The Psychology of Fighting, Part III

Once a fighting technique is thoroughly learned through sincere, diligent training, it is "forgotten" or disregarded on the conscious level. Later, when we spar, all our hard work pays off; there are no "accidents" and we fight spontaneously, automatically. As I see it, most students don't experiment enough with their sparring, relying on just a few moves. In contrast, kata, the ultimate expression of an art, forces us to utilize a depth and variety of moves that we would probably never come close to using in regular sparring. Kata, unlike kumite, allows us to train with no inhibitions, at full power and speed at any age. In time, the trainee will come to realize the only way to infuse true passion into his or her chosen art will be through stilling the mind. Kata practice is one way of accomplishing this, but is there something else we can do to hasten the process further still?

According to martial arts historian, Donn Draeger, samurai who lived during Japan's Feudal period practiced the art of mokuso - meditation to give them confidence in battle. Meditation is largely misunderstood in our culture, but it is simply the practice of the discipline of removing unwanted mind-chatter. Sitting still with eyes closed, focusing on normal breathing and becoming aware of our thoughts is a radical undertaking that can have tremendous ramifications on our psyche. Meditation has roots not only in the East, but also in Native American, Australian-Aboriginal and African cultures, and certain Orthodox Christian and Kabbalic (Jewish) faiths. Meditation, the art of invoking present moment awareness, is a tool that is capable of sharpening focus, and bringing about detached resolution - attributes for the martial artist, but also something that can be life-transforming.

The Psychology of Fighting, Part II

I previously discussed the chaotic nature of a fight. Chaos implies uncertainty, and if we are interested in developing our fighting prowess, we must learn to embrace uncertainty. Much of what we do is based on conditioning and expectations. Our existence, our survival is not contingent upon the past or our concept of the future. Present moment awareness means disregarding old negative habits that limit us, while at the same time allowing future events to unfold naturally. We can learn form our past mistakes, but we shouldn't let them rule us. If I'm hindered by what happened yesterday, and worried about what my opponent might do to me in five seconds, I can't possibly be in a fight that is happening right now.

These concepts may sound vague at first, but it must be understood that the mind is the seat of everything we do. When we train, especially over a period of time, we are relegating our techniques to the unconscious. Ordinary thinking generally gets in the way of a good fight. The more self-conscious ego is invoked in combat, the less we can employ kokoro - a true fighting spirit. This is why training and repetition is imperative. Knowing how to do something and actually being able to it are not the same thing. Embrace uncertainty and forget yesterday's mishaps. Expect the unexpected. Zanshin is about what's happening now.

My next entry will discuss a specific technique we can use that greatly enhances present moment awareness.

The Psychology of Fighting, Part I

When a new student begins to train in Karate, he or she learns basic stances, punches, kicks, defensive moves and so on, which are organized into pre-arranged ancient forms called kata. Kata, by its nature, works from a script. A real fight, however, is utter chaos. Being able to deal with a chaotic situation means having to cultivate various states of mind to ensure success against some maniac that you happen to run up against.

Zanshin is a heightened sense of awareness of one's surroundings. Mushin means open mind - a mind that has no pre-conceptions or expectations. Kan-Ken futatsu no Koto - the ability to see with "intuitive" eyes via the unconscious. Psychical seeing enables one to sense the presence of danger. Fudoshin - a principle developed by the great swordsman Miyamoto Musashi, refers to a relaxed, calm disposition. The detached, ego-less mind should be regarded as the ultimate ideal for the warrior.