Balance is a requirement for combative excellence. The implications for mind training are stunning. The potential is limitless.
In Motion
If you are off-balance, you are vulnerable.
When you are unstable you are vulnerable to your opponent’s will, to his technique, his movements, and to chance.
You are off balance when your foundation is unstable. And when you posture is distorted by leaning or misalignment. Then, your muscles are slack. Your body architecture is weak.
You are vulnerable to a strike that would otherwise be ineffective.
When you are off balance, you are vulnerable to your environment – unexpected variations on the ground, obstacles around you, sights or sounds close by.
You are vulnerable when your body is off balance.
That is why we train to maintain perfect balance in every technique, moving or stationary, in every position, in every direction.
If your opponent grabs hold of you when you are unstable, he can control you. We learn to detach from our opponents. Traditional Okinawan karate kata all use anti-grappling techniques as the primary mode of engagement. Okinawan karate is not kickboxing. It is anti-grappling.
We do not attach to an opponent. We do not let an opponent attach to us.
In Mind
We train our minds to present-time attention. We learn to maintain perfect balance in the present. Just we train our physical axis and center of gravity to remain in balance, we train our minds not to veer off into the future or the past at times when balance in the present moment is required. Of course, we learn from the past. And we plan for the future. But we train in present time attention so that under pressure or in repose we are not off balanced, we are not controlled by forces inimical to us. We do not run wildly toward objects of desire. We do not impulsively seek to avoid or obliterate obstacles, challenges or unpleasantness.
Just as we refuse to be controlled or dominated by a violent threatening opponent, we refuse to be controlled or dominated by greed, desire, rage or ill will. We are not attached to these states or their objects, and we don’t allow them to attach themselves to us.
Remaining in the present as we move through life is like remaining upright in posture with a firm foundation in the physical realm – in combatives, in kata, or under any circumstances. Maintain perfect balance is always optimal. It takes persistent, skillful training to achieve it.
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Post copyright © 2024 Jeffrey Brooks, MountainKarateNC.com, Yamabayashi Ryu, Mountain Karate, Saluda, NC
Photo by zonda via pexels
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read True Karate Dō by Jeffrey Brooks
“One of the best books I’ve read in years, inviting and compelling. Jeff Brooks moves effortlessly from martial arts to Buddhism to consciousness studies, self-transformation, and related fields in this wide-ranging and Illuminating study that has much to offer both novice explorers and veteran practitioners. A splendid achievement.”
— Philip Zaleski, Editor, The Best Spiritual Writing series