You all know me as someone passionate about spreading the message of empowering women.
That’s one thing that “Real Men Do” (shout-out to She-Jitsu!)
I want to introduce you all to our first video of our Outfoxxed Self-Defense channel. Lot’s of great videos coming up! And be sure to tell your ladies about it!
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Michael Joyce is the creator and chief writer at CombativeCorner.Com. He is also a teacher, martial artist and movement aficionado with a passion for taijiquan, fencing and self-defense. He is also a massage therapist who has been in practice since 2006. In 2011, he self-published a concise, straight-to-the-point book titled The Golden Thread – Essential Principles of Self-Defense, that was heralded, not only by his peers but also by some of the best in the field. Continuing his pursuit to create, teach and empower, “Coach Joyce” as he prefers to be called, is hard at work on various projects, many of which will be mentioned in this interview. So, without further ado…
“It’s a communication thing. And if we don’t have this communication with ourselves, if we can’t bring joy into practice, we’ll eventually leave it. Some people even get injured by it. My answer is communicate more, add joy and seek to dive deep into what Bruce called ‘the honest expression of the human self.'”
What prompted you to begin your studies of the martial arts?
My first experience was when I was 10 (or so) and my mom put me in a Karate class (trial basis). The teacher had me doing the basic punches and blocks, but it bored me to tears. I must admit that I was caught up in “what I looked like”…and not what I was necessarily “doing.” I wanted to move like Jackie Chan, not Chuck Norris. And it was Jackie (strangely, not Bruce) that led me back to the martial arts – after seeing a film called “The Big Brawl” (which Jackie thought was going to be his big break into Hollywood; but wasn’t). It was an amazing film (in my opinion) that showcased Jackie’s talents brilliantly. I would have to say that it was Jackie’s moves, and later, Bruce’s philosophy that kept me fascinated for a long time to come. Then, as a freshman in middle school, my friend handed me a flyer for a local Kungfu class.
It was here, in this Kungfu class that I began to understand… that it was only through the dent of hard work that I would achieve anything great; anything of value. And luckily for me, my teachers Jim Holoman and Jack Heineman were fantastic, giving and open to helping me further myself as a martial artist. Also, it was through this class that I was able to get a taste of what some of these other art forms were about: like Tai Chi, Xingyi and Bagua. Little did I know that I would later find Taijiquan (Tai Chi) to be the biggest and deepest ocean of them all… and I was more than happy to take a swim.
What is one thing that you have found through the martial arts that you wish others would find?
One thing I wish more martial artists would embrace would be that once you have solid footing in your martial art (and this works for hobbies and jobs too), that is to say, once you’ve found and understood the principles and have a strong foundation in the basics, “follow your bliss.” This statement was made famous by mythologist, lecturer and author Joseph Campbell – and it’s such an important statement and life philosophy that I feel that too few people bring it into their life as a martial artist (at least as much as it should be).
This is not to say that if you’re in a formal class you “do what you want.” I’m not saying that. But when you’re engaged in solo practice, add as much joy into practice as you can muster. This bliss will help motivate you, feed you with long-lasting energy and keep you eager to continue practicing. It’s a communication thing. And if we don’t have this communication with ourselves, if we can’t bring joy into practice, we’ll eventually leave it. Some people even get injured by it. My answer is communicate more, add joy and seek to dive deep into what Bruce called “the honest expression of the human self.”
Being such a “Jack of all trades” (taijiquan, fencing and self-defense)…what gives you the most joy?
When I hear that question, I never immediately have an answer. It really depends on the day. Let’s tackle each of these individually, shall we?
Fencing
Fencing and sword-fighting became a fun past-time as soon as I saw movies like The Sword In the Stone, The Princess Bride and Willow. So needless-to-say, I was pretty young and impressionable. Like most youngsters, I grew up with the image of the sword as being a noble and gentlemanly art. Therefore, even to this day, I feel a sense of nostalgia and childhood energy every time I pick up a weapon (a sword particularly).
