The Core Mental Dynamics Of Martial Arts

[Hei Hu Quan]

The Mental Dynamics of Martial Arts

My initial contribution to this forum will cover personal self-defense in unarmed situations. When you have no weapon and either need to acquire one or defend one's self, you will need to utilize hand-to-hand combat at some point. I will attempt to impart critical defense information that I've studied and incorporated from a number of disciplines. Along with this I will share tested and proven methods I've researched and refined. None of these will involve impractical forms and styles that on the one hand develop speed, fluid motion and accuracy, but in the street will get you a savage beating or killed.

The primary focus should be on the development of the mind to drive both the will to victory but also to transcend fear and generate an ability to harness and manifest great power. Without these critical elements present, your ability to defend yourself is greatly curtailed as is your connection to massive energy reserves that can launch your blows devastatingly.

Number one is forget straight away your size and gender, it plays no part in this and by doing so you've already mentally set an obstacle and limit. Something as small as a bee, spider or snake can make even the largest man cower and run. So it's not the size that counts, but the fearlessness and projection of power that comes from the smallest threats. The human mind must be trained to surmount its imposed limitations and fear is the prime killer of will. Will power, it's manifestation and projection is what takes one from merely dreaming and fantasizing to tangible realisation. Will power stokes the fire necessary to commit to the act of doing. Secondary to that is cultivation of vision, that guides the will and execution to success and achievement of your goal. Part of the development of vision and one's internal energy is the acknowledgment and acceptance that you are a small part of something larger than yourself. A component of the universe like an atom's relationship to larger components that form amazing constructs, and utilize energy to either create or massively destroy. That is power inherent that is tapped into as an appliance taps into an electric socket. Ones ability to cultivate this energy has to do with the fundamental respect one has for themselves and how they use the fire of discipline as a crucible to shape and form themselves to where they need to be, in this place and in this time. Instinct is another absolutely essential part of your being. Instinct is inherent in all animals of which we share a commonality, however in humans it is bred out of us. In modern society, reason and the conscious mind are elevated and used to override instinct to the detriment of one's well being. It is a physically tangible sense of awareness and alarm that incorporates the warning system of the human physiology. Turning this off or submerging it into an insignificant background will eventually render instinct useless as a sense. It needs to be trained and advanced as a sense, so that one can differentiate accurately between real and false reads or prejudicial influence. Focus and steel determination is a yet another drive that will propel your commitment to achieve a goal or task in sheer spite of all odds. In everything you do, commit 100% of your resources to its achievement. If no one else does this, YOU be the only one and see it through competently and successfully to the end.

It is difficult to convey on paper what must be imparted as energy and focus. So the question of course becomes, "Okay I see the abstraction, but how does this play out in the real world? Well, in the real world you avoid trouble until it becomes unavoidable, that puts you in control, rather than walking head first into another world that you places you in the advantage of another dynamic that you know nothing about or control. When the situation becomes untenable you must steel yourself and kill your fear. This takes practise and mental exercises of seeing your opponents as fragile, mortal beings who bleed and scream for Jesus once in personal jeopardy like most everyone else. Then you never consciously think about the architecture and whether you will lose the fight. Instead, focus on establishing your connection to that universal power source, harnessing its power and amalgamating it within to expel the force out into your blows. Eyes should be scanning for weaknesses and possible items laying about that can be used as weapons. Clear your mind and let the fight training you've practised and practised, take the lead. Your mind should be focused on envisioning a successful outcome and scouting for vulnerable areas and opportunities. If you are attacked, you must repel it with MAXIMUM force, like your life depends upon it, because guess what? It does. Nothing is unfair when you are drawn into a street fight or skirmish that can turn deadly in seconds. Monitor the way animals fight from the smallest to the largest, and you'll see that they employ 100% of their resources to either victory or big loss. We are no different, only that we have followed the training of the IllumiNazis and their missionaries who desire you to be weak, ineffectual and devoid of any hope.

I also want you to see this as a work in progress not as an abstract to be taken at face value. I am presenting merely an short overview of an often overlooked part of self-defence... the power of the mind and the incorporation of the spirit (Chi). The physical training is nothing without the mental development needed to put it all together in one sinuous synchronised flow. The harnessing of the mind is not some benign myth or urban legend, it is real and awaiting your return. I will leave you with a link to an brilliant video of one of the most down and dirty, supremely effective fighting disciplines I've seen lately. It's called Systema and was developed by the Russian military, particularly the Spetsnaz special forces.

