To bear that which you think you cannot bear is really to bear.
(Nitobe)
Discord
Not everything in life can or should go as planned. When
things go askew, we are required to re-consider our situation.
We are challenged to adapt, change and improvise.
Plans are by their very nature flawed - ideas cannot extend
to reality.
We cannot allow for every variable and permutation.
It is unsurprising that events frequently fail to go as we had hoped.
Too soft?
Modern life in the West can be a little too
easy for many people.
You have
comfortable seats, cars, mobile phones, remote controls, air
conditioning, central heating, expensive clothing and more food than you can
eat.
You go on holiday when you get bored. You pay for
entertainment without a second thought.
If things don't go
your way, you gripe, gossip, moan or complain.
Nothing in your life tests your mettle.
You can't always get what you want
Being thwarted can very good for us.
Hardship trains strong character traits:
courage, stamina,
hope and determination.
Under pressure, we are challenged with the
weaker aspects of our nature.
Overcoming our own inadequacies is an important part of learning tai chi
self defence.
People seek to beat
stress by running away from it.
Stress is not something apart from yourself. You cannot leave it behind. It
is caused by your inability to cope.
Coping is what needs to be cultivated. Your inner demons must be
faced and vanquished.
An ordeal
An ordeal is a trial, a deliberate hardship that you undertake of your
own free will.
We offer our students a series of challenges in our syllabus. Ordeals.
They are extremely trying and will test your mettle.
Some are feats of stamina and endurance. Others are about concentration.
Most of our challenges test your ability to cope with situations that offer
you no scope for control.
You must stop fighting and give in to what is happening.
When you have become the eye of the storm, you can act with strength and
sincerity.
Qigong
Our students are required to
stand for 40 minutes whilst holding a
series of 8 postures.
There are two different sets to try. The second is much harder than the
first.
This is quite difficult to begin with.
People tense-up quite badly and fight their own bodies. The mind races and
they
panic.
Over time, students reach a stage where they find the prolonged standing to
be tolerable.
As their physical condition improves, the ordeal ceases to be an ordeal and
students ask to undertake the 40 minutes standing simply because they want
to.
Self defence drills
A beginner learns to cope when faced with unknown stimuli and diminished
sensory capacity.
They undergo regular work involving multiple partners and a great deal of
confusion.
We take away your security and your ability to simply
react.
You are required to give-in, relax and stop.
Composure is everything. When you cease to care about the
outcome, your inward duality ceases.
You begin to feel, to hear and to see. You respond to what is, rather
than your own ideas.
The challenges are initially quite easy but become increasingly demanding
and perhaps outrageous.
By asking more and more of yourself, you stop being bothered by unexpected
events.
You stop being worried. You treat it all as
play.
Teach
me
There is a zen story about a man who asks to learn samurai sword skills from
a retired hermit...
The hermit makes the man perform household chores.
The man is unhappy with this and asks for formal tuition.
The hermit agrees but does not teach anything.
Instead, he attacks the man with a stick without warning
throughout the day.
Initially the man is unhappy and feels upset.
Over time, his habits and behaviour changes. He becomes composed and
capable.
The attack comes and the man simply deals with it as it is happening.
This is how we are teaching our students.
The setting and methods are different but the principle is the same.
More...
Page created 29 March 2003