Tai Chi
Taijiquan came to me at a very important time in my life. Because of the intensity of my kungfu training (namely, what I put myself through), and my lack of understanding (at that point) in how to exercise properly, I developed low back pain in my late teens and early twenties. I wish someone had come around and told me that I shouldn’t be doing all the exercises and stunts that they showed in kungfu movie training montages. I digress. When I went to college, I came in contact with a superb teacher through a class he did at St. Louis University; Mr./Sifu Herb Parran. He was the first to show me the beauty of Hunyuan Taijiquan, which I later found to a wonderful form of low back pain therapy. Therefore, to answer the question – When I feel that the world is moving a bit too fast, I enjoy taijiquan. When I walk outside, and the weather is beautiful, I really enjoy taijiquan. Taijiquan is just another form of play to me and it connects many of the things that I love: movement, physics, meditation, nature, finding that “inner calm”, and artistry.
Self-Defense
As much as I am a nature-loving taijiquan/yoga/movement junkie, I am also a safety-minded, social and combative scientist. We are all shaped by our past. Luckily, my past is pretty great, but that doesn’t stop one from thinking, “how might all of this go away?” The people in my life, just like the people in everyone’s life (close people), really help make Life worth living. Violence is scary and ugly and requires a survival mindset that includes: detection, avoidance, communication skills and fighting skills (sometimes running skills also). Self-defense training was a necessity to change myself from an uneasy, unsure, skeptical martial artist, to a confident one. With women being the highest victimized of any population, I reached out (very early on) to women. I put together a system of self-defense called Outfoxxed and it quickly became and still remains what I feel as “Priority 1” of my Life’s goals – teaching and empowering women. Speaking of this… my wife and I just re-vamped our website and recently uploaded our first YouTube video. Please check it out! [website] [YouTube video]
Jiu-Jitsu
Perhaps the easiest and most enriching endeavor one can do for themselves is to learn and play jiujitsu. Like taijiquan (and even fencing), some small details seem to swing doors of understanding wide open, and I love that. With jiujitsu, the movement-lover, the social and physical scientist is let out to play – all you need are mats (or sometimes a carpeted floor). As a student of Rener and Ryron Gracie (GracieUniversity.Com), I know I can watch their videos, feed off their high-energy and also know that I am being taught correctly. The only downside to this (especially since I do so many things), is being able to properly invest the time. Currently I am able to squeeze in only 3 hours a week – which is only a quarter of what I wish I could invest. The one thing I know about myself though and because jiujitsu and I mesh so well together is that I’m never, ever going to give it up. To add… I’ve got one heck of a training partner; Brad Vaughn (his CombativeCorner interview is next!).
What teachers in your past have really made an impact on you?
There have been so many teachers that it’s hard to count; plus, I already spoke of three. (lol). With that said, and in order to keep this answer a bit shorter, I am going to go with the teacher that was the most impactful. That person is my taijiquan teacher, Master Chen Zhonghua. I first met him at a Kennesaw State University workshop in the 2002 or 2003. What struck me most was that he was a teacher that not only wanted you to learn the form well, but to actually feel what the body needed to do in order to produce the desired result. I still had what he called “that wushu hardness.”
We started to do some push hands, and not the choreographed press, stick and flow exercises – real pushing! He was able to find a point of leverage from anywhere and that greatly impressed me. After each off-balancing he would say a word in Mandarin that I instantly understood to mean a combination of “Look at this!” and/or “Do you see/understand?” I know this because he would point and show either what he did to create the result, what I did wrong or both. “This is the Practical Method,” he would say. He was the first taijiquan teacher that did it all – showed me, allowed me to see the inner-workings, and blow my mind (all at the same time). It wasn’t too late after that workshop that I decided to sell my car and journey to the Edmonton, Alberta to become his full-time student and gain my certification to teach Hunyuan & Practical Method Taijiquan.
What is it about Tai Chi (taijiquan) that you enjoy? And is there anything that you don’t like about it?
To do taijiquan is to physically feel freedom. To get good at taijiquan to reach heaven. Is that too dramatic? Well, I ask anyone who has maintained a consistent practice of taijiquan for at least a few years to speak differently. How you feel this, is difficult (if not impossible) to put into words. You must feel it for yourself.
As for anything “I don’t like” about taijiquan… I would have to say the near-sighted, our-system-is-superior, zealots. I especially despise the fact that these people exist in every martial art system. People can really take the fun out of things sometimes. I remember another teacher of mine Dr. Yang Yang telling me a story about the late Grandmaster Feng Zhiqiang and how he never had anything bad to say about another person or martial art. He would never say that they were doing something wrong, he’d just smile and simply say, “I don’t understand it.” Because, in my view, a technique either works or it doesn’t work. The same technique may work in theory, but not work when under stress. It’s your job as a student to find what works and doesn’t work for yourself. It’s the teacher’s job to help steer you to the best of his or her ability.
