The guy who got me into the martial arts
back in 1967,
we are still the best of friends,
and he came up to my b-day party,
and gave me a gift.
A couple of comic books.
No, no,
not Donald Duck,
or some Ninja stuff,
he gave me
Zhuang Zi Speaks.
This is the most amazing collection of art
illustrating zen concepts.
Well,
it’s probably ‘Chan,’
not zen,
the Chinese root of the tree
but the concepts are the same.
Music in nature,
usefulness v uselessness,
all sorts of incredible illustrations
truly defining zen,
the human experience,
and what it is all about.
And this stuff really relates to the martial arts.
So,
reading this stuff,
clearing out the mind,
let me go over what happens in the martial arts
in relation to the zen existence.
This is going to be neutronic,
so shake your head and blink a few times,
stretch the jaw,
and get ready to input some real data.
The body is a machine.
The mind is a bunch of memories.
You are the source of it all.
If a problem comes to you,
and you use the mind,
then you are using memories.
You are trying to use data that may have been useful some year,
but may not actually relate to the now.
The point of the martial arts is to bypass the mind.
To focus on the movement in the universe,
and see that movement as it is,
and not how the mind (memories) translates it.
You do this by focusing on one thing,
the form,
the technique,
whatever it is you are doing.
You focus and do not let yourself be distracted.
You watch the fist flying towards your face,
and you do not let the mind panic
and try to solve the problem
through the use of memories.
Now,
here’s where it gets interesting.
Probably the most important thing to be handled
in this thing of controlling the mind
so it does not run amok when your survival is at stake,
is to control emotions.
There is no actual definition for the word emotion.
Look in the dictionary,
you will see something like…
‘feelings.’
Maybe an egghead bunch of blather like…
‘the subjective experience.’
But that doesn’t tell you what emotions are.
There is actually no definition for emotion,
not even a good description.
So here is the neutronic truth about emotions…
Emotions are energy
(wavelengths)
generated by a human being.
They can be the result of being overwhelmed,
(fear)
or experiencing strong sensations
(love)
and so on.
The energy of emotions are generated
in response to motions inside the head.
Something happens,
there is a motion somewhere in the universe,
something coming towards you,
and in response,
you generate a motion inside the head.
Perhaps you see the immediate future,
and what will happen if a fist collides with your beak,
perhaps something else.
The actual sequence goes like this…
a fist flies at your face,
the motion of the universe
causes you to ‘think,’
and you experience motion inside the head.
Then you generate panic,
or fear or rage or hate,
or some other useless wavelength.
Something that doesn’t necessarily handle the problem
of the real motion in the universe,
and even gets in the way of the real solution.
Maybe there was a purpose once,
for a feeling like panic,
maybe the result would be fight or flight,
or some other kneejerk response,
but there is no purpose now,
not for the human experience.
Emotion does nothing more than get in the way
of an actual and calculated response.
So you practice martial arts,
until you don’t experience motion inside the head
as a response to the motion of the universe.
You get rid of the distractions
that are generated inside your own head
and then you can see the world as it is.
You don’t blink when the fist comes at you,
but engage in an intuitive but calculated response.
I know,
some people claim that you can use fear,
that an emotion can be used to spur your responses.
But that’s the wrong way to go.
That is using a cluttered head,
to render a decision.
But the BEST decision
will come from an uncluttered head,
a mind empty of emotion,
a mind that is not searching for memories,
a mind able to perceive the world as it is,
a mind that is not kneejerking in response to
motion in the universe.
I know,
there is emotion when you copy an animal,
perhaps do a form.
But that is art,
an expression of self.
That can be good
because you are learning to use emotions,
instead of being used by emotions,
and that helps you control the motion inside your head.
But,
here is the summation.
The body is a machine,
the mind is a bunch of memories,
if you want to unleash all your potential,
you must not look to the past
through memories
as a solution to what is happening now.
Instead,
you must learn to focus,
to not become distracted,
to be in the moment.
This is how the simple act of learning self defense,
discovers the truth of the spirit,
of the real you,
that is operating the body.
That is learning the real martial arts.
Now,
if you like this stuff,
if it makes sense and you want more,
go to ChurchofMartialArts.com.
If you don’t,
that’s cool,
there are many ways to approach the martial arts,
next newsletter we’ll probably discuss
the best and most efficient way to kick testicles.
Okey dokey,
got to see a man about a front snap kick,
talk to you later,
and have a GREAT work out!
Al
Matrix Martial Arts 