Boston Martial Arts Center Perception and Martial Arts
Some of the ideas we study at the Boston Martial Arts Center are Perception and Martial Arts
The other day I was driving by a state park in western Massachusetts and I happen to notice some deer. I pulled the car to the side of the road to observe them. The deer noticed me and did not move. They maintained eye contact for a long period of time but they did not leave. I eventually drove off and the deer returned to grazing. Here are some things I noted:
1.The deer did not consume extra energy by running off before they felt it was necessary.
2. Once I left, they returned to their normal routine and continued eating.
In other words they did not assume anything beyond the reality of what they observed.
When we train it is important to retain this philosophy – do not assume something is different than what it is by overlaying your emotions on your techniques. When you come into the dojo to train, do so with an open mind and allow the actual movement of training to guide you and not vice-versa. If you believe you can muscle through a technique then you have already lost because you have committed the wrong type of energy to your movements. Once you free your mind of preconceptions then you can observe the world without intent and react accordingly – much like the way Nature works every day.
Mark Davis
Boston Martial Arts Center
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I was working on kenjutsu last week and was moving with my training partner changing kamae (position based on what my spirit is sensing in relation to a changing environment). This requires the mind and body to stay sharp, because if your mind floats for one moment you could be in over your head. A good starting place on how not to get in over your head is “Stay in the moment, not before or after.”