What brought you into fencing?
As you might have been able to tell from a previous answer – fencing seemed to find me. He-Man had a sword, Voltron had a sword, Lion-O from Thundercats had a sword. There was Conan the Barbarian, Dar The Beastmaster and even those Jedi Knights from a galaxy far, far away. Everyone who would seek to vanquish evil had a sword. Seeing as there wasn’t a fencing club, or fencing salle in my area I never had a chance to study formally until I got to college. I started with an extraordinary teacher at St.Louis University named David Achilleus (Trovare di Spada). At that time he was associated with a group called The Baited Blade and taught a very passionate and fun foil fencing class. Today, he is one of my favorite “fencing purists;” a fencer who stays true to the history and principles of the weapon he chooses to wield.
Would you tell us a little about your passion for movement?
The art of movement is something that is slowly becoming more of a mainstream sort-of-thing, thanks primarily to people like Erwin Le Corre (movnat) and Ido Portal. We are essentially intelligent apes – animals that spend far too much time sitting, laying, watching and typing – and not enough climbing, hanging, crawling and dancing. When we are young, we explore movement, but at a certain point we get to a point where we feel like we know it all. Slowly, as time passes, we get more accustomed to not moving, no longer exploring, and no longer growing. Understanding not just movement but the way YOU move is very very important.
When you bring more (conscious) movement into your life, you will likely find a great treasure – a way to improve function (which carries over to your daily activities), increased energy (which relates to productivity and is linked to happiness), and very importantly staves off injury, pain and illness. What started as a child, one that loved to climb trees, explore the woods, build forts- became ME; a man that didn’t want to give that up. Instead of building forts, I do yard work and remodel my home. (lol)
What got you into teaching Women’s Self-Defense?
When I transferred to UNC-Greensboro, a more close-knit community, I would hear horrible stories of rape, shootings, and other forms of violence on the regular. If one was to set aside gang violence, and the Monkey Dance (nod to ‘Rory Miller’) that most men end up doing to prove who’s in charge… it (for the most part) leaves women and children. Children obviously need to be taught something at an early age, but that is more of a parental responsibility. Women, on the other hand, are the most victimized member of any society and typically find themselves without any training whatsoever. With my love for women and to see them taken care for, came a brutal realization… that many men will not take care of them, and worse, choose to harm them.
In 2007, I decided to write a concise, to-the-point book on self-defense. I had never written anything longer than a college essay before, and before long, I was in a bit of a writer’s rut. I wanted to produce something that could supplement my workshops and give my students some important and potentially life-saving reading material, but the motivation wasn’t quite there. Then in 2008, there were two senseless murders of two lovely young women, Eve Carson of Chapel Hill and Lauren Burk of Auburn. I had never met either of them before, but reading about them and speaking with the Burk family, I knew that they were smart, fun and caring young ladies that, doing nothing wrong, met with a violent end. With this event in my mind, I knew exactly who I wanted to dedicate the book to, and that I needed to get this information out – I needed to do what I could – as soon as I could. With renewed vigor, I finished the book within weeks and self-published it on Lulu.com (The Golden Thread).
Today, my wife and I conduct classes, lectures and workshops on women’s self-defense known as the Outfoxxed Program. We are currently working hard at producing a series of YouTube videos, blogs and other materials to help prepare women for what they may (but hopefully may not) come across. It will certainly take more than my wife and me (Outfoxxed.Com)…but we are determined to make a big impact. If you want to help us help others, please visit our YT Channel and subscribe (and share!). We are also here, always, if you have any questions, suggestions, or concerns.
Beyond just the subject matter, what do you hope your student’s understand?
Beyond the message to “Follow your Bliss”? Not very much (in the realm of martial arts).
However, if speaking to my self-defense students, I’d like to make sure they understand to go beyond the palm-heel strikes and knees to the groin. The bulk of the “attacks” in your life will likely start off insidiously, and unfortunately by someone you know (and trust). If you don’t communicate and/or take action when someone crosses a personal barrier then it will be harder and harder to get out of that situation. Your intuition is what will kick things off. Learn to trust it. Communication may be an avenue to persuade your aggressor to “take a hike.” Learn to use the voice (insert nerdy ‘Dune’ reference here*). I say “the” because there most certainly is a voice, an inflection that produces results. Most husbands know what I’m talking about! lol. This is seldom talked about in self-defense, but might be enough to deter a possible attack before it gets physical. There is also a way of using your body effectively that produces results. Some of these movements are very simple, but without the practice will never become reflexive. Learn to use your body.
