To Think or To Act..why not both
My husband and I were having a philosophical conversation the other day and I think we stumbled onto a very profound aspect of discipline and knowledge. We both enjoy reading philosophy and understanding the human condition. We also both really like martial arts. What do these two things have in common, you ask? Well, let me tell ya.
Philosophy is defined as the rational, abstract, and methodical consideration of reality as a whole or of fundamental dimensions of human existence and experience. Whoa, that’s pretty cool huh? If you have ever people watched at your local bar, Walmart or bench in the park, then you my friend have sat in the presence of a philosopher….yourself. Have you ever sat on the park jungle gym and contemplated life? Have you questioned why you are in a particular situation and how to continue it or get out of it? Pondering on things is exactly what philosophy asks you to do. To think! Sometimes you may think of your own situation or you may think of someone else's situation. However you are thinking, remember that you are among the most wonderful and amazing humans who have ever lived, The Thinkers. Now what does this have to do with martial arts?
Martial arts is defined as ‘any of various fighting sports or skills, mainly of East Asian origin.’ But more to the point is this from Britannica, “This influence has resulted in a strong emphasis on the mental and spiritual state of the practitioner, a state in which the rationalizing and calculating functions of the mind are suspended so that the mind and body can react immediately as a unit, reflecting the changing situation around the combatant. When this state is perfected, the everyday experience of the dualism of subject and object vanishes. Since this mental and physical state is also central to Daoism and Zen, and must be experienced to be grasped, many of their adherents practice the martial arts as a part of their philosophical and spiritual training. Conversely, numerous practitioners of the martial arts take up the practice of these philosophies.” I interpret this to mean that you master the mind and the body to work as a whole in any given situation.
If you also follow Buddhism, then you may already know that acceptance of anything is one of the Four Noble Truths If you aren’t familiar with Buddhism, I recommend you do some research into it and see if it appeals to you. I’m not pushing any religion on anyone. I ask you to choose what is best for yourself. Okay, soapbox has been moved, now on with the blog. Accepting whatever is going on in life, whether it’s good or bad, is key to not suffering. Remember, this too shall pass. The impermanence of anything asks you to enjoy this moment, or suffer through this moment. Those may be your only options. Both moments will change, given time. Ah, time. That beautiful and incalculable thing we strive to fill. Sorry, back to the point I’m trying to make. Please stay with me folks.
What does philosophy and martial arts have in common? According to our conversation the other day, my husband and I believe the connecting thread of these concepts is that they both teach you how to fall without hurting yourself. Ahhhhhhhhhh, that may be a scream or a huge sigh, I’m not sure which at this point. If you follow MMA (mixed martial arts) I suggest you check out the YouTube video interview with Theo Von and Sean Strickland. Now hear me out or comment on why you don’t want to. Both of these guys grew up in a rough and very poor neighborhood that was thousands of miles apart. No matter the distance, the environment they were born into made them have to adapt to very adult things at a very young age. Theo coped with this by becoming a very good stand up comedian and Sean Strickland coped by becoming a martial artist. I won’t do the interview justice, so please just check it out for yourself here. Both of these guys could have become statistics for our prison systems, but they didn’t. They transformed the trauma they endured in childhood into something magical. Theo makes you laugh at yourself and him. Sean channels his anger into disciplined fighting and is a great UFC fighter. I think they both understand that philosophy and martial arts help them to accept their lot in life and learn from it. That’s just my interpretation, please let me know yours.
The art of learning how to fall and not hurt yourself is what this blog post is about. We are born with survival skills and then we are also taught more skills as we grow and develop. Those skills then turn into our ego armor and protect us during the height of our existence and then as the body begins to decline, the mind must adapt to the changes and we begin to explore our perceptions of life. I call it the Great Unraveling. This is a time that we come back to our original selves, who we were before the world told us who to be, and we begin to unravel the coping mechanisms we created in order to survive whatever. We can do this by philosophical and martial means. We can do this by gardening and following the seasons of the earth. We can do this by creating art or music or any other means of expression. To express, ah, that’s it. Take what is inside of us and transform it into something else. What are your thoughts on this?