Martial Arts and combat sports can teach you self-defense, grow your self-confidence and provide you with friends for life. Yet there is something more to be gained which will be today's topic. There is something that happens in the midst of battle, in the midst of chaos that can hardly be recreated in any other circumstances. It is the moment in which you have to trim your sails to the thunderous winds that try to tear you apart. In the midst of battle you lose yourself, because there is no time to think about what you're doing, as there often is not even enough time to act properly. Hence, often times you are left simply reacting.
In Zen Buddhism 'simply reacting' is an important concept. Of course this does not mean to just do anything, it is rather rooted in the belief that there is a form of intelligent mindlessness to be accessed. Often times, when Zen students would ask their masters heavy questions the answers would seemingly be completely out of context and leave the students confused. Not knowing how to deal with such a response they would often leave again in order to reconsider. Just about to be out of sight, the master would shout their name and in an instant they would answer "Yes?", to which the master would say "That's it!". Not concerned with coming up with the correct response, not rambling on about the best way to frame something, their mind was at peace and therefore instantly reacted appropriately. If you are in a race and you anticipate the next turn to be a left turn and it turns out to be a right, you have to first let go of getting ready for the right turn and then consider the left. If, however you do not expect anything and just react when the turn is actually happening, you can react faster and more adequately.*
*This idea is taken from Alan Watts and presented here in a slightly different way.
In a combat situation there is the possibility of accessing this state of intelligent mindlessness. Needless to say, if you do not have the necessary skills, they will not magically pop up as soon as you enter this state, but if you do have skills, this can allow you to move more fluently and thus more effectively. Former UFC welterweight stand-out Dan Hardy has talked extensively about something he calls reptile mode:
*This idea is taken from Alan Watts and presented here in a slightly different way.
In a combat situation there is the possibility of accessing this state of intelligent mindlessness. Needless to say, if you do not have the necessary skills, they will not magically pop up as soon as you enter this state, but if you do have skills, this can allow you to move more fluently and thus more effectively. Former UFC welterweight stand-out Dan Hardy has talked extensively about something he calls reptile mode:
Video from AscendNow1
"When I was fighting [Duane] Ludwig at the MGM [Grand Garden Arena] I was very conscious for the first 30 seconds or so of the fight and then as I stepped in, remember he cracked me with the right hand right on the chin and I rushed him against the fence. [...] Immediately I switched over to instinct. It's like being a passenger. It's like I [...] have no conscious decision-making ability in that time, it's all instinct. I'm not focused at all on what he's doing, I'm just reading, I'm just feeling. "
Because there is no reflecting about what's going on there is no delay in reaction. Thus all actions happen more fluently and uninhibited. I feel like this is a very similar concept to the one applied in Zen Buddhism. Of course, this might at first sound rather off-putting, as if it was praising not thinking or being absent-minded. Bruce Lee has used a famous Zen saying and made it his own when he said that in the beginning, a kick was only a kick. When, however he had learned about martial arts, a kick no longer was just a kick. Once he had mastered the art though, a kick again was only a kick. There seems to be a slight difference between the first state and the last. Similarly, there might be an equally slight difference between negligence, or having a "dull" mind and the mentioned state of intelligent mindlessness. A slight difference that obviously makes a very big difference. A fighter's body is conditioned for these kind of situations and his body, therefore the whole organism including the brain, will react accordingly if "left alone", which means set free from watching and analyzing itself, just acting, just fighting.*
*"just" meaning "not doing anything else"
In his early writings Friedrich Nietzsche was often referring to the dichotomy of Apollo and Dionysos. On the one hand, Apollo represents being measured and controlled, clear-cut and rational. Dionysos, the Greek god of wine, on the other hand is, as you might have guessed, quite the opposite. He is exuberance, chaos and unpredictability. I feel like Dionysos is a suitable patron not only for the chaos of fighting, but for big parts of life in general. Nietzsche further introduced something he named Dionysian wisdom. Acting courageously and adequately in the midst of the storm, in the midst of chaos. This might only be possible, if the analytical brain is put aside for a while and the reptilian can roam free. (I'm warning you now because the end of this text will be rather lyrical..so if you're not into that I get it, but that's the way it came to me and that's the way I'll put it out.):
Finally, as we are ultimately dealing with mother nature here, who makes us all subject to inescapable death and decay, I feel that Dionysian Goddess is a good name for mentioned chaos, be it in a combat situation or in life in general. Dionysian wisdom invites us to embrace the chaos, dance with the goddess* and let go of the tendency of controlling everything by way of analysis. Now I want to leave you with another one of my lyrical experiments, as I feel that it may, at least a little, summarize what I have been writing about here and may even put the ideas into a larger context.
*I probably have heard this expression first in Daniele Bolelli's book On the Warrior's Path and even though I am not actually copying anything from the book right now, I do feel like I should mention it. It's a weird situation to be in if you have thought of something and then read something somewhere that sounds very similar. (Especially if it is something from a contemporary author.) This might be the case here because we both refer to Nietzsche. Either way, it is an amazing book and highly recommended.
*"just" meaning "not doing anything else"
In his early writings Friedrich Nietzsche was often referring to the dichotomy of Apollo and Dionysos. On the one hand, Apollo represents being measured and controlled, clear-cut and rational. Dionysos, the Greek god of wine, on the other hand is, as you might have guessed, quite the opposite. He is exuberance, chaos and unpredictability. I feel like Dionysos is a suitable patron not only for the chaos of fighting, but for big parts of life in general. Nietzsche further introduced something he named Dionysian wisdom. Acting courageously and adequately in the midst of the storm, in the midst of chaos. This might only be possible, if the analytical brain is put aside for a while and the reptilian can roam free. (I'm warning you now because the end of this text will be rather lyrical..so if you're not into that I get it, but that's the way it came to me and that's the way I'll put it out.):
Dionysos' warrior staggers.
One second he storms forward, the next he retreats.
He disengages with the ego and becomes the moment,
continuously changing.
Unpredictable.
Wild and untamed.
Finally, as we are ultimately dealing with mother nature here, who makes us all subject to inescapable death and decay, I feel that Dionysian Goddess is a good name for mentioned chaos, be it in a combat situation or in life in general. Dionysian wisdom invites us to embrace the chaos, dance with the goddess* and let go of the tendency of controlling everything by way of analysis. Now I want to leave you with another one of my lyrical experiments, as I feel that it may, at least a little, summarize what I have been writing about here and may even put the ideas into a larger context.
*I probably have heard this expression first in Daniele Bolelli's book On the Warrior's Path and even though I am not actually copying anything from the book right now, I do feel like I should mention it. It's a weird situation to be in if you have thought of something and then read something somewhere that sounds very similar. (Especially if it is something from a contemporary author.) This might be the case here because we both refer to Nietzsche. Either way, it is an amazing book and highly recommended.
Dionysian Goddess
Great men lose their minds.
Only without the mind, there is love.
Might bring pain, might bring ecstasy.
Both of thought.
Thus deeper, close to birth and death
she breathes life in ups and downs.
Intensified at once.
Frail ecstasy forms value
always close to death.
Life is alive when close to ending.
May waste the life, defending.
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