Mind and focus are the essence of any technique in any style. Also Belief. If one believes in a technique it will work, belief is a projection of will and focus. Without any of the mental aspects then no technique or art will work in my opinion.

If you look a this from the tao then if you have physical benefit you will gain mental benefit e.g. If one can execute a technique properly they will gain confidence. I truly believe you cannot have the physical side without the mental aspects also.

I truly believe you cannot have the physical side without the mental aspects also.


I agree with you here... Though I think to understand the art on a deeper level the mind must be trained, but I do believe you can get technique without deep mentle training, I just think it wont be as good.

I was once told this story that strengthened my ideas in how powerful the mind truly is.

"There was a Japanese man that was in a concentration camp during WWII. He wanted so badly to play Golf, for he had never played and wanted to play. Unfortunately, it seemed as though he could never play because he was in this concentration camp.

So what he did was every single day he visualized himself playing golf. He visualized the wind blowing, the grass swaying, the smells, the sights, the feel of the clubs...literally everything. He made an entire golf course inside his mind. He made it real, everyday in his MIND he played golf.

Well after the war, he was released (a lucky one to survive) and one of the first things he did was go and play golf. Much to his own surprise it felt natural to him, as though he had played it for years. He played a very good game, and looked/felt like a natural though he had never played..."

Is the story real? Who knows, but I personally enjoy it because it makes you think what are the possibilities that the mind truly holds?

I mean theoretically, by him visualizing this everyday, he was in a sense training his muscles and senses (since the mind obviously controls both). And by making it as real as possible, he "tricked" the mind into thinking it was real...As one of my teachers once said "The mind does NOT know the difference between fake and reality..."

Excellent story! Although I have seen a few martial art 'Courses' you can buy that teach via subliminal methods!!!!

Good story!

Apprently this can also be achieved through Lucid dreamin. A slightly different subject I know but Lucid dreaming is when you can control your dreams. Apparently you can set real situations ithin this mindful dream lucid state and practise something and actually learn the skill...

I often think about MA and visualise things to understand them better therefore training away from training so to speak.

One little connection I will make is that in Music (I'm a guitar player/song writer) without visualisation and becoming part of the visualisation the music does not flow... Its not a concious thought its more a feel and creation of a feeling within the mind.

Excellent points,

This borders on the realm of the subconscious, which in psychological thought it is "always" recording for later playback. So in theory if you plant ideas there (through lucid dreams, subliminal advertising etc.) it will record and playback later. This can both be detrimental and beneficial.

You can use this idea to practice your MAs in your mind (as above) but make it real. You can also use this idea to go back to what you exp. (tests, questions, MA applications) and if you can get deep to the subconscious remember everything.

I think we can all see how it can be detrimental.

Moving on a bit from the mind training angle...

As we know about the un bendable arm, projecting an energy or imagining water flowing through your arm in order for it to be relaxed and unbendable...

When punching, is this focus/projection of energy flowing out the arm something to focus on??

When I read master's books etc, I hear alot about being aware but not being caught up in your thoughts. About just doing and feeling rather than thinking...

But as a sensei said to me last night in fact, you can perform something time and time again and not get it right, then something will click and suddenly it makes sense and you can now do it... Is this the point where thought becomes natural reaction? is there a crossover point from thinking about it and just doing?? Does this mean do something as many times as you can and eventually it will make sense??

I believe that the mind must unite with the body to project oneself and when this happens with a movement, then it becomes natural therefore your whole self/spirit is projected...

Am I talking crap?? lol :)

Nope,

You are spot on, most fighting methods/Techs etc. Should become second nature, they become entrenched into "muscle memory" so the muscle just reacts. This has been demonstrated even in military personnel who train in such a way that they react quicker than the known speeds upon which the mind receives signals.

It is hypothesized that the body learns the movements and thus is able to execute them w/o checking with the brain first. This is the general idea behind "Natural Reaction", thus also allowing the muscles to move in such a way that the brain would deem "inappropriate."

For example, I used to Serve tables, and one night I was walking through the dining room with a stack of dishes. On top was a coffee cup, as I stopped to talk to some guests the coffee cup tumbled, w/o thinking I dropped to one knee and with my free arm I caught the coffee cup in mid-air w/o taking my eyes off the guests. The muscles knew how to react and move in such a way, before the mind was even aware of what was going on.

This same principal can be applied to fighting, hence the idea of an "empty mind" even when fighting.

"is there a crossover point from thinking about it and just doing?? "

Yes, but this point is difficult b/c your body/mind feels disjointed and as though they are "arguing" with each other. It is a difficult process to get through so most give up. I am still struggling through when to trust my mind and when to trust my reflexes/body.

"Does this mean do something as many times as you can and eventually it will make sense??"

From what I have exp. the more you do something the more the mind will eventually step out of the way, thus making it natural. For example, driving...remember how much thought and concentration it used to take when you started? Now you do things w/o thinking about it? Same can be said for alot of other things like that too, MA is no different imo.

I agree with you Taoquan!

So in effect, by training the muscle memory and subconscious mind to react without the mentle process, we react faster.
Would you agree that in a way our time perceptions slows down therfore a fast event could seem to go slower as we have reacted to the event before the mind has processed whats happened, therefore time slows down a fraction??

I have heard many MA speak of time perception. I believe that our sub conscious can precieve and react to an event quicker than our minds. Look at some of the greats.. Master O'sensei ueshiba, could not be touched, when he was attacked, it seemed like he was already out the way before the attack really formed fully...

"Would you agree that in a way our time perceptions slows down therfore a fast event could seem to go slower as we have reacted to the event before the mind has processed whats happened, therefore time slows down a fraction??"

Well Yes and No, in the MA you are training your mind and reflexes to take in more in a faster amount of time. Thus time seems to slow down, but in reality you are processing information much faster than an "average" person. It is no different from some athletes etc. that exp. the same idea.

However,
In meditation, there is the whole "Time Dilation" Phenomenon where as you Meditate sometimes it feels like hours but has been minutes or has been hours but feels like minutes. This is a different sensation than above and can be used in the physical sense, but only after a lot of training.

I believe this is the true case with O' Sensei he actually achieved a level of both. Anyone can do it, it is whether or not you want to strive to such a level. :)

This is easy, it is 'intention'

After years of punching air MA I had a brief stint with the class self defence federation.

There I was taught how to intend to hit someone, rather than no focus, worked a treat.

No 'energy' 'Qi' or any oer supernatural spiritual wotnots, just good old focussed aggression, Marvellous:)

Den.

Ah well Den, we wasn't really reffering to supernatural in fact purely natural. Projection of spirit doesn't mean throwing your ghost forward. It means focus one self and hit with intent and show of energy.