Awareness in modern life

So we were talking about ki no sen the other day in Shorinji Kempo and from what I can grasp of this it's a bit like using your common sense or keeping your wits about you (OK, probably a bit deeper than that but let's work with 'awareness' for the time being!).

And then I watched this following video on YouTube... It made me think how easily we get distracted by all our modern accoutrements...how easily we can focus so much on our mobile phone or ipod or whatever and forget about the real life around us!

And then I had an even scarier thought...

Check out this slightly scary/disturbing video (not for young kids) but thought provoking film then see what I realised after I'd watched it!

And so to the rub.... I mean nobody would do that would they!? Let some bloke into their house cos he *looks* like he's going to check the meter...Except I did! Only the other day...

This guy turns up at the door with clipboard, badge and the like and says to me, "I'd like to talk to you about the gas supply" and I, without waiting because I was busy working at the time when he interrupted me, said, "Oh, you want to read the meter? Come in, here it is". Before I knew it he was sat down at the dining table trying to sell me something. I kicked him out as soon as I realised and was a bit miffed at his sales technique but you can't blame them too much I suppose. But I was surprised that I'd been 'had' that easily because my mind was clouded with the project I was doing when I was interrupted!

It's good to have a gap or a pause between moments in our day. Sensei DD made a very good point during kihon the other day: try and ready ourselves between techniques. Very often during an intense and rapid counting one texchnique can very often blend into another. Instead of being techniques: "ichi", "ni", "san", ... they become one long technique, "ichinisan...". It's good to ready oneself between the different techniques, making them separate.

Doing this makes you less likely to be open to nasty surprises...

Classic Duel between two warriors

I read this amazing account of a duel between two warriors. See what you think then read my notes at the end.

*****************************

He was someone trying to kill me, that's all.

He addresses me and aims at me and he is ready to kill me. This is frightening but I have no time to be frightened. Later on you may perspire about it but at that moment in the heat of the battle you're too focused.

If he turns quickly I'll be dead-cut down but I'm closing up quickly on him and suddenly we're right back where we started.

All of this is just instinct now. Things are happening too fast to think everything out.

I've had enough of this so I roll the dice. I turn inside of him and prepare to strike. My opponent senses this and tries to evade.

I have him. He knows that I have him.

I strike at him and he falls away. Have I killed him? I do not particularly want to fight this man again.

*****************************

I have paraphrased this to try and hide the time of this duel and the weapons used but what struck me was the grim focus on an act of killing the opponent. This sort of sharpened 'fear' must make your awareness keen and your actions take on a life of their own as your will is clear but your body acts automatically. This is down to an intimate knowledge of your arsenal and abilities in moving, turning, brandishing weapons, using your hands and feet. When the chips are down it seems it's best not to 'think' too much. By this I don't mean seek openings and create opportunities, but if your mind is clouded by thoughts of which technique to use here or there then your body and mind can't act as one unit, seamlessly. Often my Shorinji Kempo teacher says when I ask if the technique was correct, "He's on the floor and you're standing-it worked". I can see what he means.

But within this tale are lessons for us all: work out and train the basics and fundamentals diligently and consistently so that when they are needed you're body feels how to move. Be clear and decisive and don't think that fear is something you shouldn't be feeling: this great warrior did. Your mind should be clear. Maybe it will be clear in any case! Body and mind acting together for a sole purpose.

The duel above is a modern one and sees how a man and his weapon can come together as one unit in the extreme battle between two warriors intent on killing each other. The victor above was a P-51D pilot over Europe in the Second World War, shooting down and killing a German in a Bf109.

Last days fencing and ki ken tai

The fencing course culminates with a competition with the rest of the club. This includes fun atmosphere and prize giving so I was fairly relaxed about going along, despite not having actually fought anyone for real!

It was quite a liberating experience for me as when I have been to martial art competitions I'm always a little anxious about technique, remembering stuff, wanting to do well and not let myself down. These all buzz around my head so calming them is a process which takes up energy. Last night at the fencing tournament however I didn't mind at all! Everyone sees you are a learner due to the blue plastron beginners wear and I had nothing to prove. I went along to see how sword combat would be and to maybe get a few points on other fencers, which I did.

One thing to remark was how tired I was after each bout. I'm sure this was because I didn't really know about the correct and most efficient way to fence, but also maybe because I was lunging too much. I think more astute and experienced fencers don't need to lunge and this takes up a lot of energy. Also I was probably chasing the hit a little too much- I couldn't rely on sitting back, parrying and riposting as my technique wasn't developed enough.

My fights ended against M, a tall left-handed fencer who was very able and who thrashed me soundly with me scoring only one point on him. Afterwards in the pub he told me he'd been working on his footwork a lot which improved his fencing. He found that this could free up his mind to work on the 'point' work and bringing these two together, he said, really improved his game: foot and point working in unison. I couldn't help chipping in to add that ki ken tai (breath/spirit or shout, sword and body) was a similar concept in kendo and other striking arts. Bringing together the spirit of the attack (the raw will of the attack) with the body movement and footwork together with the strike of the weapon (be it sword or fist) gives a unity and firmness to the offence. Ki is sometimes considered as the shout or kiai and in some martial arts if the kiai is not present the point is not scored.

