Breathe.
5. Try to see what you’re holding onto — wishing the driver would be more polite, wishing you could do what you were doing without interruptions, wishing other people would be perfect in cleaning up after themselves. These wishes are fantasies — let them go. Be open to the way things are, to changes that have happened. Breathe, open your heart, accept.
6.  Now respond appropriately, without wishing things were different, with compassion.

Repeat however many times you like during the week, or a minimum of once a day.

Please note that you will not be perfect at this when you start. It’s a difficult skill to learn, because we have emotional patterns that have built up over the years. It’s good enough to become more aware of it, and to attempt this method once a day. Be flexible in your desire to get this exactly right. Practice it when you remember for the rest of the year.

Frustrated with your Training?

Do you sometimes become frustrated with your training? It's not uncommon. As our skills improve and we learn more, we become dissatisfied with our own performance.

Below is an excerpt from a post that appeared at the Brazillian Ju Jutsu Mind blog. The full article may be read here.

Before getting to the excerpt, I'd like to share a quote with you:

 “What nobody tells people who are beginners — and I really wish someone had told this to me . . . is that all of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, and it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not.

But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase. They quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know it’s normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story.

It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”-Ira Glass”

Frustration is an Important and Inevitable Part of the Jiu Jitsu Journey.  It is important to recognize that feelings of frustration motivate us to grow. If we experience too little frustration, we wont be motivated to improve – then where would we be?  Frustration is a physiological necessity for us to reach the higher realms of our individual Jiu Jitsu potential.

Frustration is a Sign of Growth.  Frustration not only spurs growth, it is also the byproduct of improvement.  Improving our skills requires us to try new things, be uncomfortable, fail, learn, expand and become more than we were before.  Frustration and discomfort are signs that we are exploring new territories and acquiring new skill sets.  Frustration is a sure sign that we are growing and increasing our abilities.

Confronting Frustration Increases Confidence.  Frustration is a motivating factor.  It can motivate us to quit, or inspire us to improve.  Giving in to frustration will leave us even more dissatisfied in the long run.  That is because working through frustration increases our confidence, while giving up in the face of frustration lowers our self-esteem.   Frustration provides us with an opportunity to gain the confidence that results from feeling deeply and not falling apart.  Feeling frustrated but staying on target for your goal will let you get in touch with the feeling, deep down, that you can and will figure it out.

Ways to Overcome Frustration.  Remembering that frustration is necessary and beneficial can help change our perspective on frustration from an enemy to an ally. Here are some other suggestions for overcoming frustration:

Recommit to Having Fun.  Take the pressure off by reminding yourself that Jiu Jitsu is a fun activity.  It is a form of play.  It is much more than a contest of who won or lost – it is also a creative outlet, a way to get into great shape, a social activity, and much more – all of which can have a very positive impact on our lives.  Take the pressure off. You don’t have to be the best – just having fun is a legitimate reason for doing something.

Want It Bad Enough.  You are responsible for your own inspiration.  Having a strong desire to learn and grow will provide us with the fuel to deal with the inevitable frustration that is associated with learning Jiu Jitsu.  

Lower the Bar.  It sounds strange, but lowering the bar can replace frustration with satisfaction.  Don’t beat yourself up for not training 6 days a week.  Commend yourself for making it 2 days a week.  If you have a family and a career – that is commendable.  If you are home playing video games – less so.  Strive to be your best – but learn to accept your limits are real.  

Focus More on the Journey than The Destination. Focusing on the journey itself can be enough for the pressure and frustration to subside.  Pushing ourselves and striving to be our best can be a good thing, but there is a point at which it can turn on us – and become overwhelming.

The Road is Hard Enough – Adopt a Positive Mindset.  Applaud your progress.  The road to Black Belt (and beyond) is hard enough.  If we continually beat ourselves up along the way it becomes impossible.  We can easily become our own worst critic.  We all make mistakes – there is no need to magnify them.  Focus on what you did well and the areas in which you are improving.

Don’t Compare Yourself to Others.  The natural tendency to compare our selves to others can quickly lead to frustration.  Don’t compare yourself to others.  Compare yourself to where you used to be.  Are you better than you were last month?  Last year?  Better than you were as a white belt?  If the answer is yes, then keep going!  You will soon realize that you really have come a long way. Time to celebrate, not mope.

Conclusion.  Is Jiu Jitsu frustrating you?

You are not alone.  It seems that frustration is a natural and normal part of the Jiu Jitsu learning process.

Frustration is an intense emotion – but on the other side we can often find growth and progress.

The Way of the General

Over at the Dao of Strategy blog, there was a translation of the introduction of a book about Zhuge Liang, one of the most famous strategists in history and one of the main characters in The Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Below is an excerpt. The original post may be read here.

The Way of the General

Translator’s Introduction

Authored by Zhuge Liang (Kongming)
Translated by Thomas Cleary

Translator’s Introduction

Zhuge Liang, commonly known by his style, Kongming, was born around the year 180, the son of a provincial official in the later days of the Han dynasty. At that time, the dynasty was thoroughly decrepit, nearly four hundred years old and on the verge of collapse. For most of his adult life, Zhuge Liang was to play a major role in the power struggles and civil wars that followed the demise of the ancient Han.

Orphaned at an early age, he and his younger brother were taken in by an uncle, a local governor in southern China. When this uncle was replaced with another officer, he and his charges went to join an old family friend, a member of the powerful Liu clan who was currently a governor in central China. The imperial house of Han was a branch of the greater Liu clan, which as a whole retained considerable wealth, prestige, and influence even after the passing of the Han dynasty itself.

