by Alex Lamas
Before one engages in combat, be it for sport or in a real situation of self-defense, we must be mindful of our mental state. Fear will always be present, but courage is having fear and acting anyway. Fearlessness doesn’t truly exist, for all of us have that feeling of fear deep down inside. It’s part of being human. Some of us may feel fear on the surface while others may have it only in the subconscious. Fear will be there, but we have the power to decide if that fear will control us. The “flight or fight response” is part of our genetic code, but a disciplined mind has the power to decide. If one makes the decision to fight, the individual should be mindful of what I call My Three C’s of Fighting:
• Calm
• Cool
• Committed
Calm. You must be relaxed, uncluttered in your mind and unclouded by fear or worry. Anger is deadly—it may give you a rush of adrenalin, but it will also cause one to make mistakes in judgment. If your opponent is calm, he will have the edge of a clear mind and will be able to use your anger against you.
Cool. People who are cool are ready—ready for anything. They’re relaxed, but they are also in a state of readiness and easily adaptable to any situation. Bruce Lee once said, “Do not be tense, just be ready, not thinking but not dreaming, not being set but being flexible. It is being ‘wholly’ and quietly alive, aware and alert, ready for whatever may come.”*
Committed. Often a fight, game, or tournament is decided beforehand by the one who is the most committed. If your opponent can see the level of commitment in your eyes, he or she will most often stand down and choose to walk away. Most people really don’t want to fight, and neither should you. However, if one must make the choice to fight, then it must be a commitment; it can mean life or death. If a person is committed, then most likely the individual will be the one who walks away.
Martial combat is a complex human endeavor, and no one way is the right way and many factors will always be in play. The important thing to remember is that if you are aware of your surroundings, then most likely you can avoid any dangerous situation. I avoided several threatening encounters recently, merely because I was aware of where I was and who was around me. When the would-be assailants realized that I was ready for them, they were the ones to walk away. Most people who are mean enough to cause a person harm will do so only if they can hit the target without the individual knowing what hit them. No one wants confrontation, be they a mugger or an honest person. Only by being ready and aware can one be relatively safe. There are no guarantees, but awareness is more powerful than cautiousness. One stems from wisdom, the other is rooted in fear.
* Bruce Lee, In His Own Words, Dir. John Little, Warner Bros. 1998
Copyright © 2007 Alex Lamas, all rights reserved.
Monday, June 25, 2007
MEETING CHALLENGES
by Alex Lamas
I recently had a student who stopped showing up to class. He didn’t want to disappoint me, but I could tell that he felt the classes were a bit too challenging for him, and he was getting discouraged with his slow progress. I assured him that he wasn’t alone, that many students feel that way at the beginning (as I did), and that nobody in the school would judge his abilities. I realized that the challenge for the student wasn’t with the difficulty of the class, but rather with the difficulties the student was facing within himself.
Often in life we encounter seemingly overwhelming obstacles. We see a mountain in front of us, yet we have no idea where to begin our ascent or even if we should endeavor to try. From attending a martial arts class, to moving from one place to another, to being out of work, to experiencing a divorce, or to mourning a death in the family, these difficulties can push us to the point where we feel like the situation is utterly hopeless.
The truth is—no situation is forever, and no situation is truly out of our control. No matter what happens, life goes on, and situations are always in a state of flux whether we notice it or not. Sometimes we may have to wait for the right opportunity or meditate on what course to take. We may wind up in a class that isn’t suited to our bodies or needs, but that doesn’t mean we have to give up. We just need to find what works and commit.
The one thing I love about the martial arts class I belong to is that there are no judgments. Everyone is at a certain place in his or her development, and these individuals are perfect right where they are. You are perfect for where you are in life, and you are exactly where you need to be. I know this may not sound satisfying, but believe me, we all go through it. We all have to start at one place, and where we end is just the beginning of something else. And the cycle repeats, again and again and again. Each summit reached reveals yet another mountain to climb. Each problem solved brings about a new one to tackle. This is the learning process of life, and we often find ourselves in these situations because of past lessons that we failed to notice or address.