This concept is important on a physical level as it improves the structure of the given attack but also on a philosophical level makes the strike more complete. Movement within a traditional martial art is considered more correct if these three elements are present. This is particularly pertinent within kata or hyung practice when intent, focus and body movement are essential.

Starting Right

The following is the first lesson of the Animator's Survival Kit given by Oscar-winning animator Richard Williams. This is a two-minute video about a principle that Williams holds dear and which is often spoken about in martial arts: focus. It's possible that this also touches on no-mind, also called mushin, although Williams doesn't explicitly explore this. He puts forward the idea that we must focus on the task in hand and avoid unnecessary distraction: this is one interpretation of 'kime'. Body and mind focused directly on the sole purpose of executing the task at hand. A decisive technique with full focus of body and mind. Seems like animators use this technique too...

Check out Sue's blog here for a comprehensive look at kime.

Mudrunner 2009

Ten kilometres of real hell and pain mixed with comedy, laughter and occasional breathtaking scenery! Amazing where you go to in your head on a long pound like this. Occasionally I found myself counting in Japanese up to ten repeatedly just to keep a rhythm going. One step in front of the other.... Keep on going, keep breathing...

6 miles of the Land Rover test course over rough terrain, sharp and long inclines, mud baths, fording becks and slog, slog, slog. I made it in where all the fairly fit non-runners came: 279 out of 400 competitors in a reasonable time of 1 hour 34 mins. Way more (in my naivety) than I thought I'd make.

Roll on next year.

This is a photo link which will probably expire sometime soon.

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Breathing out the bad

I had a bad moment during the day today so during training my mind was a bit mixed-up. I was focusing on the bad moment during training instead of leaving it behind me and outside of the dojang. I tried breathing it out: breathing in cleansing air down into the belly and all the dark thoughts out through my feet. Whether you believe in Chi movement & the power of breath or not, this sort of visualisation helps me 'reset'. It provides a tool for me to get out of the loop of negative brooding. Once I've reset I can (try to) focus on technique only. Or not focus on technique but have a free mind... That's the idea anyway.

Good sparring session with Master Campbell and I learned two things: Master Campbell can stop you dead with a reverse front kick. As I tired my technique combinations became sloppy and I was chasing him down (this sort of hot headedness was the reason I had a bad moment today!) and as I stepped in he stopped me: gasp

the second thing is that I need to work on my fitness levels (and lose some of my spare tyre). After three two minute rounds I'm facing AC. He's tall, strong and experienced and during the first minute I'm toeing the line, scoring points and pushing him (sometimes) onto his back foot. During the second minute I was paggered (tired)! My ability to fend off attacks diminished and needless to say I was clattered round the chops a few times. Your hands tend to drop somewhat when you're tired.

I need more training and less chocolate.

Focus on your goal. But not too hard.

The WBC World Middleweight championship was by no means a given result but Taylor, the American, was talking it up big: he wanted to put Froch "to sleep". And so it was that Froch in the last round was staring at a 106-102 deficit and although he'd been knocked down (for the first time in his career) but not put to sleep it was all over bar the shouting.

But it wasn't. Froch said later in an interview (radio 2, Chris Evans, 29-4-09) that as long as there was one round left he was in the fight. He knew he had to do something special: knock Taylor out or stop him dead a couple of times, and his trainer, rather than putting pressure on him and telling him to knock the guy out, said he needed a special round...

Froch rocked the challenger but maintained that he didn't want to rush straight back in instead he literally boxed clever and finally clobbered Taylor with a "booming right" leaving him on jelly legs. The fight was stopped with seconds to go. Good job too looking at Taylor's eyes rolling in his head. Technical Knock Out to Froch.

Amazing example of keeping one's cool and not grasping at victory. Often that final grasping can be the undoing. I've been in fights when I've been winning (just) and lost it all by flailing at it, not seeing the clarity of the situation. Equally if you're behind, like Froch was, it's good to see the opportunity of a last round, a last few minutes to box clever and still be able to do the job. As Froch proved it's not over till the fat lady sings, bows and heads off for the changing room to tuck into the pies.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/boxing/8020426.stm

Kiai in the zone

Check out this crazy kendoka who seems to be in the zone emitting some strange kiais and delivering one-handed cuts. I don't know how common one-handed cuts are in Kendo-certainly his opponent doesn't seem that bothered about it. Great example of aggressive focus though. Reminds me of a competition I had where, before the bout, I could see my opponent felt upbeat and dismissive of me. Actually though I was all over him. My kihaps were clear, strong and I dominated the match. Afterwards he was gracious enough to congratulate me and made particular note of the kihap usage. 

If anyone knows more about one-handed kendo strikes, please comment!