What are some of your future goals?
My wife Jenny and I are hard at work creating material for our Outfoxxed YouTube Channel. We are looking forward to engaging with more women and help to bring a change. Viva la revolution! I am currently working on two books: my first fiction novel (which I won’t reveal quite yet), and another book on self-defense. But this won’t just be any ol’ book on self-defense, this is going to be very comprehensive and quite special. With the success of these venture, Jenny and I will hopefully be traveling more, teaching more and enjoying all that we can out of this great Life.
BONUS QUESTION (via T.J. Kennedy)
If you had only one hour to teach a complete beginner self-defense class, knowing they’d have to use it to fight off imminent multiple attackers, what would you teach them?
I can always count on T.J. to ask the hard-hitting questions!
I would break the lesson-plan into quarters. The first 15 minutes will be spent on effective movement, and positioning/obstacle-creating. The second 15 minutes will be on the Trinity Block (love it!), striking and breaking contact/not getting trapped. The third 15 will be (because I will assume that none have been in a single fight before) stress inoculation drills whereby there will be a lot of pushing, cursing and posturing (one-on-one). In this drill, they will have to utilize what they learned from first and second quarter to move, check your surrounding for a possible weapon and finding the right time to preemptively strike (if available at all). The last 15 will be 3 students against 1 (depending on the number of students) and will consist of 3 minutes of mayhem. Momentary evasion, wrestling, and “bad-guys” pinning the “good guy” will likely occur. At the instructor’s command the “bad guys” will jump off and the “good guy” will have to perform push-ups (or at least maintain a plank). Then back into the fray! [Lee Morrison style] The good guy will go through about 3 rounds of this punishment. Without fail… they will understand physically and mentally how difficult it will be to survive the real thing and at the same time feel more prepared.
Thank you all for reading!
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T.J. Kennedy of the Hybrid Fighting Method™ gives his review of the Isurus™ Keychain [get one here].
It’s only been a year, but positive reviews & testimonials have been pouring in for this keychain. The fact of the matter is this – Yes! You’ve seen it before (kubotans) – but not quite like this! Watch the video above to hear what Mr. Kennedy has to say about these highly-effective and confidence-inspiring tools.
The CombativeCorner is never going to become the website directed at pushing products. We will never sell-out, give ad-space or accept payment for issuing any sort of review or endorsement. However, we have a lot of talented people here in our CC family and we want to keep our readers informed with some (if not, ALL) of their great work (for example, HFM Dvd, Sifu Lee’s books, etc.).
BELOW, THE OFFICIAL ISURUS™ VIDEO
Click Here to Download
Please do not forget that you can download a free, basic manual here at The CombativeCorner (or by the following link : here :). The Isurus™ was created to help people not only feel safe, but stay safe and afford them better leverage when encountering a violent attack. Practical, lightweight and affordable, the Isurus™ (in my opinion) is a no-brainer (especially for those in college). Please use the comment field below if you have any questions for us! Thank you & Stay Safe!
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*The Isurus Self-Defense Keychain is to be used for Self-Protection Purposes Only.
Six martial artists, from six different disciplines were asked,
“If you could train with any instructor/athlete/guru/etc (living or deceased) for a day, who would it be, and why?”
Gray Cook
JOHNNY KUO – I had to think long and hard about this question. The simple answer would have been to pick my sifu Sam F.S. Chin, but I already get opportunities to train with him. Instead, I’m going to venture into the realm of physical therapy and pick Gray Cook.
I have a long-standing interests in strength and athletic training in addition to martial arts. The thing that carries over between those interests is functional movement. Any physical activity (sports, martial arts, or daily life) involves moving the body. Due to the sedentary nature of modern life, a lot of people don’t seem to move very well; people have tight muscles, immobile joints, weak muscles, weird movement compensations, poor proprioception, or just plain can’t fire their muscles in a coordinated fashion.
