GrandMaster Art Mason's Martial Musing

When I first started my training in the martial arts I was in the Dojo 6 days per week and hour per night. I continued this pace until I reached my Green Belt.  After than time I had the great joy of increasing my time to 2 hours per night. I would train with the advanced class and then stay and train will the beginners class.  Sunday was the only day of rest.

Today as a school we understand better the dynamics of training. Our adult classes are 75 minutes in length and encourage people to only train 2 times per week.  This has proven to be best for student retention and longevity. The benefits of training in the martial arts come with time.

In this day and age even twice per week can be challenging for people. It is not because they don’t want to train. It is because their priorities get mixed up and training is put off. People will give me a million excuses for not being in class. “Sir, I had to do this, or that.” All fine, but essentially all excuses. Sometimes there are good reasons, but this is in the 10% bracket.

Now if you join a gym or health club they really don’t want you to come. They want you to pay. Martial Art training is instruction and the teacher wants you there.  You are missed when not in class. But how important is this training? Think back to how you feel at the end of a class. The high you encounter from the endorphins flowing in your body. You have spent time exercising the muscles, heart, lungs and your MIND. You feel great, the best you have felt all day!

Instead often times students can be found on Facebook playing a game, watching TV or some other mindless event. Yet they wonder why they feel so lousy.

The benefits of training in the martial arts come with time.

Martial Arts connects the mind and the body. Most people live only in the mind and have forgotten their body. The only time they feel it is when something has gone wrong. Your health and state of mind are far to important to be ignored.

Get to class twice per week.

Yes I really did leave the word ‘defense’ out on purpose from the title. The term ‘self defense’ always conjurers up an image of a fight or attack situation, where training in the martial arts goes much further.

I have news for you. You are attacked each and every day. This attack is done against you directly and it is done thought your 5 senses. With the bombardment of our senses it is little wonder we can function at all. We have become creatures of deleting information. The problem is we often delete the wrong things.

Have you ever felt overwhelmed? Have you felt that your life is not longer on track, or perhaps that something is missing? If you have you are certainly not alone. People feel this day in and day out until they discover something. “The Art of Self “

Now I can hear what some people will say, this being ‘selfish’. If you are thinking that very good because it is! We have nothing else but ourselves. Also, you cannot give what you do not have, so everyone needs to work on themselves FIRST.

Everyday I sit in quiet reflection at my dojo for 15-30 minutes. Some will call this mediation, others reflection, the title doesn’t matter. What matters is that I am alone with me. Here I get to understand me. But this is only the start because then I go out on the floor and teach several hours of classes each day. I also do this for me, and when I do the students are the ones that benefit, much more than I do. When this happens I am in the moment, not somewhere else.

Martial Arts training is a great tool for self discovery because it is all about YOU. You are on the floor training and no one can really help you. A good teacher can be a guide but that is all. You learn to conquor your body and your mind. Add this to some mediation or reflection time and you have the basis for a path to a happier life! Not bad for a few hours per week!

If you are a student of the arts, any art, get yourself back to regular training. You know you felt better when you did. If you are not a martial artists find something you love to do and do it!

Sing like no one is listening, dance like no one is watching. Connect with yourself and enjoy our physical reality!

I had a discussion with one of my Black Belts last night about doing the basics. He was commenting on how tired he gets practicing what he refers to as beginners stuff.  His response is certainly not unusual but he lacks understanding mostly because of his age. Our talk inspired me.

At this point I decided that the class that night should really focus on the basics or foundation of the art. The adult Black Belts in attendance were shocked at how much there really was to learn.  First I have to add that there are no advanced techniques. Movement is movement, striking is striking, locks and throws are locks and throws.  There is only advanced thinking which results in advanced movement.

When a beginner starts with the basics he or she will learn to step, strike with the hands, do some kicks.  To the beginning mind these are all separate things. This is of course normal in the learning process. As the student progresses they learn to step and punch or kick. They develop flow between the 2 halves of the body. Power and coordination develop as they approach and pass the Black Belt mark. From here if the ego is under control and it must be, they are ready to progress with the basics  into advanced and master level thinking, and seamless movement.

