| There are two paths to take in the martial arts. | | | | A young man practices Karate and Shaolin and |
| The directions of which I speak are sport, and art. | | | | that excessive type of motion. As the student |
| One of these methods leads to decay, the other | | | | ages, he may move into taiji, slowing his motion |
| leads to enlightenment. | | | | down, looking at it, trying to understand his every |
| If one studies the martial arts solely as a sport, | | | | action. |
| he engages in contest, and that actually defines | | | | Eventually, man becomes tired, still, and begins to |
| the difference between sport and art. If one | | | | think about what it all means. At this point he has |
| practices the martial arts as art, he is attempting | | | | become motionless, a person who watches the |
| to conquer the part of him which resists and | | | | movement of the universe, and this is where he |
| fights. Subdue the self, or subdue another, it is | | | | finds the truth. In motionlessness, he sees the |
| easy to see the difference. | | | | truth of who is behind all motion. |
| If one is attempting to subdue another, he is | | | | When one does Yoga one is exercising, making |
| holding the world responsible for his problems, | | | | the body strong, but not through mock fighting. |
| fighting the world, not taking his own responsibility. | | | | This does create a weakness, as the universe is |
| Wether the accumulation of wealth, or just trying | | | | motion, and we should study motion to |
| to beat somebody into a bloody pulp, the student | | | | understand life. That one weakness aside, yoga |
| is not using the art the way it was designed, as a | | | | does encourage progression to the heart of the |
| mirror for the soul. It is the soul, the individual, the | | | | matter. |
| spirit, the I AM that is the point of the martial | | | | Putting the body in postures, breathing, watching, |
| arts, not the smacking down of somebody else. | | | | we slowly become aware of who is doing the |
| When one is doing the art as sport, he is creating | | | | watching, who is creating the posture. We find the |
| the strongest body, and then tossing that body | | | | I AM that is behind all the motion of the universe, |
| to destruction. When one is doing the art as art, | | | | and thus we become spiritual, souls, individuals |
| he is obsessed with finding out the truth about | | | | unique and creative and filled with passion. We |
| himself and what this thing called life is really all | | | | could wait, and grow old, or we could pursue |
| about. He is engaged in defining what impulse is | | | | violence until we run out of violence, or, we could |
| behind the muscle and quiver of fighting his fellow | | | | just accelerate the process with yoga, through |
| man, and then defeating that impulse | | | | posture and slow breathing, and find out who we |
| This all said, the True Martial Way can be defined | | | | really are. |
| by analyzing the degree of motion within the art. | | | | |