An antidote to fear

Take an attack and watch each and every martial art have their own response to it. Many have similarities and all have their own twists on the answer to the question, Will this be my last day?

When asked a question, we also answer it with our own filters of what exists. Our own paradigms of how people work and how we perceive ourselves. The strongest cord heard in the cacophony of voices affecting our answers to challenges and stimuli is our own FEAR. The fear from pain, the fear from losing what we have and the fear of change.

I suggest an antidote to fear

Take a partner. Have him shove his fist in your face so there is no fear of the unknown range or contact. Breathe and chose home to move from there.

For example, exhale and release the muscles of the spine and hips to move in the same direction the fist is heading to receive the contact but not the impact. One can twist to roll on the impact and bend to avoid it and the possibilities are endless.

This is just a physical interaction. The true test lies in recognizing the fear, doubt and other emotions that affect us into reaction and absorbing them from subconscious into consciousness takes the hooks they have on our psyche and turns them into energy to be used in actions of our own.

Many fear the unexpected actions of an individual or a group. It is a sword swung by hands not your own. Instead of welcoming the new, many who have obtained a semblance of power, choose to demonize free thought, speech and action and force feed the masses the allowed ways under the guise of authority and intimidation. This happens a lot in the martial art too where the head of an organization allows little to no discourse and evolution that does not stem from them. It is always the part of the individual to claim their freedom to think, feel and act on their own and add their own music to the symphony. Whenever we have a society or a group that allows the ideas and heading to flow in only one direction. We are on a way to a bleak and dangerous future of not being allowed to voice our thoughts and do what we wish.

In any action we make a multitude of choices.

Physically we choose our posture, alignment, breath and where we direct our eyes. We make many choices we are not aware of in some levels of consciousness and are at times surprised by ourselves. Many hold their postures and mimic the people around them as a social construct and others adept to the language and tone chosen by their surroundings and who they perceive as mates. There is value to that to a degree in the strength of a group and there is weakness in following something or someone outside yourself.

Remaining in the realm of martial art is easy. Many think of it as something that happens in a constructive manner in a clean dojo and in clean uniforms. True martial art in my understanding is on the battlefield and the only clean thing there can be your heart and even that is rare.

The art of war concerns itself with victory in the most efficient and affective manner. It is a cold and calculated way of achieving a goal and it has no morals on its operating system.

Remember the ones who wage war on your freedom have this on their mind. This starts in the dojo and schools, continuous to allows speech and into tyranny.

As a teacher, one of the greatest moments I can have in class is when a student asks a question, finds their own way to solve a problem or better yet, realizes it is not a problem but a ladder we all climb.

Freedom is the cure for fear.

Freedom has its own dangers but the danger is the ladder.

Be the danger.