Attend weekly Japanese Jiu Jitsu class at Great River institute, located in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains. Study with Scott Walter, Sensei..
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When an aggressor grabs our wrist, our tendency is to use resistance as our course of action. Perhaps we attempt to jerk our hand away, or maybe we suddenly start pushing, twisting or even shouting. We tend to react one of two ways: fighting it or giving in to it. Similarly, we employ the same practices when encountering difficulties in our everyday life circumstances. In Jiu Jitsu we train to not meet force with force. Instead, we practice to ‘become one with’.
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Recent Jiu Jitsu classes have been delving into the mechanics of what occurs when resistance emerges. But more importantly, we have been learning that there are glimpses of awareness that can take place, but typically only if we have ‘the eyes to see’.
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Balance and Harmony’ is an often-used phrase that sounds good on paper but isn’t always so easy to achieve. Quietly residing between those two seven letter words lays a simple three letter word — ‘and.’ As we shall see, it’s all in the ‘and,’ because hiding in that modest conjunction are five secret principles to improved balance and harmony. The power of the ‘and’ reveals how to transition from Balance to Harmony.
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Over the past few years, I’ve both emailed and personally met the religion’s founder, Oliver Benjamin. Dudeism is widely viewed as a spoof, and many of its followers have reinforced its washed-up stereotype of bumbling incompetence. Yet this modern spin on Taoism continues to grow, and its over 600,000 ordained ministers are legally recognized.
Cross-relating and then applying martial arts principles is where it’s at. At least for me — along with a few others I’ve met who are just as deeply convinced that practical applications are the key. Hence, we are Dudeism’s only monastery. The relationship is understandably informal and casual.
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There exist certain ideals that can trigger us in powerful and often unexpected ways. Our monastery, for example, was formed out of a genuinely organic call and response. It was as though someone pulled a trigger. This triggering is often a constant refrain to the monk.
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In today’s world, winning has become associated with bullying, intimidation, cheating, lying and the hoarding of wealth and power. It’s the tried and true ploy of getting ahead at the expense of others.
If you don’t like the idea of winning at someone else’s expenses, then it is important to develop strategies that allow us to win while not causing others to lose. Even warriors consider this.
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Everything we’ve created exists because of our minds.
As we study Jiu Jitsu, we begin to realize that the fight or encounter is often won or lost depending on the state of our intention. The focus of our mind, combined with our ability to be supple and relaxed, is what determines the outcomes.
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Can the inner mystery be quantified, defined or identified? Mystics have long believed that it could. But what about artists?
Art has long been associated with our spiritual nature, or what we might call the inner creative pulse. Often considered an expression of the deeper self, artists sometimes refer to this mysterious energy as the ‘inner muse’. But what is it? And how do we more consciously connect to it?
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Often, when we are attacked in life, we either meet the attack with a forceful response, or we cringe and cower. It’s an all or nothing approach. And in many cases, people only know one or the other of these polar opposite responses.
There are times when flight or flight responses are effective, but there is an entire world of other responses, found in the middle, which are often overlooked.
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When we look at books that typically emerge from the martial arts, one type dominates: books about techniques. They are full of pictures and illustrations depicting how to counter, throw or pin the attacker.
A second class of books include histories and anthologies, generally focused on the development of various arts or weapons. We’ll also find detailed lineages depicting the emergence of various schools, branches and sects.
The rarest class of books discuss principles, philosophy and strategy. These are topics that are relevant to either warfare or to daily life, because whether in war or life we are having to face things within ourselves. Sometimes books in this third classification are written in the guise of fables, heroic adventures or poignant morality tales.
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The mind has many thoughts, and it’s rarely empty. Yet, when it’s able to pause, it can glimpse the emptiness. And a mere glimpse can change you forever.
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“I practiced the method of maintaining one point, one center, when there is commotion around you.” — from a student of Aikido
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We often think of self defense martial arts as fighting arts and skills. But my Sensei often stated, “The biggest thing you have to defend against is your self.”
This advice is also true when it comes to stilling our mind. We typically associate a mind full of active and moving thoughts as a productive and healthy mind. But is it?
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What would be different about the way we approach life if we were meditating — in some form or another — pretty much all the time, or at least at any time we chose? And not in some dull-eyed space cadet way. Rather, in a completely normalized, functional manner.
Martial arts helped illuminate the path to get me there, and I eventually learned how to meditate in everyday life. I can actually describe how to do it, although not in this short essay. It’s a skill I practice everyday.
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I was in my brand new Jiu Jitsu gi (uniform) for the first time. I was 39 years old, needing something but not really sure what that ‘something’ was. I had all kinds of insecurity, but I couldn’t admit it. And all this tension built up in my shoulders and neck.
When I looked in the mirror I didn’t see any signs of tension. I saw a swimmer’s tapered physique. That wedge look made sense to me: I swam a lot. So this is how I looked when I hesitantly walked into my first Jiu Jitsu class in 1990… fit and ready. At least that’s what I thought.
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The attack is coming. It could be a co-worker, a customer, a partner, a patient, someone in line at the cash register, or even a family member. Sometimes it catches us by surprise, other times we can see it coming. It’s rarely physical.
How do we deal with both the expected and the surprise attacks?
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The martial arts has a long history, traceable to the second millennium BC. This means something: that 4000 or so years ago, we figured out there might be a better way to fight than using clubs.
Dude-Li, for example, was skinny and quite naked. He needed some kind of equalizer.
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Read MoreJujitsu is considered a ‘soft’ martial art, as opposed to ‘hard’ forms that meet an opponent’s force with hard, solid kicks and strikes. In jujitsu, which literally means “art of softness,” you don’t meet an opponent’s physical force with your own force. Instead, like water, or wu wei, you flow with the opponent’s force and use it against them to throw them off balance and flip them onto the floor before they even know what’s happening.
Dude-jitsu follows the same basic approach, only with one important difference: There’s no physical harm intended.