This is actually a very positive point of view because when we think we are done, we have new challenges to take on, to move us forward in a new direction. If we feel that we're getting stuck in one place, then there is a lesson there as well. Try a new approach or point of view (wish they could learn that in Iraq), though it is an old axiom that “when you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”
The answers to life’s problems don’t exist in a church, monastery, or school of any kind; the answers lay within ourselves and only ourselves. We have no one else to blame, and if we give in to blame at all, that, too, is a mistake. Get away from blame altogether and only search for the resolution. “Do not believe what your book says. Do not believe what your teachers say. Do not believe what your traditions say. Do not take anything merely because it comes to you with the authority of someone else. Make it a personal experience. Think for yourself. Be convinced, and once convinced, act.” – The Buddha speaking to his disciples
The ultimate challenge is the one within ourselves—the only situation that is permanent happens after we depart this life. And even then…who knows?
“He who conquers men has force; He who conquers himself is truly strong.” – Tao Teh Ching (33), Lao Tzu
Copyright © 2007 Alex Lamas, All rights reserved.
I recently had a student who stopped showing up to class. He didn’t want to disappoint me, but I could tell that he felt the classes were a bit too challenging for him, and he was getting discouraged with his slow progress. I assured him that he wasn’t alone, that many students feel that way at the beginning (as I did), and that nobody in the school would judge his abilities. I realized that the challenge for the student wasn’t with the difficulty of the class, but rather with the difficulties the student was facing within himself.
Often in life we encounter seemingly overwhelming obstacles. We see a mountain in front of us, yet we have no idea where to begin our ascent or even if we should endeavor to try. From attending a martial arts class, to moving from one place to another, to being out of work, to experiencing a divorce, or to mourning a death in the family, these difficulties can push us to the point where we feel like the situation is utterly hopeless.
The truth is—no situation is forever, and no situation is truly out of our control. No matter what happens, life goes on, and situations are always in a state of flux whether we notice it or not. Sometimes we may have to wait for the right opportunity or meditate on what course to take. We may wind up in a class that isn’t suited to our bodies or needs, but that doesn’t mean we have to give up. We just need to find what works and commit.
The one thing I love about the martial arts class I belong to is that there are no judgments. Everyone is at a certain place in his or her development, and these individuals are perfect right where they are. You are perfect for where you are in life, and you are exactly where you need to be. I know this may not sound satisfying, but believe me, we all go through it. We all have to start at one place, and where we end is just the beginning of something else. And the cycle repeats, again and again and again. Each summit reached reveals yet another mountain to climb. Each problem solved brings about a new one to tackle. This is the learning process of life, and we often find ourselves in these situations because of past lessons that we failed to notice or address.
This is actually a very positive point of view because when we think we are done, we have new challenges to take on, to move us forward in a new direction. If we feel that we're getting stuck in one place, then there is a lesson there as well. Try a new approach or point of view (wish they could learn that in Iraq), though it is an old axiom that “when you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”
The answers to life’s problems don’t exist in a church, monastery, or school of any kind; the answers lay within ourselves and only ourselves. We have no one else to blame, and if we give in to blame at all, that, too, is a mistake. Get away from blame altogether and only search for the resolution. “Do not believe what your book says. Do not believe what your teachers say. Do not believe what your traditions say. Do not take anything merely because it comes to you with the authority of someone else. Make it a personal experience. Think for yourself. Be convinced, and once convinced, act.” – The Buddha speaking to his disciples
The ultimate challenge is the one within ourselves—the only situation that is permanent happens after we depart this life. And even then…who knows?
“He who conquers men has force; He who conquers himself is truly strong.” – Tao Teh Ching (33), Lao Tzu
Copyright © 2007 Alex Lamas, All rights reserved.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
WHY STUDY KUNG-FU: The Spirit of Martial Arts
by Alex Lamas
While watching a friend participate in a kung-fu lesson, I heard the instructor tell my friend that he rarely teaches the particular style they were studying. Instead, the instructor teaches a military self-defense system that is used by elite European commandos. He said that most traditional Asian kung-fu systems are stuck in the 19th century and that the techniques don't have much practicality for today's urban environments. The kung-fu forms keep people limited within the structure of the forms and inhibit free form street fighting. I believe this is one of the reasons why Bruce Lee created jeet kune do.
The instructor partially is right. Kung-fu systems like Shaolin long fist, praying mantis, hung gar, and wushu don't have much to do with getting attacked on a subway or at an ATM. Few techniques teach how to defend oneself while sitting at a lunch counter or against a knife attack in an elevator.
