(I wrote the following piece several weeks ago, and, upon
rereading it , thought that it might be a little obtuse for most readers. But I
offer it here for those to whom it might be useful.)
Recently my friends and students have asked me to look at
other practitioners of Eastern disciplines. I have observed two different
forms. Both utilized a kicking out in which after the kick, the player falls
toward the extended foot until it lands. Until now, I saw this as a weakness. Falling,
being out of balance until the foot lands, seemed to require a tensing up of
muscle groups in order to maintain equilibrium. The body must tense up in order
to control the fall. This creates energy blocks to the flow of Chi through the
body which would inhibit the higher integration of the organism…
A radical thought has come to me – (These practitioners are,
after all, masters.): What if one could fall, and not tense up, and use the
fall, the energy of gravity, in a positive fashion? (Existing in the moment,
without fear or tension, one might move through space with internal integrity.)
Without the external ground, as when the water crashes down in a Pipeline, to use
a surfing term, the water is allowed to return and to fuel the next wave.
Another example: In constructing an Amateur radio antenna for field work, when
it is not practical to connect an earth ground to the other side as a counter
balance, one may either construct a balanced dipole, with both sides contained
within the antenna, or attach wires of appropriate lengths to the other side of
a monopole to act as counterpoises for each frequency band used.
This concept of falling without tensing might allow for the
creation of a Zero gravity T’ai Chi in Space. It might seem to require one’s
replacing Fear with Faith (or Knowledge) in order to not tense up. The
application of this principle in other domains than the physical might be
usable to explain in functional terms the concepts of, for instance, Tantric
Buddhism, in ways more amenable to Western science.
Getting back to the practical, any time one is out of
balance, one is committed to the completion of the move, and is thus vulnerable
to attack based upon this predictability. Thoughts on the nature of
impermanence might generate the idea that we are always falling through our
lives without the actual control we usually assume.
We might in this way give
credence to a zen attitude toward suffering as illusory, based as it is upon
the illusion of control, (easily disproved sometimes by events beyond our
control). These thoughts might give comfort in traumatic situations, but are,
however, not necessarily relevant to our studies. Practical situations often
require practical solutions.
Thanks to All,
Daniel
