About soldiers and internal martial artists
The martial artist is an artist.
He is not an expert or a sporter.
"The artist is not a person endowed with free will who seeks his own ends,
but allows art to realize its purposes through him.
As a human being he may have moods and a will and personal aims,
but as an artist he is "man" in a higher sense.
He is a 'collective man',
a vehicle and moulder of the unconscious psychic life of mankind".
(Carl Gustav Jung - Psychology and Literature)
Tai Chi Chuan must be a matter of principles, it cannot be a matter of rules.
The moment it degenerates into rules, it ceases to be Tai Chi Chuan as it kills responsability.
Rules are made for soldiers.
The essence of Tai Chi is responsability, spontaneity, creativity and exploration.
Man should live in a way his happiness depends as little as possible on external things.
That's the way of the real warrior.
Free exploration is essential.
Man is the only animal who must create a dialogue with nature in order
to experience the essence of his own being.
The essence of his being is the feeling of an absolute dependance.
The first step to freedom is dependence.
Every human being is fully dependent on nature for their next breath,
for their next mail.
Where the spirit is, there is joy and freedom to move and to join.
It is the fear that paralizes one.
The other side of fear is freedom. Real warriors are freedom fighters.
In our school there is no democracy. There is freedom.
We have to have a vision, we can't blow an uncertain trumpet.
In essence it's about love in a drug- and twitter culture.
Love can set us free. Freedom is not the same as democracy. We are gouverned by sensors and ruled by economic circumstances,
our lives are dictated by machinations of capital. We are guided by the media, by non-human entities. Our levels of
happiness are not rising, and may even be declining in a culture obsessed by personal feelings and meanings. Tai Chi Chuan
must be a matter of principles. Behind the world of Tai Chi forms there is a timeless level, there is Tai Chi existing in
the universe. Therefore Tai Chi Chuan transmits the principles lo live with our nature and with the nature of Universe.
The Way of the Warrior leads to the world of essence.
Behind the world of forms there is a timeless level.
There is the world of essence.
The Real Warrior stops his internal dialogue.
The deeper dialogue with the essence
opens up after the Warrior has learned to shut off his internal dialogue.
*Internal dialogue has to do with ego.
A form is a form.
A Tai Chi form is only a birthplace of thoughts, emotions, ideas.
It's a birthplace of essence.
Behind the world of Tai Chi forms there is a timeless level.
There is the level of the essence.
The level of the forms is the level of "the 10000 things".
Forms are fixed.
Everything is flux.
Tai Chi forms are a physical dialogue between
the world of forms and the world of essence.
The world of essence is the real world.
Two monologues do not make a dialogue.
How can there be a dialogue if one partner is dumb ?
How can there be a dialogue if one partner is blind ?
Everything is always changing.
People don't resist changes, they resist being changed.
In true dialogue both partners are willing to be changed.
To fight is to perpetuate conflict between egos.
The Warrior stops the internal monologue with his own ego
The deeper dialogue opens up
after the warrior has learned to shut off his internal monologue.
And... Change has come.
Some people say:
"Martial Tai Chi is intended for the sole purpose of developing fighting skills to defend ourselves and protect others from harm".
I am afraid to offer opinions of my own, but that’s not my first or even my second opinion.
Life can be a struggle
but
some people fight against their own life.
To fight is to perpetuate conflict.
A real martial artist is a soldier of life.
A good soldier of love
who has to be prepared to not relinquish control of his own life.
A good soldier is not violent
A good fighter is not angry
A good winner is not vengeful.
(Tao Te Tsjing)
The essential difference between a soldier and an internal martial artist?
A soldier interprets new situations in terms of win or lose.
This appears simple, but in fact it is overly simplistic.
Internal martial artists, on the other hand, see new situations as a game.
Each new situation presents opportunities to gain new experiences.
Win and lose are subordinate to personal growth.
This is not simplistic - it is simple.
To see new situations as a game.
Win and lose are subordinate to personal growth.
Tai Chi Chuan should be a physical/mental tool
falls in line with your own spiritual fitness plan.
(Photo:Tai Chi Fan- shadow fighting)
Being a loser is not so easy.
The problem is that you are not the winner
But a good loser is always a winner.
The winner does not take it all.
If you want to be happy, then be it. (Chinese proverb)
Well then: if you want to 'master' a martial application, then 'master' it.
If you want it to succeed, then let it succeed.
If you want to do it, then do it.
If necessary, pretend to master the application,
as if you've been doing it for years.
There's a good chance that it will succeed.
The difference between success and failure is often in your head.
This does bring risks of overestimating your capabilities.
But:
Those who are not prepared to take this risk will risk never succeeding in a single application.
Self-defence always entails a risk:
You have to be prepared to not relinquish control of your own destiny.
Self defence always entails a risk:
You have to be prepared to not relinquish control of your own destiny.
A Taoistic advise:
Watch your thoughts for they become words
Watch your words for they become actions
Watch your actions for they become habits
Watch your habits for they become character
Watch your character for it becomes your destiny.
You have to be prepared to not relinquish control of your own destiny.
If you don’t control your mind, someone else will.
Chinese Classics about virtue.