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 world perceive us? How do we present ourselves to others?
But as in martial arts, the posture we choose to show the world should come from the heart, born of the truth of whom we are, forged in the fire of our consciousness, and tested in the “battle” of our interactions.
We are as free as our essence permits in presenting ourselves to others. But there are pros and cons to be considered for there will always be consequences.
For instance, I have adopted a Celtic persona for myself. I am from Northern Britain, I am enamoured with Iron Age Celtic culture and the romantic views of that period resonate with me. I was married in a Celtic ceremony, I have a Celtic tattoo and I wear my hair long in true Celtic fashion. I have even written a novel based on the Arthurian legends where I spin the tale that Arthur was a Celtic chieftain, not a king and his name was not Arthur at all.
The consequences of my persona were mitigated because I didn’t come to the realization I was of Celtic stock until after I had been hired. My hair was short and I dressed professionally in a dark suit for the interview.
When my hair was getting long, my boss asked me how much was I “into being Celtic.” I told him. I also looked up our discrimination policies and I am on solid ground should anyone object to my hairstyle for it is based on my interpretation of my ethnicity.
I do receive the odd comment and occassional insult for wearing my hair long. I joke, I educate my detractors about the time period, including the fierce reputation of the Celts as fighters and at times, true to my Celtic nature, I reply in violent street vernacular. These are my consequences. But I am authentic about the truth of who I am and it comes from the heart.
When I was teaching women’s self-protection I taught women to consciously not present themselves as an opportunity or target.
Statistically, women are more likely to be attacked by people who are known to them, while men are more likely to experience violence at the hands of a stranger.
While it is not likely that there is a “boogieman” waiting to jump out of the bushes at you, my nineteen years of experience as a correctional officer and decades of training from law enforcement officers, indicated there are criminals out there and like sharks, criminals attack prey they think they can easily “kill.”
I was teaching a lot in the late eighties, early nineties, when women had to be alerted to what predators look for because it seemed no one was instructing young men not to do harm or terrorize girls. Sadly, nothing much has changed in that respect.
That is why I always talked about being aware of how you present yourself in public. Walking with the head down, shoulders hunched forward, hands full and perhaps a phone in your ear, all of this invites those already bent on criminal activity to act.
Walking with your head up, shoulders back and with a purposeful gait signals a strong and positive signal to others. It does a lot to dissuade any criminal action based on the impulse of opportunity.
Let me be clear: I am not blaming the victim and I am all for freedom of expression. What I am saying is: act from the heart, live to the truth of your own being, be authentic, but be prepared for the consequences of your own honesty.
I would say that walking with purposefulness does not transgress any social taboos. Proper posture is good health both physically and mentally. And if the student has been diligent in her training the inherent increase of physical and mental acuity will be obvious, it will have become, as Aristotle would have said your “second nature,” the conscious cultivation of your own true virtue.
This posture you adopt says to the world that you are confident and definitely not a target.
The clothing you wear, the hair style you select, the style of speech you adopt and the persona you put on is how you will be judged until those who judge you get to know the real you.
Self-esteem has a lot to do with how you present yourself to the world. Posture can mask or reveal the degree of self-esteem you possess.
Self-esteem can be related to how you feel about yourself in terms of self worth, competence and confidence. The more self-esteem you have the higher degree of these qualities you possess.
John Milton is roundly credited with coining the phrase, “self-esteem,” in 1657. Around the 1890’s the issue of self- esteem became part of mainstream American psychology.
Many psychologists have authored papers, articles and books devoted to the subject.
A personal favourite of mine is the psychologist, Nathaniel Branden who in 1969, defined self-esteem as:
"...the experience of being competent to cope with the basic challenges of life and being worthy of happiness.”
It is my opinion that martial arts training can enhance self-esteem, but of course, I am speaking as a life-long advocate of martial arts training.
In terms of posture in a non-martial context, being aware of your self and how others see you could shape your choices and prevent unwanted physical conflict. Hopefully, you will experience being competent in coping with the basic challenges of life and being worthy of happiness because of your confident posture and outlook.
Comments
Post a Comment