From Kata To Conversations

The approach to combat and everyday life should be the same.

Miyamoto Musashi

Ask a group of different martial artists what is Kata (Japanese for ‘Form’), and you will probably get just as many different explanations. At its most simplistic definition, a Kata is a series of predefined movements. At its most complex; a Kata is the very essence of the warrior’s soul.

A Kata is a way to train your body and mind to achieve a sequence of specific movements, in a way programing your body to react in a specific way. It’s a strategy used to drill in muscle memory and self-control, where your actions become second nature and you no longer have to think about what you are doing, but rather just do it. This is the core concept of any athletic or military training; to reinforce an action to the point where they become automatic where instincts and muscles memory leave little room for fear, anxiety, and self-doubt.

So what does this have to do with manners or chivalry?

Everything. When your actions become so integral to your being that they are now automatic, you no longer have to fear doing them wrong. Developing social memory is just as critical as developing muscle memory. This way you create a pattern and a structure to your behavior. Opening a door for someone, giving a helping hand, or smiling to someone in the street and wishing them a good day not only become natural but actually creates an aura of self-confidence around you. Your social actions should be as natural as breathing. You no longer have self-doubt on what you no longer have to think about.

For most who have never developed this, there is that instant of awkwardness that comes when you’re unsure if you should or shouldn’t do something. And it’s that instance of awkwardness that creates the “creepy” vibe some people feel in social situations. That awkwardness is born from self-doubt, a feeling that is easily picked up by those around you.

But when your actions are natural, you no longer have to feel awkward, as you no longer have to spend time thinking if you should or shouldn’t. They create the support frame for your confidence and actually provide a sense of security in those around you, as your behavior no longer carries a hidden motivation behind them.

So go out, be chivalrous, smile, be generous. And do it so often you no longer have to think about doing it.

“The True Art” in Living.

The solution to doubt is the invincibility of truth

Don Jerónimo Sánchez de Carranza

Anyone who has studied the combat arts will realize how the very lessons learned in the training hall start seeping into their everyday life. This is especially true to those artists that extended their educating into the philosophies behind their chosen art. I remember a close friend who walked around with a small copy of Sun Tzu’s Art of War in his pocket. I found nothing strange about that as I carried a copy of Miyamoto Musashi’s Book of the Five Rings in my own bag.

It didn’t surprise anyone who knew him when the man who carried the Art of War is now a successful politician.

If you read my previous post “What I learned from a 400 year old book on how to kill a man,” you might have realized I have a soft spot for the classical Spanish Fencing School of “The True Art” (La Verdadera Destreza). Interestingly enough, Miyamoto Musashi and Jerónimo Sánchez, founder of The True Art, were not only contemporaries but both schools of fencing have very similar concepts in their core. Add on the fact that Spain had several cultural ambassadors and merchants in Japan during that time is enough to fuel any historical conspiracist’s wet dreams. But I digress.

As I mentioned, Destreza, and most old combat arts, were not just a combat system, but a way of life, a path. But how do you apply a killing art to civilized living? Let’s look at just a few of the principals promoted within this particular art. 

Self-Control and Self-Discipline are paramount.

Destreza emphasizes on a man’s ability to use reason to suppress any base impulse. That included anger. In reality it actually emphasized suppressing those impulses created by anger. It wasn’t that you shouldn’t be angry, but rather that anger should never let anger control you. A man, like a sword, loses all his worth when they lose their temper. 

Make yourself Present, but not a Target.

Be proud and let the world know where you stand, just be careful that you don’t become arrogant enough that someone will try to take you down. The Diestro’s stance was basically standing straight with his sword straight out. This let any opponent know that to reach the Diestro; they would have to risk his sword first. 

It’s all about creating what opportunities are available.

One of the biggest misconceptions of the Spanish Circle is how the Fencer would stand stationary and only moved within his own circle. This is absolutely false. The Diestro would move around, looking to place himself at an advantage or place his opponent at a disadvantage simply by where he stands. Positioning is crucial in life, more so than the actual attack or defense. Create your own opportunities and control the opportunities that others have simply by where you stand, both physically or socially.