Zhuge Liang’s uncle died during his sojourn in central China. Then in his twenties, Zhuge stayed there, supporting himself by farming. According to Record of the Three Kingdoms, at this early age Zhuge Liang was aware of his own genius, but few took him seriously; he was, after all, an orphan and subsistence farmer. His fortunes took a turn, however, when the great warrior Liu Bei, founder of the kingdom of Shu in western China, garrisoned in the area where Zhuge Liang was living.

A member of the influential Xu clan, which produced many outstanding Taoists of the early churches, recommended Zhuge to the warrior chief. According to Record of the Three Kingdoms, Zhuge’s friend said to Liu Bei, “Zhuge Kongming is a dragon in repose - would you want to meet him?”

Liu Bei said, “You come with him.”

The friend said, “It is possible to go see this man, but you cannot make him come to you. You, General, should go out of your way to look in on him.”

The record states that Liu Bei finally went to see Zhuge Liang, adding that he had to go no fewer than three times before the young genius agreed to meet the warrior chieftain. When at length they were together, the record continues, Liu Bei dismissed everyone else so that he could be alone with Zhuge Liang. Then he said, “The house of Han is collapsing; treacherous officials are usurping authority; the emperor is blinded by the dust.” The warrior lord went on to solicit Zhuge’s advice.

Zhuge Liang told Liu Bei: “Ever since the beginning of the current power struggle for what is left of the Han empire, many prefectures and districts have been taken over by such men. If you compare current contenders for national power, one of them - the notorious Cao Cao - was once an unknown with a small force, yet he was able to overcome another warlord with a much large following. The reason the weaker was able to prevail over the stronger is not simply a matter of celestial timing, but also of human planning. Cao Cao now has a million followers; he controls the emperor and gives orders to the lords - he can not really be opposed.”

“Another warlord, in control of the area east of the river, is already the third generation hegemon there. The territory is rugged and the people are loyal to him; the intelligent and capable serve in his employ. He would be a suitable ally, but he cannot be counted on”

“Here there is ease of communications and transport. It is a land suitable for military operations. If its ruler cannot keep it this would seem to be a boon to a general. Do you have any interest in it? To the southwest are precipitous natural barriers beyond which lie vast fertile plains. That land is called the heavenly precinct, and it is where the Han dynasty really began.”

“Now the governor of that region is ignorant and weak. To the north is the stronghold of the independent Taoist cult of Celestial Masters. The people are robust and the land is rich, but they do not know how to take care of it. Men of knowledge and ability want to find an enlightened leader.”

“General, you are a descendant of the imperial family, and are known everywhere for integrity and justice. You gather heroic men and eagerly seek the wise. If you occupy this whole region, guard the crags and defiles, establish good relations with the foreign tribes to the west and south, make friends with the warlord east of the river, and work to perfect internal organization, then when there is a upheaval in the total political situation and you mobilize your armies, the common people will surely welcome you with food and drink. If you can really do this, hegemony can be established, and the house of Han can be revived.”

Liu Bei agreed, and it turned out as planned.

Zhuge became one of his top strategists since then.

Halloween

Happy Halloween!

The Future of Martial Arts?

Below is an excerpt from The Future of Martial Arts blog. It is an interview with Gene Ching, an associate publisher of Kung Fu Magazine. The full article may be read here.

-What uncertainties do you see in terms of the future and Martial Arts?

 Well, I think the future of MMA is very uncertain. We have all been talking for a long time about the meteoric rise of MMA, and it seems to be climaxing. We will see where it goes now. The UFC certainly has dominated the industry. They have been trying to move very aggressively into Asia. Asia has its own thing, and they are not particularly open to it. We will see where that goes. It is curious to see what will happen next to MMA. It has established itself as a movement. Whether it continues to rise, or has topped out, we will see in the coming years.

In terms of traditional Martial Arts, you hear constantly from people that they are afraid that traditional Martial Arts will be lost. If you actually research the literature you will see that that complaint goes back centuries, which is something to think about.

I don’t see the traditional arts being lost. I see the opposite. We are seeing more scholarly work, more information sharing. Now it is very easy to research the traditional Martial Arts with the internet, which is an amazing tool for communication. I can connect with unknown Martial Arts groups, from all across the world, very easily. It is all out there. The issue of course, is whether it is all real or not.

That is one thing the internet really needs, is some serious editing haha.

-Very true! It does some like in the past 5 to 10 years, there seems to be a group out there on the fringes that really wants to put some serious academic rigor into the history, and especially into the Chinese Martial Arts. People are putting some serious work into this!
 
It is a very ripe subject, especially now that China is rising as a world power. Its martial traditions are garnering some scholarly attention, which is tremendously exciting! It is a huge deal because the Martial Arts ties intimately into every aspect of Chinese culture. If you think about a Chinese banquet right, a little bit of chicken, a bit of beef, some vegetables, every thing is mixed. They do not partition the world the same way we might in the Descartian West. Martial history literally bleeds into everything. That becomes a wonderful treasure-trove for any researcher to start digging into, because you can go all over the place. The biggest impediment I can see as a publisher and an editor of a Martial Arts magazine is that a lot of people can’t scale down the frame. They can’t just take a snap shot and present it in a cohesive article. They are easily overwhelmed by the magnitude of the subject because it is very easy to digress into all sorts of history and culture and art.