The beginning of this stage is when the Black Belt learns to move the entire body as a whole, not as separate parts of the whole. As this happens the need for power and timing disappear making the art ageless and timeless.  This comes from conquering the mind and the body.  All you do is move and the attacker creates the openings and then moves right into them.  The founder of Aikido Morihei Ueshiba was a perfect example of such ability and movement.

Much to the suprise of the Black Belt student all this comes from the basics they get so bored practicing. Advanced martial arts practice, whether a hard art or soft is the study of the self. As Bruce Lee loved to say, “All knowledge is Self Knowledge”

I have an old friend on the east coast of Canada who always says “It’s all about the training.” He is of course referring to the importance of continual training in the martial arts. One of the great challenges that a teacher has is keeping his student’s motivated and training. This becomes a greater challenge in the Black Belt levels. The reasons for this are many.

There are literally 100′s of different benefits that can be obtained at different levels of martial arts training. Some day I may get ambitious and list them all, but right now I am going to focus on the Black Belt levels.

Do Black Belts really need extensive training and theory to be safe on the streets and great martial artists? My Black Belts are very self defense / safety oriented, but I would still have to answer yes to the question.  Keeping skills sharp is a must as not to over estimate your abilities if a bad situation develops, there are however other reasons.

Martial Arts training, at least the way we do it,  develops focus and peace of mind. In our world today these are very important benefits. Life today can also be filled with stress. We all have stress from our jobs, home, school etc. When we do not set time aside for ourselves and our development our copping skills begin to deteriorate. “It is all about the training” as we use the martial arts to refocus and eliminate the stress from our lives, even if it is only for a few hours.

The New Year is coming fast so I urge all martial art students, but Black Belt espescially to recommit to you training. But don’t wait for the New Year to do, resolve to do it today!

In my school we have a formal instructor certification program. This is open to any adult student of at least Blue Belt in rank to begin the process of becoming an instructor. This does not happen overnight and can be very demanding on time. There is also a program similar for our junior students.

The question will come up from students and parents alike, “why become or train to become an instructor?” The answer is very simple. It causes you to grow as a martial artist in ways you never dreamed possible.

I can recall when I first started helping out in a branch school my instructor had when I was a green belt.  When it came to the martial arts I was far from a natural, but I loved it and this gave me heart.  There was another man in our school who started at the same time I did. We tested through the ranks together. I was also helping in class, he was asked but declined.  He told me he was not going to pay for instruction, then help others for free.

This man was a good solid martial arts student. I always enjoyed working with him, but as time passed and we both approached our testing for Black Belt, I was worlds ahead of him in every way.  My understanding was not only surpassing his, but everyone else who was not in a teaching role.

If you want to really understand something teach it to others. If your children are having trouble in a subject in school have them teach what they know to you. Teaching is one of the greatest experiences there is.

Teaching is a gift we can all aquire.

“It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles”

In my personal opinion one of the greatest benefits of martial arts training is that it is about conquering the ‘self‘.  Sometimes we however do lose site of this.

I always find it interesting to go out to a bar, or to a party, even a business event and see how people will work to position themselves to conquer or control others.  It is a non stop interaction of energy back and forth.  Children do this constantly with their parents, playing almost a game of wills. Children do it will each other, a prime example being the bully – victim scenario. Adults are pros at it!

Sadly all of this is wasted energy. What we really need to do is conquer the self.  A person who is in the process of conquering his or her self has a certain magnetic quality to them. They will often make fantastic leaders, excellent workers and generally speaking outstanding human beings. Why is this the case? Because they find peace within their own skins.

In a true martial art situation there should never be an opponent to conquer. The only person that needs conquering is the self. When you understand the inner self, controlling the body, the situation or anything else becomes easy. When there is turmoil within, there will always be conflict and the possibility of defeat.

Conquering the self requires a few steps to get started. The first step is understand, truly understanding and internalizing that nothing is permanent. No person, no situation and no event.  Everything is ALWAYS changing! With that in mind we can realize that life is to enjoy, not to become stressed about.  Learning to be happy is not something we want to happen on our death beds. It is something we need to pursue our entire lives.  Babies are happy by nature, the world teaches them to forget and to lose this quality.

