Not Yet Nirvana

Martially speaking, kuzushi , the stealing of your opponent’s balance, is a very good strategy. It also serves to illustrate how important our own balance is in terms of our martial efficacy whether throwing a punch or kick or taking the opponent to the ground and neutralizing the threat.  Life sometimes unbalances us. We juggle many issues that can at any time threaten our serenity. This causes stress and undue stress can steal our balance.  Certainly there is nothing I know of in life, assuming one is participating fully, authentically and with volitional consciousness, which is absolutely stress free. Some stress is good; it can push us to greater heights and it can help us overcome hardships. That being said, too much stress whether in intensity or duration can cause health problems.  Stress can be linked to back pain, intestinal problems, headaches and insomnia all of which can adversely affect your immune system and make you susceptible to illness....

It is acceptable in martial arts to adopt any particular kamae, or “posture,” as an expression of one’s self in an artistic or stylistic manner provided it is a sound stratagem in and of itself or that the individual is so adept at the posture it makes her effective in a self-defence scenario.  In many cases, a particular kamae or posture signals the style of martial art the person has studied. The straight up posture, fists clenched, arms out and slightly bent, legs in a wide stance could indicate a karate practitioner. Arms up, away from the body, palms toward the opponent, might mean a Muay Thai fighter. The various forms of Kung Fu, indicating the Tiger, the Dragon or the Praying Mantis are distinguished by their exotic postures, and so on. How we present ourselves in daily life and in a non-martial context gives people hints about ourselves. Whatever way we present ourselves can be considered our kamae, our posture.  This begs the questions, just how does the w...

I have stated martial arts have more to offer than just self-protection techniques. But to what degree can the Five Concepts and the Five Mental Attitudes affect anyone’s life in a non-martial way? Can these concepts and attitudes be of use in the day-to- day life of a non-martial artist? Let us explore that possibility with the first of the Five Concepts.  Maai , is the distance between defender and an attacker. The distance that is involved changes based upon the strategy the defender employs. This is a fluid situation.  A safe distance is usually considered approximately six feet. This is considered the industry standard as far as self-defence training is concerned.  For a person to strike at you from that distance they would need to move toward you and that should give you warning regarding their intent allowing you to escape to a safe place.  If you respond to your attacker from that distance, your strikes will not have any power. And the same...

About seven years ago, I was teaching a class of black belts when I severely damaged my knee. All three ligaments were torn and I had to have the knee rebuilt. During my recuperation, I thought  I should write a follow-up book to my first book on the martial art syllabus I had developed over three decades called Seishindo . Roughly translated, " Seishindo " means " spiritual energy way ." The first book, which is no longer available, was called " Seishindo: A Modern Method of Self Defence. " It catalogued the techniques I was teaching and provided a philosophical basis for each ranking. It also provided a Use of Force Continuum spelling out the behaviour of an assailant and what under most laws would be considered the appropriate use of force to be used in defence of self. It was a unique aspect of my teachings. But I wondered, as I lay on the bed, my rebuilt knee wrapped tightly, ice water pumping through to reduce the swelling  from the s...