The scale is certainly different, perhaps that is all.
One pronounced effect this COVID lockdown and ongoing restrictions has brought upon me is that I have spent a great deal of training time on my own.
This has brought about an increased involvement in the more passive, internal side of the training, this is reflected in my teaching since we resumed.
I have a problem with this.
There is no doubt that the passive training benefits the active training and vice versa, however, I genuinely believe that when you train in the “External/Hard” approach alongside the “Internal/Soft” approach there is a very real potential to diminish both sets of work.
The reason is quite straight forward, the mind set, the emotional response and the physical condition that are required for either discipline are as close to opposite as we can get, it is an anti-matter/matter situation.
The Samurai, Vikings, Yaqui Shaman, Indian Warrior Princes, in fact all or any of the Priest of Mars from history were well aware of this and would take themselves away on “Spirit Quests” to spend serious time looking inward.
They would seperate themselves from all forms of violence or any other contact with the outside world or interaction with other people.
When the job was done, the vision received or the wisdom manifested and they returned to the world of men it was business as usual, no more meditation, no more ‘Mr. Nice Guy’ back to the old ‘hack and slash’.
I am fully aware that we live in different time with different reasons for the training we do but is what we do that far removed from the like of Spartacus or Alexander the Great.
The scale is certainly different, perhaps that is all.
But the way I think is the way I think.
Few of us could afford the time or find the motivation to go on a Vision Quest, but something we could and perhaps should do is put one week a month aside for just passive/soft/internal training and see where it takes us.
I know it will take us to a good place.
AS ALWAYS…
TRAIN YOUR WEAKNESS – WORK TO YOUR STRENGTH.
Wing Chun Sydney, Australia 