The Secret To Life Is Behind The Cue Ball.

I learned to approach racing like a game of billiards. If you bash the ball too hard, you get nowhere. As you handle the cue properly, you drive with more finesse.

Juan Manuel Fangio

People will use chess as a reference to life, something I myself do every once in a while. But when I think about it, life is not that much like chess. You’re not always able to sit around and quietly consider your strategies while taking time between each move. Life is more like billiards, were you have to deal with a cluster of disorganized balls, where you can play by using force yet actually win with control and finesse.

As I have mentioned before, my grandfather owned a couple of bars and restaurants, so I spent part of my formative years in pool houses among other “colorful” spots. I probably learned to rack up a set by the same age most kids learned to rack up building blocks, but I digress. Ironically it was in these same places that I also learned about chess, because both games are more about strategy and reading your opponent than people realize.

So here is a short list of all the ways Billiard is like life:

1.      Where you look is where the ball will go.

Never lose focus of your objective. Every action you take should be an action to get you closer; every step should be about moving forward and setting up.

2.      Having talent is good, but practice makes you great.

Way too many people think that natural talent will give them an edge in life. They are wrong. It’s practice what will give you an edge. When you practice enough, your actions and your moves become second nature. At that time, you don’t have to think of your shots any more.

3.      Never show-off how good you are; till you have to show how good you are.

Never brag about your skill or show how good you really are at something simply for vanity. But when you actually have to put your skills to the test, don’t hold back.

4.      Don’t use more power than you can control.

You can tell who’s an inexperience player, as they will try to smash the balls in the hopes that if they miss, another will go down the pocket. Using more force than is needed will usually put you in a worse position than you started.

5.      Play to set up, until you can play to win.

Positioning is everything. Don’t play for the shot you have. It’s more important to set up in the right place, making your following shots easier, and your opponent’s shots harder. The best offense is actually a good defense. The easiest way to win is to not let the other guy shoot.

6.      Think while standing, not while shooting.

When it’s time to think, think. When it’s time to take action, take action. Hesitation and self-doubt during your actions is the easiest way to fail.

7.      When it means everything, play as if it means nothing.

Sprezzatura, that’s all I have to say about that.

Don’t tell me what’s wrong with the world…

In order to change the world, you have to get your head together first.

Jimi Hendrix

So, you logged in this morning, and already have seen 20 posts of what’s wrong with this world. Every social media outlet has people screaming left and right how everything everyone is doing is wrong, how the world need to change, and that’s without going into the comment sections… and yet how many of these posts mention something about what kind of world would be better?

Very few. We have become a society of opposing politicians yelling the world about what the other is doing wrong. The problem with men is this, the problem with women is that. Look at what this social group is doing, look at what that religion promotes, condemn what the other country does. And yet we do so little to define what we proposes as an alternative.

I love history because it lets you see how peoples actions create change. During my youth, I studied an event within the University of Havana. In 1947, a group of students, challenging the conservative society they lived in, broke into the Library and burned several copies of ‘Vignola,’ a classical book on design. And you would think that this would usher a new modern era for society, based on the idea of the ‘Tabula Rasa.’. The reality was that 10 years later, the only thing that really changed in Cuba was who was in charge, and society didn’t get any better.

The great people who want to change the world do so thinking of what world they want to create. This way they can actually consider what changes they want to apply, what work they need to do. They can work to change what doesn’t work for that new world, and make better what does.

What they don’t do is believe that scrapping everything leads to anything good. What they can't see is how scrapping everything leads to scrapping the few good things we have done also.

Every time you call out for a revolution based on the idea that what is now is wrong, it’s only a call to those who don’t agree with what’s there, for whatever their own reasons. “Change the world to make it better for me” is the usual sentiment you can take from their reasons for change.  Other times they just want to vent their frustration and anger, get even for wrongs done to them. It’s not about making a better world, but about a Vendetta.

So before you rant online, consider your dream. Define your vision. Stop telling me what’s wrong with the world and let’s start talking about what kind of world we want to create.