Once we understand and internalize impermanence, we can then understand that we control our thoughts.  We chose what we think moment to moment, and no one else does this for us.  If your thoughts are out of control it is because you allowed them to be! It will take time to get them back on track, but then the goal is to conquer the self and the self is your thinking.  Therefore whenever a bad thought arises, look at it, don’t dwell on it, and allow it to pass. Replace it will an empowering thought instead.

The Buddha said “we are what we think”…..PERIOD.

Life is about expansion and happiness. The power of the mind, your mind is greater than any supposed physical reality. Learn and practice every moment of every day to control your thinking.  Those who are martial artists and students of the arts remember this the next time you are on the floor training, and then never let it slip past your attention again afterward.

Remember all paths lead to the same destination. Life is a journey, learn to love it!

Everywhere I look I see stressed people….Sounds like a twist on the movie the 6th Sense, but this is true. Everywhere, all day long I hear about stress, stress, stress…….Hmmmm, Why am I not stressed???

There are two types of stress. There is physical stress, the kind you get from working hard or exercising, then there is mental stress, the killer in our society. Here is a definition of the word Stress.

Stress is a biological term for the consequences of the failure of a human or animal to respond appropriately to emotional or physical threats to the organism, whether actual or imagined. Ok people, guess which one is killing you? That is right, the IMAGINED one!

Most stress caused in people lives today is because of their lack of ability to prioritize their lives. They put far too much mental energy into things that are of little or no real consequence. This accounts for about 80% of your life and day.

Have you ever been awakened at night by something that needs to be done the next day, or a bill that is late being paid, or a problem with a family member, etc etc etc. Well everybody it is high time to take your life back. Read on and I will get you started.

First, everything in your life that happens is only as important as the meaning you give to it. Life does not need to be a drama. When something happens that upsets you ask yourself, will this still matter in 2 years, 2 months, 2 weeks? It might not even matter in 2 hours!  Since the only moment we have to live in is this one, there is no past or future, then we can chose how we feel about these events.

How do we live in the now, rather then the past? First you MUST spend some quiet time with yourself each day.  Mediation comes in many forms, but a great way to start is to just sit in a comfortable chair for 15 minutes and listen to some soft instrumental music.  Don’t use this time to plan or anything else. Just concentrate on relaxing and breathing. You will feel much better after wards.

You must take time for yourself each day, no excuses. Don’t bother to talk about what the kids or the spouse or the boss needs.  If you don’t put yourself ahead of these other issues you will not be effective in handling them when the time arrises.  You must come first!

To reduce and eliminate stress in your life you must give time to yourself.  If time is so short get up 30 minutes earlier, before anyone else is up and use this time. The difference in how you feel will be well worth the effort!

What is an addiction? One online dictionary defines it as -”the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, as narcotics, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma.”

Now I want to add to this definition.  All addictions are chemical in nature. People become addicted to their emotions. This is not that they like anger, but they love the chemical rush that happens in their bodies at the time of anger, depression or any other emotion that they are addicted to.  This works exactly the same way as a heroin addiction or any other outside chemical addiction does.

We are all addicted to something. For some it is emotions as I stated above (do you have a teenager?) or even the way we think on a day to day basis.  In other words we become addicted to our beliefs too.  Here is a great example of addiction and withdrawal. A relationship breaks up. One person is devastated at this breakup. Why? Because they miss the way that person helped them to feel.

So since we all have addictions why not chose ones that empower us? One of my addictions in life is the martial arts. Because martial arts training and teaching is a MIND/BODY collaboration the brain produces Endorphins. Endorphine are a chemical that cause a sense of peace and well being in a person. They are produced by the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus during martial art practice. Endorphins are also the bodies natural pain reliever.  Is this an addiction? You better belief it is! However it is an addiction that will not destroy your body or your life.

I encourage everyone reading this to look at their lives and see what your addictions are. Find the bad ones and replace them with something like martial arts training, Tai Chi, Yoga, running or anything that will get the Endorphins flowing.  Your stress levels will drop and you will develop a sense of well being.  In this state you can also start to change the way you think about yourself and life, and make improvements all for the better.