What the instructor doesn’t take into account is the fact that fighting opponents on the street is not the only reason one studies kung-fu. More importantly, I believe that almost all martial arts styles offer good and practical self-defense techniques. The style of kung-fu I practice, Fu Jow Pai, has a proven history on the insane streets of New York City during the turbulent ’70s and ’80s. In addition, a friend of mine who studies a northern style of kung-fu successfully defended himself in a subway attack utilizing the style he practices.
My friend’s instructor also doesn’t mention that for many people who study kung-fu, the only true opponent is the opponent within oneself. An individual may be able to fight and defeat anyone who crosses his path, but until that person learns to conquer himself, his mastery of a fighting art will be limited, and that individual will never be better than who he is at that moment. The point of kung-fu—the reason why it was invented (whether or not it was Bodhidharma who brought it from India to the monks of the Shaolin forest)—is to better oneself.
To be better today than yesterday, in all aspects of being—that is the point of kung-fu. If we don't constantly try and improve ourselves, and progress to a higher state of being, we'll become stagnant and officially begin the process of dying. The Shaolin monks easily accepted the challenge of kung-fu because of this principle of self-improvement. It was central to the core of their beliefs as Buddhists.
Self-expression is another reason to practice kung-fu. Like all movement arts such as dance, yoga, etc., martial arts can be used as a moving meditation to discover one’s inner being and in the process express oneself authentically. Honest self-expression can be as essential to living as breathing. The word kung-fu literally means an acquired skill, not martial arts (martial arts literally translates into wushu). Therefore, any hobby or skill can be a kung-fu, such as cooking, car repair, or pottery making, and in that skill one can find a form of self-expression, if done so with passion. In classic kung-fu terms we use the forms as our access to self-expression.
It may be true that in practicing forms one could inhibit formlessness. But to prevent this, I offer that we learn forms to forget them. Put simply: Know the rules so you can break them. If we practice our forms over and over again, we will know them so well that they will become a part of us. We internalize the form to the point that when we need a certain technique, it's there without having to think about using it. It comes out as a natural expression of our being, with intent and without thought. This is the Taoist notion of formlessness, and what I believe Bruce Lee meant when he said, "Be like water my friend." Although he was talking about jazz, Charlie Parker offered one of the best kung-fu comments when he said, "First master your instrument, then just play." That is kung-fu.
I believe that ignoring forms in favor of individual technique is not necessarily better—both are equally important. To learn a form so well that one can express it with feeling and without thinking is the highest form of knowing. I won a forms tournament because while I was performing, I lost myself (the "I") and became the form. I was inside the form and it was using me. This may sound fantastic or esoteric, but any individual who has practiced anything to a great extent will know what I mean.
Years ago in the old Fu Jow Pai school in New York City, the students would rarely spar. My Si-Boks and Si-Suks (elder uncles and younger uncles) mostly practiced their forms, sometimes performing the same routine almost a thousand times. In those days, instead of open sparring in class, full-contact tournaments would be held, inviting any and all challengers. Without question the Fu Jow Pai students would almost always win.
Martial arts is an expression of the self rather than something one has learned. It is that type of knowing that is the domain of the master of the art. This is also why the martial arts are an art. Art is an expression of the soul of the artist; this is the same for all artists, whether they are painters, musicians, dancers, or masters of a martial art.
Art is done with intension, and the art is the form of that intension. The forms themselves are meaningless; they are just the body. The true spirit comes from the intention of the artist behind the form. The spirit of intention is the source of our power, and the life force of who we are as beings. The spirit of martial arts comes from the intention of the practitioner, not the style or the form. We are all on the same journey through life, but the paths we take differ. If we don't walk with the intention toward improvement, then like the proverbial shark that stops swimming, we cease to be. Kung-fu for me is a quest to connect with the divine source of being, and we can only make that connection through our quest of self-examination and self-expression.
Copyright © 2007 Alex Lamas, All rights reserved.
Alex Lamas is an instructor at Kwan’s Kung-Fu Studio. For more information please go to http://www.kwanskungfustudio.com.
While watching a friend participate in a kung-fu lesson, I heard the instructor tell my friend that he rarely teaches the particular style they were studying. Instead, the instructor teaches a military self-defense system that is used by elite European commandos. He said that most traditional Asian kung-fu systems are stuck in the 19th century and that the techniques don't have much practicality for today's urban environments. The kung-fu forms keep people limited within the structure of the forms and inhibit free form street fighting. I believe this is one of the reasons why Bruce Lee created jeet kune do.
