The Warrior's Spell Book

There is a fantastic chapter on the esoteric ways of martial arts in the book "Living the Martial Way". I have included the end of chapter summary here. It is just fascinating, the author puts so much emphasis on form work (he uses the Japanese - kata) as a path to developing the esoteric side. As the sport side of martial arts begins to dominate the traditional approach, the emphasis on forms decreases due to lack of understanding. It is good to get a reminder about how critical it is as part of our training.

• Ki (Chi in Chinese) exists, but there is nothing mysterious about it. It's simply the life force that all living things have. What's important to the warrior is the ability to coordinate his or her body and ki and focus those entities during combat.
• Kiai means to concentrate or focus the life force. Aiki means blended life force or spirit. These are related concepts that involve focusing one's ki to crush or blend with and dominate an opponent's spirit.
• You can develop kiai and aiki by first finding kokoro, the warrior's heart. Next you practice haragei, moving from your physical and spiritual center. Develop the breathing power of kokyu chikara and apply kime, or focus. Finally, put these methods together and practice kata with utmost seriousness.
• Mushin, or "mind-no-mind", is the mental state that is the principle source of the traditional warrior's quick reactions, extraordinary perception, and steely calm. Learn to enter mushin by turning off your internal dialogue. Once again, the most important exercise to practice mushin is kata.
• Zanshin is alertness distilled to essence. If you are developing kiai and mushin, zanshin will eventually follow on its own. However, you can focus on its development by practicing alertness and savoring each onset of zanshin as it occurs. Your goal is to achieve happo zanshin, or "eight-directional awareness" at will.
• Many martial artists debate whether the esoteric skills in warriorship are mystical or physical. To a real warrior, it doesn't matter why they work. The only thing that really counts is defeating the enemy.

Nick
Green stripe sash