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Martial Arts
Not long after joining this forum, I was discussing Martial Arts with a member expressing my interest in it. I decided Tai Chi Chuan seems like something worth trying as it seems to have a strong relationship with meditative practice and mind/body connection.
I was wondering if anybody here is involved in a martial art and if we can start a discussion about our thoughts on the different disciplines in relation to our lives.
With Metta,
Robin
I was wondering if anybody here is involved in a martial art and if we can start a discussion about our thoughts on the different disciplines in relation to our lives.
With Metta,
Robin
0
Comments
I think all martial arts have a strong relationship with meditative practice and mind/body connection when practiced correctly.
One of my instructors recommended the book The Tao of Jeet Kune Do by Bruce Lee, which I subsequently read. I was amazed at the wisdom of Lee's writing, especially in the first half of the book. (If you have not already read this book, I recommend it.)
I realized later it was all Zen (and Taoism, which is closely related to Zen). From there I sought out a Zen sitting group, and that was how I came to the Buddhist path.
I've studied Chen Style Taiji, Yin Style Baguazhang, Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu Iaido, Shinkendo, and Hung Ga
Internal styles like Taiji, are awesome and fold well into the study of Buddhism, because they are a life path more than a Martial Art with an end goal. They force you to look inside and notice how energy works, and require a lot of internal work, and in practical uses, when you are trained properly (and martially, not just in a exercise group for older people), Taiji is actually quite powerful and devastating...it just takes a MUCH longer time than most other martial arts to get to that point, due to its slowed down internal work in the beginning. Most people in the west Don't know that, because westerners tend to have a short attention span when it comes to Martial Arts..if there are no immediate results, they tend to abandon it.
So, Taiji is mostly practiced as a meditative movement, and low impact exercise...since most instructors nowadays have no idea of the power and potentially crippling martial art that lies hidden within the forms. The forms are just the movement...its the internal work that turns those movements into dangerous weapons.
EDIT: Tai Chi Chuan (Chu'an) . A good instructor is everything...make sure y ou do a background check....lots of fakes in the MA world.
My big issue with MA is that they really don't focus on the spiritual all that much. They give a passing glance to it, or they use the "cutsie" quotes, but that's pretty much the extent of it. My own experience has been that most students aren't there for philosophical enlightenment, they're there to able to be able to fend off attackers on the street (another area where most MA fall way short IMHO), so any treatment of Dharma is so thin as to be non existent. Also many MA instructors are so dysfunctional, I'm not sure I'd want to be learning Dharma from them anyway.
PS: Just for the record, I was involved in the MA for 35 years.
In the end, it's what you, the student, bring to it. Good luck in your journey.
I don't learn martial arts for the physical self defense. I personally believe it is the fighter behind the art that makes it potent, not the art behind the fighter. In that sense, I have enjoyed internal martial arts the most. To me they have the most depth which makes them the most fun to learn for me.
I have experience in Jujitsu, Kendo, Chen Taichi, Bagua, and Qigong. I spent the longest practicing Kendo. Which in an old school style dojo it is very rigorous, since it is full contact and barefoot. All those styles I practiced were spiritual except for Jujitsu. Kendo is fun because you fight with "ki". And the whole point of it is that both fighters are literally trying to kill each other in one cut, and are blowing off a lot of energy (ki) in the process.
I practice Qigong to try to balance my mind now. I miss the fighting, but the monthly tuition rates are an issue for me.
It sure was! And thanks for the spelling correction too. What you mentioned about it being an internal martial art seems appealing, and after watching many videos of Tai Chi forms / applications, I can see it's potential. Some of the teachers were able to throw the other off-balance in very soft-looking motions that appear to defy laws of physics. I'll certainly do some background checks before subscribing to a course.
LesC -
Wow, that's a lot of training you've had behind you. Have some of your teachers or certain styles integrated taoism / Zen in their teachings more than others? That's what I find appealing about Tai Chi, to me it seems to integrate Dharma more than others. I can imagine that not many of the students aren't 'spiritual practitioners'.
How long did you practice jujitsu and did you enjoy it? Qigong looks interesting too.
Jujitsu was the one I practiced for the least amount of time. Maybe around 8 months. I did not enjoy it much. The teacher felt very bland to me, he lacked character. He also only showed Jujitsu through practical application. He did not share any philosophy to go with the art he was teaching. When seeking to learn a martial art a passionate teacher is the most important part.
(I've done one lesson of Ninjutsu and it's awesome!)
i've found that my instructor in Taekwondo ,although he focuses more on the sport, he really emphasizes on what your mind is thinking. He says to change your thinking when you fight. So when you see an opponent think, I am much stronger than s/he is, I am much faster than s/he is, this kick to the head is successful (try to keep the wording in the present moment). So yeah. I want to do more self-defense so that's why I'm going to change martial art. I'll get my last belt before black in June and then I have to wait a year and train for black belt. I might even quit before black because I'd essentially be one but I might regret not taking the grading.
wow.... you really studies all that???