Since my primary non-work passions are movement based, I notice these movement dysfunctions all around me (and with myself also). As a teacher, I often have to correct movement patterns so that (a) the students don’t injure themselves and (b) the students learn what efficient and functional movement feels like. It’s not unusual for me to encounter a student with dysfunctional movement patterns beyond my ability to readily diagnose or correct.
I like hanging out with physical therapists and body workers because I learn so much about how the body is supposed to work and pick up little tricks for diagnosing and correcting poor movement. I realize there will always be students whose movement issues are beyond my abilities to correct, but I’m always striving to learn more and reduce the number of cases that elude my abilities.
Helio Gracie
ADAM DAVIS – Being the Jiu-Jitsu fanatic that I am I would train with Helio Gracie, the founder of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He took the ground techniques (ne-waza) from Judo which could be applied using leverage and momentum by a smaller guy, like himself, on a larger man and molded them into what is now the complexity of Jiu-Jitsu. Gracie would be the best person for me to train with not only because of his knowledge of the martial arts but also because of his views on the relationship of life and competition. He saw competition as essential to training due to the exercise, diet, and sportsmanship which came with it. Fighting for sport is what BJJ became known for as a result of Helio Gracie’s ideas and it was always my dream to meet him after I read a book about the origins of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. Unfortunately, Helio Gracie passed away on January 29th, 2009 at the age of 95. He lived an extraordinarily healthy life (I heard stories of him tapping out Ricardo Arona while he was in his 90’s, rumors…maybe) and left an extensive family, full of world champion fighters, to carry on his legacy. I have been fortunate enough to train with a couple of his children (Royce and Rodrigo) and my experiences with them assure me that Helio Gracie, at any age, would be the best person to train with.
O'Sensei
ROBERT LARA SENSEI -If I could train with any teacher at anytime in history for one day it would have to be under Morihei Ueshiba O’Sensei. The founder of Aikido. The reason why is because he founded the art that I live my life by. The art of peace. I know in just one days time with O’Sensei you would learn more of Aiki. In body,mind,spirit.
Some of my teachers were students of O’Sensei. And the stories they tell of their training under O’Sensei are so great. You won’t find most of those stories in books. These men and women who trained direct from the founder who are still with us are living treasures in my view point as they are links to the living teachings of O’Sensei.
The time I would love to train with O’Sensei is during the last years of his life. His Waza was so strong. Yet fluid and fully controlling. And upside to training in the internal arts is as you age you only get better at Aiki waza because you do not have the physical strength to over power. These are just my humble view points and I respect all arts.
Lao Tzu
SIFU FREDDIE LEE– I would love to meet and learn from Lao-Tzu. Author to the “Tao Te Ching.” The truth contained in the text is penetrating, that short simple text transformed my entire life and really got me to see the deeper meaning behind Martial Arts and life. Bruce Lee died at an earlier age but there is still a decent amount of wisdom left behind from him of where you can grasp his spiritual essence, same with many sages and Artists. But Lao-Tzu, there is very little known about him, I would be very interested in seeing his day to day way of living. Applying the unique wisdom he had in a world filled with confusion.
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Jet Li
SENSEI BRANDON VAUGHN– I’m gonna have to go with Jet Lee for any living person. I think it would be an awesome experience and he seems like a really great guy who would be nice about showing you how much more he knows than you.
*
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Alan Watts
COACH MICHAEL JOYCE– I approached this question from a practical point-of-reference. Being that the duration of said event is only a day, my choice is based on someone I could have a deep and meaningful conversation with over tea. Alan Watts, the British philosopher and writer was (and continues to be) a huge influence in how I came to understand myself and my environment. Say what you want about the man (he had his eccentricities), but he was both brilliant and articulate. He had a way of describing things, and opening people’s minds to concepts that, to me, made “only good sense.”
I often contemplate our existence, who we are, and how it is best to live. I am forever grateful to Alan Watts, and to his son Mark (who is now the curator of his father’s works) for being so prolific and giving. Alan Watts has a free podcast that is available for subscription on Itunes. I suggest everyone give it a try. That is, however, if you wish to view the world and yourself with great clarity.
“How important is meditation in your discipline & personal practice?”