The instructor partially is right. Kung-fu systems like Shaolin long fist, praying mantis, hung gar, and wushu don't have much to do with getting attacked on a subway or at an ATM. Few techniques teach how to defend oneself while sitting at a lunch counter or against a knife attack in an elevator.
What the instructor doesn’t take into account is the fact that fighting opponents on the street is not the only reason one studies kung-fu. More importantly, I believe that almost all martial arts styles offer good and practical self-defense techniques. The style of kung-fu I practice, Fu Jow Pai, has a proven history on the insane streets of New York City during the turbulent ’70s and ’80s. In addition, a friend of mine who studies a northern style of kung-fu successfully defended himself in a subway attack utilizing the style he practices.
My friend’s instructor also doesn’t mention that for many people who study kung-fu, the only true opponent is the opponent within oneself. An individual may be able to fight and defeat anyone who crosses his path, but until that person learns to conquer himself, his mastery of a fighting art will be limited, and that individual will never be better than who he is at that moment. The point of kung-fu—the reason why it was invented (whether or not it was Bodhidharma who brought it from India to the monks of the Shaolin forest)—is to better oneself.
To be better today than yesterday, in all aspects of being—that is the point of kung-fu. If we don't constantly try and improve ourselves, and progress to a higher state of being, we'll become stagnant and officially begin the process of dying. The Shaolin monks easily accepted the challenge of kung-fu because of this principle of self-improvement. It was central to the core of their beliefs as Buddhists.
Self-expression is another reason to practice kung-fu. Like all movement arts such as dance, yoga, etc., martial arts can be used as a moving meditation to discover one’s inner being and in the process express oneself authentically. Honest self-expression can be as essential to living as breathing. The word kung-fu literally means an acquired skill, not martial arts (martial arts literally translates into wushu). Therefore, any hobby or skill can be a kung-fu, such as cooking, car repair, or pottery making, and in that skill one can find a form of self-expression, if done so with passion. In classic kung-fu terms we use the forms as our access to self-expression.
It may be true that in practicing forms one could inhibit formlessness. But to prevent this, I offer that we learn forms to forget them. Put simply: Know the rules so you can break them. If we practice our forms over and over again, we will know them so well that they will become a part of us. We internalize the form to the point that when we need a certain technique, it's there without having to think about using it. It comes out as a natural expression of our being, with intent and without thought. This is the Taoist notion of formlessness, and what I believe Bruce Lee meant when he said, "Be like water my friend." Although he was talking about jazz, Charlie Parker offered one of the best kung-fu comments when he said, "First master your instrument, then just play." That is kung-fu.
I believe that ignoring forms in favor of individual technique is not necessarily better—both are equally important. To learn a form so well that one can express it with feeling and without thinking is the highest form of knowing. I won a forms tournament because while I was performing, I lost myself (the "I") and became the form. I was inside the form and it was using me. This may sound fantastic or esoteric, but any individual who has practiced anything to a great extent will know what I mean.
Years ago in the old Fu Jow Pai school in New York City, the students would rarely spar. My Si-Boks and Si-Suks (elder uncles and younger uncles) mostly practiced their forms, sometimes performing the same routine almost a thousand times. In those days, instead of open sparring in class, full-contact tournaments would be held, inviting any and all challengers. Without question the Fu Jow Pai students would almost always win.
Martial arts is an expression of the self rather than something one has learned. It is that type of knowing that is the domain of the master of the art. This is also why the martial arts are an art. Art is an expression of the soul of the artist; this is the same for all artists, whether they are painters, musicians, dancers, or masters of a martial art.
Art is done with intension, and the art is the form of that intension. The forms themselves are meaningless; they are just the body. The true spirit comes from the intention of the artist behind the form. The spirit of intention is the source of our power, and the life force of who we are as beings. The spirit of martial arts comes from the intention of the practitioner, not the style or the form. We are all on the same journey through life, but the paths we take differ. If we don't walk with the intention toward improvement, then like the proverbial shark that stops swimming, we cease to be. Kung-fu for me is a quest to connect with the divine source of being, and we can only make that connection through our quest of self-examination and self-expression.
Copyright © 2007 Alex Lamas, All rights reserved.
Alex Lamas is an instructor at Kwan’s Kung-Fu Studio. For more information please go to http://www.kwanskungfustudio.com.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
