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Breathing And Life
After having spent more than 35 years training in the
Martial Arts you would think I could easily define what quality training is
all about. Unfortunately that is not the case! As with most Martial
Artists, after the first decade of training we tend to go on automatic and
only do the types of training we enjoy, or do whatever is necessary to
please our instructors. What a waste! Automatic is our worst enemy. We stop
thinking about our art and our training. We go through the motions,
literally, and wonder why we don’t seem to be learning anything. As
we get older and hopefully wiser, our training needs and requirements
change. We are no longer able to do some of the things we did when we were
eighteen. Fortunately we no longer need to do some of the things we did
when we were eighteen! Hopefully by this time we are smarter. Attempting to
train in the same manner we did when we were young will be unrewarding on
several levels. Although physical training is necessary and enjoyable,
intense physical training may injure us and can be boring. If this is the
only thing you have to look forward to, you will not continue to learn.
It’s no coincidence that the physical portion of Martial Arts is the
first thing taught. It’s the easy part! Learning to look beyond the
physical aspects is difficult. Learning to actually practice the
non-physical techniques is very difficult. I guess that’s why they
call it the magic part!
Training in the Martial Arts is not about self-defense.
Training in the Martial Arts is not about belt ranks. Training in the
Martial Arts is about life! The physical and mental techniques that are
part of all traditional Martial Arts styles are intended to be a conduit
for the enhancement of KI.
Why?
Why have complicated, systematic, systems of
self-defense evolved in almost every culture? Why spend all this time
learning to do complex physical motions and meditative disciplines? The
answer is KI. Our bodies are powered by both physical and metaphysical
energies. We cannot exist without either one! We cannot be healthy without
a balance between the two. Martial Arts training is
a mechanism to develop both systems, proper training allows the free flow
of energy between the two systems.
Breathing is the KI generator.
The physical techniques allow the KI pathways to
remain open.
The combination of these two disciplines encourages
balance and maximum power.
All traditional systems of Martial Arts include
breathing techniques and meditation. Not all styles teach these techniques
to beginning students. What a shame! Breathing is the primary technique.
Without learning to breathe properly we are unable to develop proper
technique. We conquer the physical but not the mental.
BREATH!! Every
day……..
Jon
Simonds
Kwan Jang Nim
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