Lee: Living a life of meditation is the highest state in the Martial Arts. In “The Book of Secrets.” By Osho, there is 112 techniques of meditation. Sitting meditation is just one of them. When I first started practicing Martial Arts, I thought sitting meditation was the only meditation. As I continued my study, I came to the understanding and realization that meditation can take place during ANY activity. Meditation is a state of mind, of complete awareness, completely in the present moment. Eckhart Tolle’s “The Power of Now” really helped me understand what meditation really is. Once you disccover what meditation really is, your life will dynamically change, you will realize true happiness and bliss, there is no future, no past, no ego. You are connected with everything around you, you are whole. Meditation takes place throughout the entire day, sitting, standing, walking, cleaning the home, exercising, playing with kids, making love, reading, writing, speaking, etc. Meditation is living life totally and completely aware.
Robert Lara: For me Aikido and Meditation go hand-and-hand.
Without a calm, centered mind we can never apply Aikido Waza in the proper way.
Only when we Meditate first can we hope to be able to fully have a relaxed mind, body & spirit. Meditation plays a very high role in my own training. I would never have made it to where I am today without it.
Joyce: I’ve always considered myself an introspective person. Even when I didn’t know specific forms or methods of meditation, I would find ways to bring myself to a place; a place as calming as a trickling brook. As I became engulfed into the martial arts, and what I thought it meant to be a martial artist, my view of meditation became skewed. I thought that, to be great, I had to sit or stand for long periods of time and somehow a great gift would be bestowed upon me. There are sometimes, when I still think that.
My personal belief in meditation is that it’s the medicine to our soul. Our form; what we practice with careful intention is our art. The higher our souls happiness, the higher our form of art. Meditation, the ability to find a tranquil spot within you, whatever the method is essential to health.
Vaughn: I remember when I was taking Taekwondo back in middle and high school we used to meditate at the beginning and end of each class. We would kneel towards the front of the class and mediate, usually just for a minute or two. To to clear our minds of the chaos of the day so we could better focus on our training before class started and to relax after the workout and reflect on the techniques and drills that we had just gone over at the end. While the style I train in now doesn’t make mediation a regular part of the class routine I still do it in my personal life from time to time. Mainly as a way to help slow my mind down so that I can focus better on the things I have to accomplish or to to help calm myself when I get frustrated or agitated. Every now and then when I have a student that has trouble controlling their anger at school or at home I will show them how to use meditation and breathing, among other things, to help better keep their anger in check. I think meditation is a useful tool that people can gain a lot of value from, they just have to open their minds to it.
Davis: The course structure for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) is sparring intensive (what we like to call “rolling”) and, as a result, every class one attends ought to be adrenaline/sweat packed or your not doing it right. It may appear to the outsider to be much more like a wrestling practice than a traditional martial arts class and the crazy, hyper-aggressive wrestler-types we all know and love are not, generally, associated with the Zen mentality. However, the assumption that meditation must be performed while sitting cross-legged and eyes closed attempting to tap into the flow of “the Ohm” is not only selling meditation short but misplacing the profits you made from the sale too. Meditation is the pursuit of a state of mind which allows the pursuant to not only understand but also become a unique part of the natural flow of the world around them. Us BJJ guys and gals may not know much about Zen meditation but if there are two things we know better than anyone its the importance of proper breathing (we are always trying to choke each other aren’t we?) and of the flow from one technique to another. It is often emphasized that you hit a move inside the transition period, an odd but important concept I cannot do justice to in writing here. In the novella Siddhartha, the main character the book is named after becomes the Buddha (or one with the Buddha depending on how you interpret it) only when he comes to understand the transient but inevitable nature of the universe. If you are to understand the meditation which comes with the practice of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu you must understand the martial art is just that: transient and inevitable.
Kuo: I-Liq Chuan is a concept-based art which centers on the principles of Taiji (Tai Chi) and Zen. Mindfulness forms the basis of martial skill. As such, meditation is an important part of I-Liq Chuan training. Meditation is both a practice in itself, like sitting meditation or standing meditation; it is also inherent in regular solo and partner practice. The practitioner’s attention should always be present (mindful) in whatever is being practiced. Meditative practices expand the mind’s ability to perceive. At first, the perception of the self is emphasized to facilitate unification of the body with the mind. At this stage, the practitioner is developing kinesthetic sense, body awareness, and body control. Then, the attentions are expanded outward to the opponent and environment. When the mind can see the conditions of the moment as they are, it becomes possible to harmonize with the opponent and flow with the opponent’s force. True skill manifests when movements are based on perception of the true conditions rather than anticipations (or guesses) of what will happen.
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