Zen story

Two monks were once traveling together down a muddy road. A heavy rain was falling. 

Coming around the bend, they met a lovely girl in a silk kimono and sash, unable to cross the intersection. 

"Come on, girl," said the first monk. Lifting her in his arms, he carried her over the mud.

The second monk did not speak again until that night when they reached a lodging temple. 

Then he no longer could restrain himself.

"We monks don't go near females," he said. "It is dangerous. Why did you do that?"

"I left the girl there," the first monk said. "Are you still carrying her?"

(From the book: The Little Zen Companion)

Respect

Sometimes people demand respect from you. Why?

Are they insecure? Do they feel that they are better than you?

True respect will only be given and never asked for.

Quote

Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the men of old;

seek what they sought.

(Basho)

Relaxed body

When you train your body to be relaxed you should be able to move freely
without tension in the joints and ligaments.
Your mind must also be relaxed and calm.

You should feel that you are floating but heavy at the same time;
connected to the ground but agile and flowing.

Your awareness with your surroundings and yourself should heighten
and a sense of being in the here and now.

You cannot force this feeling, you must train body and mind to relax.
The results will follow with continuous training.
Be patient.

Self defence

Being in a self-defence situation is very serious and you cannot rely on others to help you out.  You may find yourself alone and multiple attackers are assaulting you.

Using self-defence is quite different to fighting, as in fighting with someone; you usually match against speed, strength, agility etc. but self-defence should finish your opponent off quickly, immediately and being decisive, using the minimal of effort to accomplish.

Dogs

Eyes closed walking

This drill allows you to feel your own balance and when you really need to step.  You must keep upright and not lean. 

Feel how sinking and routing considerably improves your stability. 

Moving slower than your partner will seriously drain their energy levels and this conserves your own energy by doing very little, only moving when needing to.

You must make sure that you are constantly relaxed and feel heavy.  Any tensing up or struggling with your partner is wrong.

Strength is wrong

If you use strength then your energy will be expelled very quickly.  This is a serious concern if faced with a real life self defence situation.

This is also the case with over-extending, contracting or exaggerating; the attacker has more chance of harming you. 

Even in solo practice, you will be putting a massive amount of strain on your body.

Tai chi and baguazhang should be trained so that it is good for the body and can be practised into old age.

Significance of yielding

One of the most difficult aspects of learning kung fu, is yielding or being soft.  On a very basic level, this means that your muscles are relaxed rather than tense and your joints mobile rather than being held in place. 

This is not just physical, your mind must yield also, be able to change and adapt to what is happening.  Your body must be mobile and loose. 

The transmission of energy from the ground through the body and out through the fingers can only be done if your muscles are relaxed and your joints and tendons are mobile.  If you lock any part of your body up by using tension then the energy will be impeded.

Cultivating internal strength

Cultivation of internal strength is done through training and incorporating neigong.  All training from the beginning teaches us to cultivate internal strength.

We must strengthen our bodies internally so that when we move, each part of us is connected and working together for every movement we make.

Having strength and using strength are completely different.  If you try and force an outcome using strength then you will ultimately tense up, limiting yourself by locking muscles and joints into place.

Through training your strength will always be there while you are relaxing the muscles and allowing the joints to be free and mobile.

The aim is to use minimal effort (strength) to achieve the maximum outcome.  Through continuous training and experience you will find that your use of strength will lessen while the outcome will increase.

Arresting shadows

(Trying to understand 'The Book of Five Rings')

This is taking the initiative. When you see what the opponents intentions are towards you, you must act immediately. 

This is taking advantage of the situation and making your opponent change their mind about their attack. You seize victory before anything happens.

Mind and Body balance

You must be aware that your mind and body are connected as one unit.
If your thoughts are different to your actions then there is no balance.

You must train your body to be in balance with your mind, be in the immediate moment.
Especially in self-defence, as a martial artist you cannot be divided.

Too often you will see people going about their business as though
they are in their own little bubble, unaware of what is happening around them.

As a small experiment to divide your mind and actions, follow the next procedure:

1. Sit on a chair and raise your right leg.
2. Start and keep turning your foot in a clockwise direction.
3. Now in your mind; keep drawing a number 6 in the air in front of you.

Does your foot start changing direction?

Have awareness of your own mind and body.
Keep them connected, not seperate.

Whole body movement

Follow the teachings from the tai chi classics.
Your whole body is connected, do not disconnect your limbs
and let them move independently.

When one part of your body is in motion,
the whole of your body is in motion.

When one part of your body is still,
the whole of your body is still.

You must not be like a robot, connecting your body
with tension and stiff joints.

You must be supple, relaxed and allow your
limbs to be like boneless tentacles.

Anna training the Yang Cheng Fu form

Separate

Do you think of yourself as being separate to everything else around you?
Separate from the animals, other people, nature?

When you look up at night and see the stars, do you think that you are here
and everything else is out there, that you are separate from the cosmos?

We are all part of the whole. We are all connected to everything else in some way.
We have our part to play within the bigger picture that is happening all around us.

