Author: Steve Rowe

Martial artist, philosopher, author, writer,
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Find Your Own Martial Art

Steve Rowe

Been training for a while and feel dissatisfied? Feel like you’re not learning the right things? The martial arts not meeting your expectations? Meditate – ask yourself what you really want from your training, I don’t mean all the usual blanket answers but what do YOU want? What are YOUR individual expectations? This can lead to quite a few surprises because you’ve probably been taking on other people’s expectations without realising it and that’s why you have to go deep to discover what it is you REALLY need from your efforts. Look at what you’re doing – having realised fully … Continue reading Find Your Own Martial Art

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Why ‘Positive Thinking’ Doesn’t Work…

Steve Rowe

Why ‘positive thinking’ doesn’t work. That happy mask, the fixed inane grin, the stupid idea that ‘anything’s possible’ if you think positive hard enough, usually comes from someone desperately unhappy or someone with their hand in your pocket. Let me be honest. At least 50% of life is shit. It ranges from dissatisfaction to ‘please kill me now’ suffering. If you learn to deal with with it by becoming durable, it ‘enobles’ you. It means you’ve been hurt so bad for so long, nothing or no one can hurt you as much as you’ve been hurt already. It gives you … Continue reading Why ‘Positive Thinking’ Doesn’t Work…

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The ‘Empty Force’ Of Tai Chi

Steve Rowe

  ‘Empty force’ sounds nebulous and difficult to understand, but it isn’t. The body is a spring, when the posture is correct and the joints unlocked, when the soft tissue carries no unnecessary tension – the compression and release of a combination of the joints, including the spine, bodycore and soft tissue is a skill that can be trained in a multitude of ways. The first level of skill is to unlock the body and keep it unlocked, start with good posture and then unlock the ankles, knees, hips, back and chest with the mantra ‘soften and connect’ when you … Continue reading The ‘Empty Force’ Of Tai Chi

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Like Waves On The Sea

Steve Rowe

You’re born out of this world – not into it; An important difference, Like waves are born out of the sea, They are still the sea, Made up from it, Still joined to it, And return to it. So we are born out of this world, Are still a part of it, Made up from it, Nourished by it, Still joined to it, And return to it. We are truly ‘at one with the universe’; Whether we know it or not; When we ‘know’ it – life is easier, We are like we are, Because everything is as it is; … Continue reading Like Waves On The Sea

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The Dark Side Of Pain

Steve Rowe

  Pain eats your soul. You want to move but you can’t. Life is out there waiting, Calling you to come out and play, People to see, places to be, Exciting, active and fun… The spirit is willing, but the body is tired, Every move jars the soul, Pain screams around the joints, They give way and are unstable, Medication has a price that is just as bad. Everybody assumes you will fully repair, That is the confidence of youth. You end up joining the pretence, Because it’s easier than trying to explain. In the end life can only get … Continue reading The Dark Side Of Pain

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Cognitive Dissonance In The Martial Arts

Steve Rowe

I posted recently on Facebook about Firemen who rescued some piglets from a fire and how the grateful farmer then slaughtered them and rewarded the firemen with sausages made from their carcasses. As a meditation I suggested that if that made the readers uncomfortable it might be because they were experiencing ‘cognitive dissonance’ because they might hold two opposing views about the piglets, one because they are cute and cuddly and the other because they like them as food. This then made me think that it might be a good idea to draw some of my teachings together under this … Continue reading Cognitive Dissonance In The Martial Arts

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Keep Your Child Safe!

Steve Rowe

VERY IMPORTANT! This is the time of the year that children are going up a school, from Infants to Junior and importantly from Junior to Senior and Senior to University. Parents in their infinite wisdom decide that their children will have more homework and often drop their martial arts training and teenagers going to university often move away from the area of their club and don’t bother to find a new one. THIS IS A BIG MISTAKE! Why? The children going from Junior to Senior school will need to move up in their martial arts club to the adult training; … Continue reading Keep Your Child Safe!

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I Can Beat The Buddha In A Fight!

Steve Rowe

Coming round here with all your bloody wisdom, what good’s that gonna do you in a fight eh? The 4 Noble Truths…. ain’t gonna help you in the pavement arena – when I’m banging your head on it! And as for you Jesus with all your parables, I’ll just kick you in ’em and even if you do come back from the dead I’ll bloody well do it again! There is only one type of martial arts and I’m it! I’m tougher and harder that all of you! If you don’t let me beat you up in class to show … Continue reading I Can Beat The Buddha In A Fight!

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Direct Knowledge Is Different

Steve Rowe

  I used to get my knowledge and wisdom from others at lectures, in books and lecture tapes.  I would meditate for ages on the wisdom of the Buddha, Lao Tsu, Ajhan’s Chah and Sumedho, Alan Watts, Kahil Gibran and many others, I studied Buddhism, Zen, Chan, Taoism, Wicca, Paganism, Ritual Magik, Spiritualism and all their associated arts, but when the breakthrough occurred, I stopped. No longer did I need to refer to others, because I was able to look inside and find my own ‘wisdom mind’. When I sat or stood still, I could access the part of me … Continue reading Direct Knowledge Is Different

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Principled Training And Existence

Steve Rowe

My Shi Kon training system is ‘principle based’. Principles are what makes everything work and we have 8 of them. If all 8 are in place, whatever you do will work. I only think and train in principles and strategies, techniques will be the result of them and can vary from situation to situation. This means that there is a area that techniques will appear different and still be ‘right’, many people find this confusing, “is it like this, or is it like this?” can sometimes be answered with “yes” because both are correct as they employ all 8 principles. … Continue reading Principled Training And Existence