this means awareness right? anyway of practising this other than sparring/training? I normally sort of unfocus my eyes. Is this right? also, is this more something I should worry about a long way down the line? and get on with basics for now?
Start developing your awareness now. There are many ways to do this. Meditation is a critical component as is proper breathing. However these are arts in them selves but definately worth looking into. A simpler way to work on your awareness is to sit still and listen. You don't have to do anything special other than allow your self the time just to sit and listen. Oh and don't start thinking about things like ... what's for dinner? Another exorcise is to walk around in the dark. See if you can keep your bearings, avoide bumping into things and remember where the door is. You can also try listening to peoples foot steps. See if you can figure out who's walking around without looking.
Oh yeah don't do the eye unfocusing thing. You'll probably damage your vision. It would be better just to close your eyes.
ah, ok. I'll stop doing that now. heh, it's actually a habit I picked up from my mum, when she eats she sort of stares out into nothingness one of my friends calls it "a thousand yard stare" What do you mean exactly by meditation?
Meditation is a way of calming the mind. There are loads of ways to do it. Probably thousands. I use two methods which are pretty similar. Ki Meditation: Method 1 Sit in the seiza postion (kneeling) with your eyes closed, a stright back and your hands resting at the one point (2.5 inches below your belly button). Your hands should make an 'O' shape with the left hand over the right and the thumbs touching lightly. Now think of your one point becoming smaller by half. Your one point never becomes nothing since when you half something, no matter how small it gets, there is always half left. Keep doing this for about a minute. Now imagine your one point becoming larger by half. Again repeat for about a minute. Stop meditating after about 5 minutes. [/list=a]You can lengthen the contraction and expansion times as you learn to become more focused. Don't meditate for any longer than half an hour though. Especialy if you do it everyday. Your feet might fall asleep to take your time getting back up. Ki Meditation: Method 2 Lie flat on your back with your hands at your side palms down. Breath deeply into your tummy in through your nose and imagine all the air going all the way to your toes. Breath out through your nose and repeat from start. [/list=a]You can do this one in bed to help you fall asleep. In fact it's so relaxing you probably will fall asleep.
Once you do get awareness it's insane. This BB in my dojang is like that. Whenever I spar him, he won't be focused on anything. It looks like he's retarded, until you realize that he's actually looking at everything at once, and then you get kicked. PL
Chiba Shihan described Batto Jutsu (a form of combative sword drawing) as "Moving Zen". I realise we aren’t talking about Zen or religion however, meditation is normally done in a static position, when you need to move about rapidly one needs to be able to utilise a level of awareness very quickly and therefore one needs to be able to develop a state of mind concentrating upon the task yet devoid of any other thoughts. Eventually you find that you have periods of time when your Zanshin is so focused, that you are aware of everything yet nothing, you know exactly where your opponent is going and reading his intentions. Now I'm not talking about some 6th sense or anything daft like that, I'm simply referring to the intense level of concentration developed by regular training in technique and, the student's willingness to "empty his tea cup" (another quote of Chiba Shihan) Having emptied your mind of all irrelevant thoughts, one has clarity over what would otherwise be a very stressful situation. In the early stages of training this is nearly impossible simply because you do have so much to think about whilst learning the technique or the principles behind it however, as you become skilled, the level of thought process reduces because you have internalised the technique(s) and conditioned yourself to the movements akin to Aikido so that they are instinctive. Here you can focus your mind on whets going on around you.
Zanshin in practice At less metaphysical level, zanshin implies martial awareness. This is certainly taught in kendo and in the classical ryuha, and should be taught boht in aikiken and jo training too, then applied empty-handed. Essentially, it means not letting your guard down after you have completed an attack. When practicing kendo, for example, you learn to maintain zanshin very quickly; after striking, if you do not maintain kamae (stance) with the shinai (sword) pointing at your opponent and leave an opening, (s)he will take it and crack you round the head. Same applies when you have completed an aikiken partner practice; don't turn round, lower the ken and stroll off smiling, but keep your kamae with the sword pointed at your opponent and your mind ready for the next attack. Having trained in various weapon-based arts in Japan, it really annoys me to see someone execute an empty-handed aikido technique, then just stand around waiting. Uke can stand and attack again, and so can his mates! So, to maintain zanshin, keep your kamae after every technique and be ready for the next attack, wherever it may come from. (Notably, really experienced practitioners are supposed to be able to escape from form and maintain a 'kamae of no kamae', which unfortunately encourages some instructors to emulate them by abandoning form and therefore zanshin altogether... highly unrecommended in my humble opinion!)
Agreed.. I have seen this many times from certain individuals, it is poor attitude towards themselves and the situation for which they are demonstrating technique.
Thanks for all the comments even though i didn't spark this thread, there was some real useful stuff in there to help me with some of my questions as well. Thanks all.
