Seems like a good time to take a one week break from subliminals.
I had a very nice session today, and my next one will be on Saturday 12 July 2025.
At that time, I’ll make a choice of whether to move to Dragon Reborn 4. Leaning towards that.
It’s just that these past 2 months have zipped by so quickly.
Anyway, we’ll see.
Either way, I’m now 4 months into Ecstasy of Gold Stage 1. 3.5 months listening to it as a name embedded ZP Quantum major supported by Synergy: The Golden One.
Happy about that.
Various dramas happening in life right now.
But thank god what I feel most is grateful to be alive and to be here to experience all of these things.
One day, perhaps I could look so smooth. I’ve run into an interesting situation in my own Qigong practice. Because of the years of training in Japanese martial arts (not dissing them, just stating a point), my movements tend to look more like I’m performing Kata, or executing strikes instead of the smoother intentional movements of the Chinese arts. So I’m having to fight 15 years of instinct when practicing.
It’s almost like learning two different languages, and speaking with the accent of one as you’re learning the other.
My own opinion is that playing (literally, playing) with certain movements that embody key elements of the style of the form can help with establishing a set of independent ‘grooves’ for this other system. I guess I’m talking about ‘Movement Principles’ in contrast to specific steps or instructions. It can be helpful to explore those sometimes.
There are the steps of the form. In taijiquan, for example, that would be things like: Dan Bian (so called ‘Single Whip’) or Xie Xing (or ‘Oblique Walking’). And everyone is taught these discrete ‘steps’. But after a while, you also find that there are certain ‘style’ movements that may not even have specific names. A particular way of transitioning when changing directions of movement or that type of thing. I think that feeling into these movements can be helpful sometimes.
And sometimes there are just specific details. I remember back in ancient history when I was still learning and practicing capoeira. I had a friend who was good in Japanese martial arts and it took him some time to capture the movement of the ginga of capoeira. Because in capoeira when you put your weight onto your rear foot, you rest on or bounce off of the ball of the foot. But he had deeply trained that when putting your foot back and launching from it, the foot should be angled (probably to create a firm foundation).
Of course, he got it after a short while and then was doing awesome. But there was still a kind of a feeling of transitioning between static postures and strikes for a while. (In capoeira, your default ‘resting’ foundation is to Be-In-Movement. While in the Japanese martial arts, you’re poising in stillness and then striking or lashing out from a stable still place, I think.)
If I were advising him (from 30 years ago), I would probably recommend him to go play football (soccer). Ideally with a bunch of Brazilians. Or to take samba lessons. And then bring that feeling into his capoeira. Those two activities have movement vocabularies that are related to capoeira’s but without the baggage of being martial arts.
Now that I think of it, there are probably similar things for qigong.
Scott Park Phillips has written a lot about the traditional resonances and influences between dancing and fighting arts. I think he has good ideas and experience.
One gripe I have about some katas (and whatever the equivalent is in kung fu) are those punches or kicks they just let hang out there without retracting them quickly. I think that’s teaching a horrible habit in the context of self-defense. Your comments are welcome.
One more factor that I am aware of with regards to “smooth movements” is that of Ojas energy.
An abundance of Ojas enables the nervous system and therefore the body’s movements to become more smooth. Of course, the meridians need to be pretty much completely blocks-free for this as well.
I think this happens because the increase of Ojas makes the nervous cells more resilient to stress overall. And so, when you make fast movements (which the body could associate as a stress reaction), the cells and the nervous system executing that movement function are able to do this with “less stress” and that reflects in a smoother movement.
One example from Hollywood for the combo of clean meridians plus a high level of Ojas would be Brad Pitt in Fight Club: He is very high on Ojas there and that massively reflects in his super smooth microexpressions during all of his body movement. Making him even more magnetic and charismatic.
I am a very long way from doing the form like that.
It occurred to me to ask if you’ve ever come across ‘silk-reeling’ exercises. 纏絲功.
I know you’ve already practiced 站樁. Standing Post training. Zhan Zhuang and silk-reeling are two foundations of Nei gong and taijiquan. So it might be useful.
I think it’s important to be clear on what one’s goals really are when training in martial arts.
Different tweaks, mechanics, and explanations will be applied depending on how one intends to apply the skills.
Truth is, if it comes to real self defense; the most critical ‘skills’ may be the psychological ones, habituating to aggression without overreacting and overcoming the natural inhibition to causing damage to someone else.
In some cases, the goal may be to develop high level coordination skills and developing fluency in a movement vocabulary and movement ‘dialect’. Refining the elegance, the economy, and the beauty of a form. That is more about self-development and self-refinement than being able to cause harm or walk away from harm.
Those latter skills are also important but very different. No reason people can’t develop both; but in my opinion, it’s good to recognize that they’re not the same thing.
Another personal opinion:
If you’re fighting (genuinely fighting, not fight training) with a lot of people past the age of 35 or 40, you should make sure you have really good reasons for it.
(And in that case, one of your best self defense techniques is to have a good lawyer on hand, and enough money to pay them.)
Kata is encoded. The movements themselves lead to greater mysteries and understanding of Karate-do (Way of the Empty Hand). The actual meaning of the techniques is called “bunkai,” and in any traditional and legitimate lineage wouldn’t be taught to you until much later. I did not begin to really understand them until I reached the rank of 2nd degree black belt, which took around eight years.
Also understand that when you are dealing with the philosophies and religions of the Far East, you cannot place them within the context of Western ideas and morality. The biggest argument I have had with my religious family members within the context of Daoism is the notion that they “worship the Dao,” which stems from complete ignorance and ethnocentrism. If you are to study the various philosophies (which includes their fighting arts), you must adopt a more universal mindset, embrace the abstract mind and contemplate the nature of the opposites.
EDIT: For example, even the timing of particular techniques or the actual “shape” of the Kata indicates a hidden mystery to its function and application. The kata in Shotokan known as “Hangetsu” is actually more energetic cultivation (like Qigong or Tai Chi) than actual fighting application. My instructor would’ve slapped the crap out of me back in the day for revealing this.
hehehehe
