What have Martial Arts got to do with the Psyche?

 

(Image from own collection of Birgit Zagler’s works)

This post has been published on my new blog A Journey of Self-realisation. Apologies for cross posting.

I met someone who is a young practitioner of Taekwondo and as I was saying to her that I published a book on Self-realisation through martial arts she immediately asked me 'what does martial arts have to do with psychology?' I answered to her that I reviewed a range of evidence coming from short and longitudinal studies, which show that for the past 30-40 years various researchers have been studying the psychological/therapeutic benefits on the practitioners of martial arts. They found various effects from reducing aggressiveness in adults and school pupils, increased emotional stability, increase of self-confidence and self-esteem. Whilst these aspects are very interesting and useful to know or good motivations for anyone inspired to practice traditional martial arts to gain such benefits I am more interested in the relationship between the Self-development through martial arts. Self-development or Self-realisation, from an Analytical Psychology perspective, being a process which nurtures the development or journey of personal Self-realisation. This journey is a quest for the meaningful and wholeness. Carl G. Jung described this journey as 'a never ending journey towards wholeness of the Self'. Psychologically, there are a serious of transformations that we need to engage with; like overcoming the opposites within one's psyche (e.g. sensuality versus spirituality) or finding a balance between the opposites within one's mind to bring calm and peace. More broadly though, imagine that whilst we're striving for various goals during our lives the more we aim towards the meaningful ones, such as inner calm or equanimity, being concerned with others' well-being and peace the more meaningful the journey it becomes.

Martial arts, I think, provides the support and challenge for the practitioner who dares to tread into the the depth of her/his character. With continuous Self-introspection and corrections from the Sensei (and my Sensei pointed this to me recently) the practitioner engages in an ongoing questioning, which eventually brings some answers. In the Shotokan Karate Magazine, issue 109, Mike Clarke Sensei has written an article called Difficult Research. He says, that often he advises his students '...the reasons you have for training will dictate the kind of training you will put yourself through'. More often than not it proves a difficult path not taken by many. I see it as an exploration which starts without knowing what you're going to find, maybe a twinkling star or more likely a coarse piece of coal that will take years of hard work and perspiration. Karate and Aikido in my experience, have given me several opportunities to work at my own Self-development, but in the beginning this was not obvious to me. Even now, nothing comes in flashes of inspiration. Currently, I continuously watch out for protuberances in my ego to take 'them out'.

Mike Clarke Sensei wrote once that Karate reveals not builds one's character , and I agree with him. I think that Karate is for a Karate-ka what s/he makes of it. As our character develops our Karate reveals what it is it we are looking to find in it and the meaning we give to it at the time. For example, in my early years of Karate I was looking to find strength, to make me strong and powerful. I was looking to gain from Karate what I was missing. Later, I understood that beyond the strength I was looking for security and safety, which indicates my insecurity and searching for the opposite in Karate or Aikido, which I did at the time. Now, I see it as a continuous challenge and the area where I am most challenged in my Karate training (and at this moment in my development) seems to be often connected to my ego.  No doubt this will evolve as my training continues - and it will be interesting where it will take me. Being aware of this aspect is really important for any martial artist's Self-development. If we're able to keep the dialogue between the ego (and all we consciously aiming to achieve) and the Self (the very essence of our being) I think chances are we will develop and discover what we already are. In the Eastern thought, awakening or enlightenment are two concepts which Carl G. Jung researched and discovered in both his own exploration of the unconscious and that of his patients. He named it wholeness or Self-realisation (if you got so far click here to read an excerpt from the chapter I wrote on this concept).

I think that for those martial artists inclined to look beyond the obvious there is so much more that martial arts offers to its practitioners then it is often perceived. The martial arts' spiritual and psychological dimensions engage the martial artists' psyche in a continuous metamorphoses as long as s/he has the willingness, passion, dedication, patience, discipline and concentration to engage in this kind of journey of Self-discovery. There may be as many ways to express the infinity of challenges martial arts offers as there are martial artists who care to find those challenges in their own training. I came across this quote which serves as a blurp for the Martial Arts Dictionary written and published in French by Louis Frédéric in 1988 (I have the Romanian edition, 1993). In the preface of this dictionary Michel Random opens the first paragraph with the following lines, which I translated from Romanian.

“The Martial Arts are a Universe in itself, passionate,
And which the man could not discover in all its complexity
Not even if s/he would be given more lives in a row.
It is obvious and at the same time secretive and hidden to the naked eye.
Full, at each of its steps and levels,
Of surprising meanings that take us afar in our thoughts
Beyond the art of war and even that of battle,
As if engaging us on an adventure in which
The man would aim to discover the source of the energy’s essence.”