If you listen to the news or read a paper there is so much negativity is can be overwhelming. Now from a business standpoint bad news sells, so this is what we get. I am however more interested in the thinking that causes this versus the situations themselves.

The first line of our Student Creed states. “I develop myself physically and mentally based on the martial art spirit.”  A martial art student trains the body to develop the mind, yet so many students of the arts are often so negative. The reason, they train the body, and forget the mind after the training is finished for the day.

Martial Arts is not a hobby, it is a Way of Life. With this in mind we must take responsibility for the day to day ‘thinking’ we are doing.  You see whatever you think about, or focus on expands in your world.  If you focus on suffering, you will suffer, if you focus on being happy, you will be happy. It is really that simple, yet it isn’t.  Changing how you think does take some time and work.

No matter what your life is like right now, this moment, it is exactly right. There is no good luck or bad luck, only the thinking that caused the results you are currently experiencing.  The only way to make a life better is to think differently. When you do, everything will change.

Parents, this is a big responsibility for you, especially when you have young children.  Parents will often comment that their children don’t do what they are told to do. This might be true, but they will always do the things their parents do and this includes mimicking the way they think. (happy, frustrated, angry, violent, etc). Take a look at what you are presenting to your children.

Here is something you can think about. Take a look at the world you live in. Look at your house, the plants and trees in your yard, the things in your possession, the world around you. Aside from the creations of nature, everything you see is a result of the thoughts of someone.  Thoughts that then became reality. There are NO exceptions to this!

We all want a better life, and the only way to get this is to improve our thinking processes. Be honest with yourself, no excuses. (excuses are thoughts too!). Work each and everyday on yourself and “take out the trash.” You will be amazed the difference in a very short time.

A Zen Master is walking though the streets carrying a heavy load on this back. As he is walking he is approached by two young men. The men ask the Master, “what does a Zen Master do before enlightenment?” The Master stops walking and puts down he load and looks at the men but says nothing.  The men, confused, then ask the Master, “well what does a Zen Master do after enlightenment when he becomes a Buddha?” The Master then picks up his load, puts it all on his back and walks away in silence.

This Zen Koan is very simple. We are spiritual beings having a physical experience.  No matter what your religious background is we can all agree with this statement. What does this mean? That the road to the spiritual is found in the physical. We are all looking for higher answers, but are almost always looking in the wrong place. We must look within. Wisdom and the answers to all questions lie within each and everyone of us, if we would just be quiet and listen.

One of the problems when someone first discovers spirituality is it becomes all consuming. This happened to me many years ago also. We tend to think about developing something that is already developed. Thus we miss the physical experiences that we are here to enjoy.  How do you create the balance between spiritual and physical? By learning to quiet the mind and listen.

Some people will accomplish this by reading a bible, other by reading a sutra or many other religious texts. Some will mediate for a few minutes a day. One problem is that we often miss the reason for these practices.  The only reason is to quiet the mind so that we can understand ourselves, and thus the world we live in.

Once many years ago I visited a Buddhist monastery with some of my students.  The monk asked us if we could help them out by moving some statues in the stupa for them. We were very happy to be of assistance. After this work we were allowed to eat dinner with the monk and the other members of the monastery.

Being the senior person there from our school I ate at the table with the monk.  He told me that being a special occasions the other monks in training could talk with my student during their meal. He told me that this is normally not allowed.  Now when I heard this I figured there was some high spiritual reason for this practice. I was right, it was so that the mind was in the present and enjoying the meal, rather than being distracted with chatter. I was blow away and never forgot that moment.

What is the spiritual path? Enjoying living. If you practice martial arts, practice with all your attention. Are you a teacher? Then teach with all your attention and nothing else.  You see, it is all about doing what you are doing without thinking about something else. Being in the moment, and there are no ordinary moments.

Being spiritual is not about giving things up, it is about being mindful in the things you are doing.  Quiet your mind and enjoy your experience as a physical being.  Wisdom and happiness are your only goals. There is nothing in the past you can change, in fact it does not exist any longer. The future is like the past, it has not happened yet.  There is only this moment and nothing else. Learn to live in this moment. It is always calm and peaceful.

There is an old Buddhist saying, “You cannot step into the same river twice”. The fact is you cannot step into the same river even once.