Feel that you are part of it, feel your connection with everything.
Be aware that you are not separated from the whole.

Good health

Good health requires attention to both the body and the mind.

In order to maintain the health of the body; good nutrition is required as well as exercise.
Sport is not the same as exercise and can result in damage to the body. 

It is also important to pay attention to the health of the mind.  Meditation, being in the fresh air, setting time aside to read will contribute to having a healthy mind.

There is a constant feedback between the body and the mind; damage to one will affect the other.

Opportunities to train

The average day is full of opportunities to train. 

Balance can be improved by standing on one leg whilst washing up or ironing.
Juggling balls can be used to strengthen the hands when travelling as a passenger in a car.  

Hand, arm and shoulder massages can be performed when sitting at a desk working.
Little changes to your day can result in opportunities to develop your level of skills.

Perceptions

Some people perceive tai chi to be ethereal; others believe it to be a trick.  

Tai chi is an internal martial art.  As such, it is impossible for the untrained eye to observe what is truly happening. 

Pedestal

The person who puts themself on a pedestal will only be as high as they see themselves.
The pedestal is only in their own mind, it does not exist within the mind of others.

Emotions

In self defence, a quiet mind and calm emotions are necessary in order to respond spontaneously to situations as they occur. 

Emotions such as anger and fear drain you of energy and make if difficult to remain focussed. 

The heart of the wise man is tranquil

 

(Thomas Merton)

Partner work drills

Pushing hands, monkey paws and the yielding exercise can all appear perplexing when starting on the journey to learning tai chi.  It can be difficult to grasp the purpose of drilling these.

As students progress through the syllabus and understanding of the martial elements of tai chi develop, the ingenuity of these exercises becomes apparent.   

The skills developed from these drills become essential to combat.

Prevention better than a cure

The Western world offers lots of cures for ailments however tai chi, in line with Chinese practices, offers prevention. 

Why wait until something has gone wrong before taking action?  Surely it is better to act now, before things  become difficult.

A complete system

Tai chi chuan and baguazhang are complete systems, they incorporate shuai jiao, chin na and jing. 

You should not have a favourite weapon.  To become over familiar with one weapon is as much a fault as not knowing it sufficiently well

(Miyamoto Musashi)

Silence

Is there really silence?

If you can stop and just listen.
What do you hear?

Do you hear any external noises?
Birds singing, water running, people talking, traffic?

Listen deeply, do you hear internal noises?
Your breathing, your heart beat, your belly rumbling?

If you truely listen then there is always something to hear.

Globe and Laurel

This image shows the cap badge and green beret of the Royal Marines Commando's.

I earned my 'Green Beret' back in 1996 and I am proud to have served as a Royal Marine Commando up until 2005.

Tree near Holton

Anna and I in the hills

Yin and Yang

How do we know there is darkness?
Because we know there is light.

How do we know there is sadness?
Because we know there is joy.

How do we know there is ugliness?
Because we know there is beauty.

There is a balance to everything,
the yin and yang of things.

There is always yin in yang,
and always yang in yin.

Opposites that compliment each other,
one cannot exist without the other.

Sword drills (few years ago)

Mathmatical anomaly

There were 3 students who came to share a flat together and wanted a TV.

They ventured down to the local second hand shop and found one for £30, so they all put in £10 each and paid the shop assistant.

They had just left the shop with the TV when the shop manager returned and asked the shop assistant where the TV had gone.

The assistant pointed at the 3 students through the window and said to the manager that they had just bought it for £30.

The manager said that because they were students, they could have had it for £25. He gave the shop assistant £5 in change and said run after them to give them their £5 back.

When the assistant left the shop; he thought to himself that £5 does not split equally between 3 people so he pocketed £2.

He gave the students £1 each and said that the TV was on offer.

Now if you take that each student initially paid £10 each then was handed £1 each back.

This meant that each student has now only paid £9 each. So what is 3 x £9?

£27

The shop assistant has £2 in his pocket. Add this to the £27 and you only get £29.

Where has the pound gone?

Book

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nutrition-Mental-Performance-Lifespan-Perspective/dp/0230299903/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1327003954&sr=8-2

Early morning training

Getting up in the morning can be quite difficult when it is cold outside and you are all cosy in a nice warm bed.

Make it a habit in getting up early to train before you go to work.

You will feel much better and it sets your day up with a positive start.

Connected

In motion all parts of the body must be light nimble and strung together.

The ch'i (breath) should be excited, the shen (spirit) should be internally gathered.
 

(The Essence of T'ai Chi Ch'uan)

The Cheviot Challenge 2011

Haiku

Sitting still

With my eyes closed

Dog barks

The Meadow

The meadow is green

But the fog hangs low

Flowers search for the sun

The eagle soars

But his vision skewed

The rabbit begins to run

The sun now rises

Over the eastern hill

The fog begins to lift

The eagle swoops

For his morning prey

His kill, precise and swift

(Paul Davison)