Cultivating Zen through Martial Arts

longfist2003 · Joined: 26 Apr 2008 Posts: 6

Hi Stacy and All -

I've long tried to apprehend the meaning of Zen in the application of Martial Arts. Without a lot to go by, I think, over the years I've attained insight into this, perhaps demystified it for myself, but also encountered "masters" of extremely high level capacity in this regard.

I recently wrote an article/ interview about my friend's Wing Chun "master" who happens to be visiting Rochester for a 3 day seminar next week. "Touching Hands" with him, I was able to feel directly what No-Mind can do for one's Kungfu. Everything is felt before it's seen.

In my article I wrote of my interview, asking about the relation of his practice to Zen ... his Wing Chun has no religious affiliations but also does not deny influence of Buddhism and Taoism in it's cultural roots. Chipping away all the semantics, I was able to find that he does embody what you and I may call Zen Kungfu although the emptiness he exhibits does have some sort of content.... what one would call fearless tranquility. It was quite beautiful to be punched by this (LOL!)

Anyway, I make an effort in my own training to practice moving Zen. What are your training methods for using Martial Arts as a Zen practice?

- Donald
http://www.colonelquantum.blogspot.com
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Anonymous · Guest

For me, Zen in the martial arts is like Zen in everything else -- it all comes down to being completely present and mindful in each moment. One of my Aikido Shihan is very adept at this and can tell when any of us become distracted, at which point she reminds us not to go on a vacation to Guam during class. If we all seem too distracted during a class, she will take out the wooden knives and will randomly start attacking people.

There benefits to mindfulness on the mat. If I am mindful, I am much better able to blend with my uke's ki to perform the technique and if I am the uke, I am much better able to fall properly and safely when a technique is executed on me. Becoming distracted is usually very self-correcting in Aikido, since it often leads to a painful result. Pain is an excellent motivator. Smile

This is one of the reasons Aikido strengthens my ability to stay mindful.

In some ways, though, it is easier to manage on the mat or at the Zen center than it is in every day life, since a vacation to Guam while washing dishes rarely comes with a reminder either from a teacher or from a painful natural consequence. As such, my biggest challenge is to carry that level of mindfulness into daily life.

longfist2003 · Joined: 26 Apr 2008 Posts: 6

Hello Sunim and Stacy,
Just wanted to touch base with you, and thank you for having us last weekend. We really enjoyed our visit and feel very inspired about the potential of the Zen Center.

Tony and I are going to work on an Oriental Painting workshop involving meditation on impermanence and single-mindedness. Something like what we did for Tony's school during Chinese New Year.

I'd also like to inquire if you would be interested in exploring the practice of Zen in martial arts. I understand from our conversation that sitting ( Zazen ) the central practice. I am sure that integrating sitting meditation would greatly enhance my Kungfu. If this is something you would be interested in doing, how would you propose connecting sitting practice with interactive martial arts training?

I hope to make it to sitting practice this Sunday morning but have some work to catch up on and family-holiday events to prepare for.

Best wishes - Donald