A Magic Wand To Help Us In Our Struggles and Confrontations

When I was a young man and still not yet out of school, I spent a summer as a "Student Work-Scholar" at Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California. In the early 1970s, Esalen was still in its years of resplendent glory, widely recognized as the worldwide mecca for teachers and students interested in the "human potential" movement.

Once home to a Native American tribe known as the Esselin, and nestled on a cliff between the Big Sur coastline and the Santa Lucia Mountains rising sharply behind, this magnificent facility hosted ongoing seminars and classes in virtually all the psychotherapies and holistic philosophies in vogue during that period. Seminarians from all over the world flocked to this 27 acres of spectacular California coastline to partake in the classes, the natural hot springs, and the rarefied spiritual aura of this magical place.

In return for participating in the seminars and living on the grounds, I was required to perform various daily tasks such as working in the garden, cleaning the rooms and helping in the office. One of my very first assignments was to clean all the windows in a large, old Victorian house on the grounds. Looking out on the Pacific Ocean, I spent several hours cleaning windows.

As I moved into the kitchen, I noticed a small sign taped on the wall on top of the sink. In simple block letters, it read: "Zen masters wash their own bowls." The sink was spotless, and the cleaned dishes were neatly stacked in the dish rack. I pondered that notion and proceeded in my work.

No One Is Above the Mundane & Tedious Responsibilities of Everyday Life

Two aspects of that memory staved with me. First, to achieve true spiritual enlightenment is to be in elite company, but even the elite is not above the mundane and tedious responsibilities of everyday life. This is why a sense of humility is so central to following the righteous path. Second, even those most preoccupied with matters of the spirit and intellect must also involve themselves equally with matters of the body and the physical world. This balance is inherent in living the martial Way.


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These days, many aspiring young martial artists are looking for the secrets that will help them quickly learn the mastery of their art. Dave Lowry, one of the most articulate critics of the commercialism of modern martial arts captures this mood perfectly when he writes [Moving Toward Stillness, Dave Lowry]:

"If I may paraphrase Churchill, never have so many wished for so much while expending so little."

A Magic Wand To Help Us In Our Struggles and ConfrontationsMany of today's impatient students seek short cuts to accelerate the arduous and tedious aspects of their chosen style. However, the so-called secrets and subtleties of the art are complex and require time to comprehend. This type of learning does not occur within the framework of weeks and months, but years. Even if the instructor tells the student all the answers, he cannot absorb it in a finite period of time.

The naive student cannot expect to distort, pervert and dilute the art in order to fit it into his own narrow, egotistical conception of time. He cannot apply conventional measures of time and efficiency to a pursuit as important as the martial arts. In a way, the passage of time is in itself a test for the serious student, one that many students will eventually fail.

Cast Aside Impatience and Self-Complacency

By casting aside impatience and self-complacency, the dedicated martial arts practitioner knows that he can never be good enough. The moment he believes that he is, then he has stopped learning and thus has stopped living as a true martial artist. For those who persevere in regular training, the Martial Way gradually becomes a part of everyday life. In time and with the proper spirit, the true learning of techniques will emerge, on their own.

In daily training, it may sometimes seem as if new obstacles are placed in our path constantly. Rarely does everything proceed as planned or without unexpected problems. Yet the martial arts student needs to be reminded that this state of affairs represent the real world in which he lives. A life without setbacks, failures, regrets and sickness is not a real life. These negative developments are as real as everything else in life.

Instead of cynicism or resignation, he must plod on. It means that he needs to be more persistent, resourceful and hopeful from one day to the next. It means that he must enhance his sensitivity and pay greater attention to the details. Though he may never face disaster or the catastrophe of total loss, if he can steel himself against the idea of everything going against us, then that is a starting point from which to focus his energy and devotion to his objectives. Maintaining balance in the face of imminent total loss is truly a worthy victory, a magic wand to help us in our struggles and confrontations.

The demands of work, family, finances, as well as fatigue, neglect and health all distract the martial artist from his best intentions. Even the devoted student may be disappointed if he expects martial arts training to neatly bring his physical and spiritual condition into working order.

Nevertheless, regular training can serve as a constant, to discipline him to develop his best self even as the daily routine pulls him in different directions. The strategies underlying training can be effectively applied not just in life threatening situations but to daily life.

Staying on the Path of Daily Practice

The actual practice of training may be different from the ideal of training. Actual practice is simply doing the same thing again and again, day after day, hoping to become just a little hit better. The student tries to increase his physical power, breathing, muscular flexibility and body coordination. Sometimes he fails to understand the point of it, as he stands in his own sweat and fatigue. Sometimes he makes mistakes and experience injury or discouragement. Students all sometimes ask them-selves why they spend so much time on something that has so little apparent practical value. Finally, some are tempted simply to quit.

The martial Way reminds the faithful student to stay on the daily path of practice, to keep his mind fresh and alert, and continue to continue. If he does so, he can approach perfection as a person, with a heightened sensitivity about his mind, body and environment, and an enhanced capacity to deal with the challenges of every aspect of life. Through training, life's hurdles may reveal themselves as our most important teachings. But the powers that are gained, and the lessons learned are highly personal in nature and should be used prudently. In fact, devoted training gives each person a secret power, one that cannot be thoughtlessly revealed. To defeat opponents but to not meet the requirements of daily life indicates a misunderstanding of essential skills.

Reprinted with permission of the publisher,
YMAA Publication Center, Inc. www.ymaa.com


This article was excerpted from:

The Martial Way And Its Virtues
by F.J. Chu

 The Martial Way is nothing less than self-cultivation and the promotion of virtuous conduct. While the martial arts revolve around the way of personal combat, it also demands that its adherents live in accordance with a certain warrior code of conduct and honor. The Martial Way promises a long and arduous journey. It is an invitation to the subordination of self, the endurance of sustained practice, and the cultivation of the body and mind, with no tolerance for self-indulgences of any kind. Martial arts without compassion and honor promises only violence. Stripped of its spirituality, it threatens injury and suffering to both its victims and its practitioners. In the end, this higher ideal is what separates the warrior from the predator. 

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About the Author

F.J. ChuF.J. Chu, born in Taiwan, ROC, is a certified black belt instructor in Kenpo Karate. Over the past twenty-five years, he has also trained in Fu Jow Pai Kung Fu, Aikido and Tai Chi Chuan. He is the author of two books on investing, President of Sage Capital Group, Inc., and Principal of the Chinese School of Southern Westchester (Scarsdale NY). Visit his website at www.franklinchu.com

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