Caveat: Please make note that this article/post is my personal analysis of the subject and the information used was chosen or picked by me. It is not an analysis piece because it lacks complete and comprehensive research, it was not adequately and completely investigated and it is not balanced, i.e., it is my personal view without the views of others including subject experts, etc. Look at this as “Infotainment rather then expert research.” This is an opinion/editorial article/post meant to persuade the reader to think, decide and accept or reject my premise. It is an attempt to cause change or reinforce attitudes, beliefs and values as they apply to martial arts and/or self-defense. It is merely a commentary on the subject in the particular article presented.
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Balance is one of those principles that should have been realized and a part of training from the get-go. What I am saying is that upon starting in a system you should have been introduced to what Isshinryu’ists call “Basics, i.e., Upper and Lower body basic techniques.” There are what some call body mechanics, I tend to call them physiokinetics as follows:
PHYSIOKINETIC PRINCIPLES (Breathing, posture, triangle guard, centerline, primary gate, spinal alignment, axis, minor axis, structure, heaviness, relaxation, wave energy, convergence, centeredness, triangulation point, the dynamic sphere, body-mind, void, centripetal force, centrifugal force, sequential locking and sequential relaxation, peripheral vision, tactile sensitivity, rooting, attack hubs, attack posture.)
These are the principles that provide you the many aspects of what some call, “Balance.” They are not exclusive, i.e., you just learn about balance, but a inter-connected, yin-yang type thing, set of principles that are holistically molded and melded into “One wholehearted” application or goal, the goal being to achieve proficiency and efficient applied principles in the fight.
I do understand your tendency to take each as an individual principle to learn and that is good but don’t tie them to any one aspect of your training and practice except to encode it with intent toward blending into one, the essence of a fighting/defensive system.
Balance is not just about the stability of your body when applying martial techniques but a holistic balance of the body, the mind and the resulting spirit. This is why new students should be introduced to not just basic teachniques, i.e., te-no-bu and ashi-no-bu, but those principles that transcend technique to achieve techniques.
PRINCIPLE ONE: PRINCIPLES OF THEORY (Universality, Control, Efficiency, Lengthen Our Line, Percentage Principle, Std of Infinite Measure, Power Paradox, Ratio, Simplicity, Natural Action, Michelangelo Principle, Reciprocity, Opponents as Illusions, Reflexive Action, Training Truth, Imperception and Deception.)
PRINCIPLE TWO: PHYSIOKINETIC PRINCIPLES (Breathing, posture, triangle guard, centerline, primary gate, spinal alignment, axis, minor axis, structure, heaviness, relaxation, wave energy, convergence, centeredness, triangulation point, the dynamic sphere, body-mind, void, centripetal force, centrifugal force, sequential locking and sequential relaxation, peripheral vision, tactile sensitivity, rooting, attack hubs, attack posture.)
PRINCIPLE THREE: PRINCIPLES OF TECHNIQUE (techniques vs. technique, equal rights, compliment, economical motion, active movement, positioning, angling, leading control, complex force, indirect pressure, live energy and dead energy, torsion and pinning, speed, timing, rhythm, balance, reactive control, natural and unnatural motion, weak link, non-telegraphing, extension and penetration, Uke.)
PRINCIPLE FOUR: PRINCIPLES OF PHILOSOPHY (Mind, mushin, kime, non-intention, yin-yang, oneness, zanshin and being, non-action, character, the empty cup.)
Then for those who are studying MA for combative and self-defense purposes, as the traditions would indicate, then I would add the following to your principles:
PRINCIPLE FIVE: PRINCIPLES OF SELF-DEFENSE (“Conflict communications; Emotional Intelligence; Lines/square/circle of SD, Three brains (human, monkey, lizard), JAM/AOJ and five stages, Adrenal stress (stress induced reality based), Violence (Social and Asocial), Pre-Attack indicators, Weapons, Predator process and predator resource, Force levels, Repercussions (medical, legal, civil, personal), Go-NoGo, Win-Loss Ratio, etc. (still working on the core sub-principles for this one)”Attitude, Socio-emotional, Diplomacy, Speed [get-er done fast], Redirected aggression, Dual Time Clocks, Awareness, Initiative, Permission, )
PRINCIPLE SIX: CHEMICAL COCKTAIL: (Attacked Mind, Train It, Breath It Away, Visualize It Away, Sparring vs. Fighting, Degradation of Technique/skills, Peripheral Vision Loss, Tunnel Vision, Depth Perception Loss/Altered, Auditory Exclusion, Weakened legs/arms, Loss of Extremity Feeling, Loss of Fine Motor Skills, Distorted Memory/perceptions, Tachypsychia (time slows), Freeze, Perception of Slow Motion, Irrelevant Thought Intrusion, Behavioral Looping, Pain Blocked, Male vs. Female Adrenaline Curve, Victim vs. Predator, The Professional, Levels of Hormonal Stimulation, ???)
As you can see readily enough from just the lists provided that as a novice there is much to learn at that level and that is just the academic side let alone learning how to apply the same physically, mentally and spiritually. Note that the one on chemical cocktails is a entry point toward adrenal stress conditioning through reality based training.
Remember that this is something that should be understood before learning the kata, kata drills, etc., as this is how we achieve a state of mind, mind-set, that will take us across the chasm between sport and reality of violence and conflict, the lead we all have to make regardless, the mind we need to make ourselves leap.
A key issue to understand in all of this is that we must not get caught up in the atomistic, the plethora of minutiae, details, because once you get those individual principles understood then the challenge is assimilating them under stress oriented conditioning where they work holistically, as a whole one thing, that changes according to circumstances. You can’t achieve this goal focusing on the atomistic after a certain level of training and practice.
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