He who hesitates is lost

Ok so I was going to make it (s)he who hesitates... but it sort of spoils the title bar...:-)

I find that London is never as busy as in Easter week. Kids are off school and there are thousands of French tourists. We added to the quota with our family and our French friends and we all bumbled around the sites enjoying the typically overcast-in-April day. When we arrived in Covent Garden we hit maximum crowdage. Couldn't move. Country bumpkin Littlefair, here,  didn't know where to turn. At one point I set off one way realised I was on a collision course with a commuter with a mean glint in her eye and thought twice about it so I did a bit of a jig, falling over myself and had to change course, twice in half a second. The hard-eyed commuter slightly changed her trajectory, readjusted and was off probably accustomed to this strange country dance that the bumpkins bring to the City.

Iai is about focus, as are many other martial arts. But especially iai. Focusing on your enemy and your strike is imperative. Sometimes you are aware of other attackers but you choose first and then  strike hard, with conviction and complete focus. Making this first cut your consuming aim is essential. If this first attacker isn't dealt with correctly and with all your attention then there won't be a chance to shift your focus to the second or the third. That's not to say you shouldn't have an all round awareness of the other attackers on the periphery but you must kill the first enemy with conviction. No dancing around or fumbling. No half committing to first attacker then half way in thinking maybe it's a mistake and dithering over the second attacker without having even finished the first. Bad idea. Strike forward with meaning, readjust strike out again.

Otherwise you might end up with a face full of commuter.

Blitz memorial at St Paul's Cathedral.

Bag work

Regardless of what some people might think about me as a martial artist, I don't go around beating people up on a regular basis! I do often work with a partner and this is essential for timing, distance and striking points (vital areas) and of course feeling the dynamic of different people. What you can't really do with your training partner is whack them really hard, as you might in a real fight or defence situation. So it was with some pleasure that the teacher got some focus mits and pads out the other night. I knew we were in for a punishing session as Master Campbell had a glint in his eye-lots of aerobic and lots of thwacking!

As well as a great feeling of energy I found that the bag work helped me focus on how I hit correctly. The parts of my hand (in this case) which made contact with the pad sort of worked itself out on its own! As I was half way through 30 kap kwon (back fist or uraken) strikes I realised I was connectnig with the wrong part of my hand. How did I know? The back of my hand was starting to smart and the hit felt 'flat' without a cutting sharpness I expected. I had to work on angling the fist outwards slightly in order to connect with the knuckles. This worked better and was less painful. I also had to check I wasn't damaging my elbow by over extending. All this together made for what I thought was a powerful back fist and I appreciated the feedback the bag gave me.

Of course just because it smarts a bit doesn't mean that you're striking with the wrong part! My knuckles did redden (you can also use bag mits for this sort of training and certainly juniors shouldn't attack bags without adequate protection on their hands and feet and then again only lightly: their bodies are still growing and forming!) but this coupled with my own knowledge of how to strike made for a good exercise.

Strike well!

Grading

Well the grading went quite well, but not without a few pre-exam nerves. As I didn't have a partner I asked others to help me revise some problem techniques but as they were busy cramming themselves they weren't too chatty. Understanably so.

Upon registering I was told I'd work in a group of 3 with 2 Cardiff Kenshi who were (naturally) charming. These guys helped me out throughout the grading. I needed it as the acoustics were terrible in the hall- lot's of kiais alongwith shouted instruction meant I had real trouble making out what was being said. At one point I interpreted kiritz ('attention' or 'line up') as Chris, so I stood forward only to be looked blankly at and told, again kiritz.... Doh!

Gradings are a great way to pressure test techniques. When you're nervous and have lots of other stimuli to contend with it requires a lot of focus to stay on task. Occasionally I found it hard. Disecting how it went with one of my partners, Beth, she made a salient point: focus on the positive and when a mistake is made, leave it behind- move on.

Important points brought out at the end of the exam were that:  there must be improvement, from one grading to the next. Moving on and focusing on improvement with constant learning is essential. 

Needless to say I came away from this charged for more training and more learning....

Music and focus

I studied art to A level and loved it! It helped that our sixth form teacher was a passionate artist, well known locally, and his lessons never failed to inject us with enthusiasm.

One day I heard that while we were all sketching outside (as we'd been told to) Big Sharpey had been admonished by Big Bob Watson for wearing his Walkman. Remember those?- Yup the things that used to play cassettes? I know it seems unreal but there you are. That was the 1980s. Mr Watson wanted Sharpey to feel the atmosphere, hear all the sounds which really add up to the illustrative experience. Feel it and it'll come out in the art.

Anyway we were all on Sharpey's side of course. Well he was our chum. And he was big! We didn't really get what Big Bob (er, I mean Mr) Watson really meant by this seemingly killjoy attitude.

But I do now. I own an ipod and I love music (don't get me started!) but if not carefully listened to music becomes part of the background, numbing the senses (not only the hearing!) so that neither the music is really enjoyed, nor the activity being partaken of. I still need music but there are moments when an appreciation of stillness is needed. That's why I don't listen to music while practicing martial arts. So I can hear and feel everything and be completely lost in the moment of my experience. That's true training. Full commitment to the task in hand.

So Bob Watson didn't realise he was a martial artist. Maybe he didn't realise he had a warrior spirit but he certainly had an appreciation of the moment.

Thanks Bob.