The Martial Effectiveness of Wuji

“To depict the ultimate principles of the universal laws of no truth and no untruth state, the mind should be observed with awareness. To adapt to the vicissitude of time and to no present and no unpresent state, its force should be harmonized with awareness.” –The Art of I Liq Chuan

Much attention is given to the concept of Wuji as a component of Qigong and meditation and the practice of Taiji. Wuji may be one of the most important, yet least considered aspect of Neija. Beyond the spiritual and health benefits, Wuji has important martial implications. The above noted quote, from the art of I Liq Chuan, summarizes the ideal martial state. We need to be balanced and aware, to observe the mind with awareness and to harmonize force with this same awareness. This describes the power and function of the state of Wuji.

In Zhan Zhuang, which we also call Wuji meditation, we reside in primordial stillness, a state of balance preceding the birth of Taiji. Of course, with movement Yin and Yang are birthed into existence and we are put into a position of seeking balance. But we needn’t seek very far, because the previous state of Wuji is a state of balance. To take it further, we need remember that movement is born of stillness, but there is always a little stillness in movement and movement in stillness, a little Yin in Yang, and a little Yang in Yin. Therein are the martial benefits of Wuji; finding Yin and or Yang when we need it, and always seeking balance.

The postural alignments and techniques of Zhan Zhuang, the Fifteen Basic Exercises of I Liq Chuan, or the basic principles and practices of Qigong and Silk Reeling should stay with us as we transition into Form practice, Push Hands, Chi Sau, Trapping, or other two person drills, and as we further transition into free sparring or grappling, and of course actual self defense. The point is that we want a state of balance. Wuji practices give us a feel for balance that we can take into interpersonal interactions. If we should find ourselves off balance, we adjust back to the feel of Wuji. Thus, these foundational practices have deep roots and broad applications.

Experimental embodied exercises can and do support the concept of power in structure. The process of tilting the pelvis forward and filling the mingmen are empowering. It is similar to the latent energy in a drawn bow. In this posture we operate from a position of power. Our movements are more efficient, as our bodies are unified. At the same time we are loading the bow, to be released through the issuance of fa jin.

Additionally, there is much to be gained martially from mindfulness. Wuji Qigong is a form of meditation, and we experience the myriad benefits of meditation in these practices. Among these is getting beyond conditioning and the habits of mind. This plays exceptionally well in martial situations, as conditioning and mental habits are counterproductive to martial effectiveness. Instead the martial artist should strive to be aware and present in the moment to deal with what happens as it happens. Push hands and other sensitivity drills emphasize listening as potent martial skill. To effectively ‘listen’ to our training partners we must be aware, present, and balanced, both internally and externally. We strive to know our attacker, to feel our own latent energy, and to be aware enough to utilize it when needed. In a nutshell, effective action in motion is premised and developed by effective awareness in stillness.

As we put it all together we find no separation between movement and stillness. It’s all the same, as evidenced by awareness. This is the true state of Wuji.

Rodney Owen (Guest Writer)

His Website: Naqual Time

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Mindfulness Inside Out

In a prior post, I wrote about the value of thinking inside the box. Working from within the box, we can come to recognize the bounds of the box and begin to understand the framework it establishes. It is after coming to understand the box that we can begin to think outside of it. In a similar fashion, mindfulness training takes an inside to outside developmental route. Though there are a lucky few people in the world who can immediately reach enlightenment and perceive the world with unclouded vision, most people will need to journey through a path of self-discovery first.

Our minds are partly formed via luck of the genetic draw and partly forged through environmental and societal influences; our life experiences and interactions with family and community shape our identities. Starting from childhood, we discover patterns of understanding in our everyday existence and use our life experiences to form a framework for understanding the world. Formulating patterns from our experiences allows us to establish coping strategies to survive life. For example, we learn or are taught early in life not to touch hot objects or stay out of the path of large moving objects. On the other hand, we also develop mental frameworks which only serve to color our perceptions. For a multitude of reasons, we may come to like or dislike certain foods, people, style of clothing, etc. The mental constructs we forge become filters through which we perceive the world.

These mental constructs that we form obscure the true nature of the world we perceive. Our sense of self–our egos–assign labels and values to things based largely on preconceptions. By relying on preformed labels and values, we bias our perceptions. We can’t see with fresh eyes, listen with attentive ears, or taste with a cleansed palate. We constrain ourselves in what we allow ourselves to perceive. Our preconceptions form the walls of box which limit our ability to see things as they are, and our egos become the guardians of those walls.

Due to the imperfections of the mind, we are prone to revert to thinking inside the box. In mindfulness training, we strive to expand our awareness to perceive the world as it truly is, but the constraints of our boxes hinder our growth. Often, we may not even know that we view the world through tinted lenses. Part of the challenge in mindfulness training is to focus our attentions our thoughts so that we can come to recognize the mental boxes which bias our perceptions. After recognizing the box formed by our preconceptions, we can begin to understand the box and recognize the walls which trap us.

Recognition of the box and acknowledgement of our egos is prerequisite to breaking down the walls of mental ensnarement. Mindfulness training teaches us to recognize our mental boxes so that we may learn to look past them and perceive with greater clarity. Mindfulness starts from within and expands our awareness outward as we learn to let go of the mental frameworks that our egos so closely guard.

Johnny Kuo

A Day’s Lesson [9/17/2010] : KUO

The Beginner’s Mind

One skill that I continuously work on is approaching training with the attention of the beginner’s mind. Every time I do even the simplest of drills, I work hard not to just tune out and go through the motions. I try (with varying success) to approach each and every session as if I’m seeing things through the fresh eyes of a beginner. Each session is its own unique experience and is a unique opportunity to learn.

Time and again, when I think I already know something and stop paying attention, I will later find out that I didn’t know the concept as well as I thought. I can touch hands with my Sifu or my kung fu brothers, and it becomes clear that there’s something missing in my training. What I glossed over for being simple basics earlier, later becomes the weakness I need to improve.

Johnny Kuo

MindBodyKungfu.Net

Roundtable Discussion 002: Meditation

“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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– The Combative Corner Crew