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has added a new journalI've recently begun to realize the meaning of invisibility. When I was about 13 years old, I briefly studied ninjutsu. Unfortunately the art is way beyond the intellect of a 13 y/o child, so it wasn't until recently that even an inkling of the concept revealed itself to me. Being invisible to your adversary during combat must be an amazingly powerful tool because you can, in fact, control what he sees and when. This goes beyond eyesight. It encompases all the senses. Currently I study Wing Chun where the emphasis is on sensetivity through touch. One can apply the concepts of invisibility through touch as well. Sensing through touch requires appreciating subtle pressure and force differentials between one's self and the adversary. If one neutralizes the differential felt by one's opponent, one becomes invisible to the opponent. As far as vision is concerned, simply shifting slightly off the sight line is enough to "disappear." Jiujitsu and boxing apply this as well. Ninjutsu clearly focuses on developing this concept discretely, only it takes time to realize this.
Any thoughts, comments, criticism are welcome.
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has added a new journalOk, so everyone has his price - we all know that. As much I despise reality shows, I had to watch this, 'cos they hooked me with the MMA thing. I can't believe how lame this is, but for some reason I watch anyway. Ok so the thing I don't understand is why the fighters dance around so much - it's like watching "Dancing with the stars." Any decent boxer could just move in and finish it, but these guys just hop around pawing at each other. And why is it that the minute they actually come into range and engage each other, all form, structure, control - everything they learned - seems to disappear and it turns into a college bar brawl? Of course the creators recruit morons to procure better ratings, but seriously.
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has added a new journalWell, I have finally had the opportunity to "quantify" the centerline punch. I was in Hyderabad ( my adopted city ) and came upon a "test your punching power" carnival game. Basically, it was a sack attached to a scale. I saw people windup and throw their entire body weight into their punches and rack up about 300 psi (maybe it was Newton-meters) so I thought I'd see how high a "one inch punch" would register.....245!! Eternal thanks to my Sifu. It blew my mind. This is the power of supple energy released through a relaxed body. Amazing. And I still have a long way to perfecting it.
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has added a new journalChinese martial arts base the source of movement in the "center." Other arts talk of the "solar plexus." Boxers know it as the gut target that knocks the wind out of someone. It is the area just above the xiphoid where one's breathing and energy is seated. There is no anatomic entity that correlates to this area, but it can be realized. So is it physiological, a synergy of enegy, or something else? Awareness of one's center elaborates a new perspective, bringing balance, solidity, yet fluid precision to movements. It promotes a groundedness in a sense. This is how a small statured fighter uproots and throws, or consistently controls, larger opponents.
But how does this develop? Bruce Lee described the martial arts as the ultimately refined expression of one's soul and mind through one's body, the way a poet does with words, or a painter does with ink. It is a state of complete control - over one's self, one's opponent, one's world. Finding and controlling the center is the key to finding this state. Wing Chun develops this awareness through the movements of the Siu Lim Tao ("the little idea")..aka the first form. What about other arts? Are there corrollaries?