Michel Random. Preface in Martial Arts Dictionary by Louis Frédéric. Editura Enciclopedica. Bucuresti, 1993.

Original text:
'Artele martiale sint un univers in sine,
pasionat,
pe care omul
nu l-ar putea descoperi
in toata complexitatea lui
nici daca i-ar fi dat
sa traiasca mai multe vieti in sir.
O lume evidenta
si totodata tainica,
ascunsa vederii.
Plina, la fiecare din treptele si nevelurile ei,
se intelesuri surprinzatoare, ce ne duc cu gindul departe, dincolo de mestesugul razboiului
si chiar de cel al bataliei,
anagajindu-ne parca
intr-o avenutra
in care omul ar urmari
sa descopere
esenta originara a energiei."

The Essence of Goju Ryu ... re-visited

In June I wrote a post on The Essence of Goju Ryu, the book that was just published as a joint project between Barrett Sensei and his contributor Garry Lever. Having read the book I now present you with a  short critical review of this book, which I see it as an invaluable addition to my martial arts book collection. This article appeared on Newsgrape.

The first observation I make about this book is how fluid the writing is. I don't know why I am surprised; possibly because I expected that the concepts in this book would be difficult to understand. Instead, the reading flows and the understanding of its text follows. This, I noted is obvious from the usage of signposts that links smoothly the paragraphs and offers an overall flowing reading.I found that the explanations and examples given in support of the authors' arguments made in this book help the understanding of it. One example, is the term of chinkuchi. The authors explained this term  very well in the book and it is briefly described in the glossary too. The glossary is a section which was very useful as I am not familiar with terms that are either new or above my understanding of Goju Ryu Karate.

Another thorough explanation given is that of the link between shime whilst performing Sanchin kata and the Central Nervous System (CNS). In my understanding, the authors explain that it is very easy to 'put the breaks on' when forcing the body to cope with extraneous movements during Sanchin practice. That is, they explain because the CNS intervenes through the inhibiting factors to prevent causing damage to the body by the practitioner during Sanchin.

Moreover, reading this section in the book I understood not only that by tensing whilst doing Sanchin I do the kata incorrectly, but also that by 'putting the breaks on' because the CNS prevents me from doing damage to my body, I contribute to the stagnation of my progress in executing correctly the kata.
In a different section however, the authors answer why knowing the culture where a martial tradition was born is necessary. They argue that knowing about the Okinawan culture (in the case of Goju Ryu) and how superstitious Okinawan people are explains for instance,

'that the importance of the ancestorship should not be overlooked because they explain how come as part of their martial traditions of these island people notions such as Yoi kamae include much more than just a ready stance. They incorporate not just 'the entire wealth of experience of not only our own lifetimes, but also those of our ancestors, our teachers, and the past masters of our lineage.' (p. 83)

Furthermore, when explaining the value of Kokyu no michi (p. 92), the authors have generously complemented the writing with very good quality photos and drawings helping the reader in getting main points argued in this part. I found it immensely helpful whilst reading it and since included it into my training. Besides, the wealth of photos throughout the book is immensely helpful and particularly important in this and other parts of the book in understanding the breathing paths, the strength paths and the various thoughts on the use of Sanchin.

For me, the book also accounts as an invaluable source and a good starting point for those interested in traditional Chinese medicine. The authors explain the link between the ancient theory behind the Chinese medicine and the reason karate practitioners benefit from practising in bare feet. On page 86, they explain that by massaging certain pressure points in the feet through various turns and twists karate practitioners benefit much health wise.

In more general terms, I would divide the book in two main parts, GO and JU. The GO part would benefit more an intermediate or less experienced karateka whilst the JU would be easier to grasp by the advanced or more experienced karateka. In fact, the point at which I began to understand however that this book has far more depth than I can grasp begins with the JU section of the book.

In my effort to offer a more balanced critical review I wish to add two minor points. First, regarding the word subconscious to describe a fear anticipated by the student undergoing the shime - whilst reading it I thought that regarding the processes underlying the build-up of the anticipation needs further explanation. Hence, I found it confusing. Second, the book would benefit from having an index for when the reader wishes to make reference to a particular part or even term in the book.

No doubt, this book is a must for the likes of karateka who are precisely interested in the main topics included in this book, such as junbi undo, Sanchin kata and/or the miscellaneous thoughts on the use of Sanchin. This book is now part of my essential reading and I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who wishes to endeavour into researching beyond the obviousness of Goju Ryu karate to reach its essence.