Link: Systema 101

"The System" is a reference to the various systems of the body (Musculature, nervous system, respiratory system, etc.) as well as elements of the Psyche and the Spirit or Chi; amalgamating them all into a coherent and effective whole. It is designed to be highly adaptive and practical, training using drills and sparring instead of rigid and impractical katas or forms. It focuses mainly on the six body levers (elbows, neck, knees, waist, ankles, and shoulders), while also teaching pressure point application and take downs. I highly recommend you acquire as much Systema training material and information as possible. Then find a training mate to refine and practise until it becomes second nature. I believe in your ability to do this, just as should you, and rise to become a master of yourself.

Cheers.

[deathstickboy]

This is worth checking out in regards to this topic, for those who may not have otherwise seen it due its topical placement. :cool:

http://conspiracycentral.info/index.php?showtopic=6998

[Hei Hu Quan]

Much gratitude Deathstickboy, your follow-up is perfect. I wanted to expound upon meditation as the practise and exercise of tapping into that universal power source, which while eternally powerful, can also be blissfully, and soul comforting and serene. It is truly an energy that flows and to properly engage with it, you too must flow with it. This is the strength your enemies never want you to know, much less tap into. It is the Yin to the earthly Yang. I hope I'm expressing this in a way that all can appreciate and understand, as I said previously, it's difficult to convey on paper. This is the heart and essence of martial arts.

The early Asian monks used martial arts exercises to train their bodies not to crank people through the floorboards, but to condition themselves for increasingly more taxing meditation sessions. It wasn't until their own IllumiNazi type leaders began fearing their power and influence, that they waged wars of destruction upon them and their temples, and the monks developed and evolved fighting methods for self-defence and survival.

[triplesix]

While I have studied tai chi chuan and ba gua zhang for the last few months and have found it to be an invaluable resource I think that for people looking for martial effectiveness in the relative short term the most ideal discipline to practice is tameshiwari.

While it is internal martial arts that will reveal the most subtle and I believe effective power, the art of breaking is perhaps the fastest discipline for teaching how to strike effectively. If not for the very fact that it hurts like hell if you don't!

I have been breaking boards on a weekly basis for years using thin pieces of wood that can be layered as needed. Also, placing a phone book on a wooden beam as an exercise tool has been wonderful. Each day a page can be torn out until you are capable of punching near pure wall. Place a wash cloth or something as a barrier to prevent skin abrasions. And of course, always take a break if your knuckles appear swollen or in any sort of distress.

Happy punching.

[hardboiled11]

Well, theres not one way at everything but theres always a more positive way. Training in a padded room with some other grunts will drastically be different then training out in the wild with some really old master dude. I know Dr. Hatsumi masaaki's *ninja* master, spent three years out in the wilderness, only left with 2 bags of rice on his back. Living by a water fall living off the land. Hatsumi says his master was way better then he was, and he really was confused on whta to do when his master passed away, and this is coming from a guy who has had up to 80 or more fights to the death with so called karate masters and bandits and other people in china and around korea, after WWII

[triplesix]

Good point hardboilednwokilla, nothing will make you fight effectively as getting in fights! Training with a partner you can trust (and a bit of protective gear) can give you an opportunity to brawl at nearly full out power without suffering any legitimate injuries. I wouldn't recommend picking fights, you never know who might drop your ass and leave you injured for a while, if not permanently if you're like me and lack health insurance! I know a few people who live to this day with broken thumbs and noses from getting in drunken brawls without any way of getting medical help... love that USA. And they won the fights, on top of it.

[hardboiled11]

Nothing will ever get you good, untill you fully entrench yourself in it, which has been forgotten by so called "true martial artest of the age". One can't fight effectivly or adapt to curtian situations when there mind has been wandering for days on end.

[Shinobi]

This is one of those gems that has been sitting here for a while
and I cant believe I bloody missed it! *saves to txt*

Thanks Hei Hu Quan

[shZ]

Excellent thread HHQ, even though you're not here anymore. You are missed.