Tag: martial arts

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Feedback On The 2022 Tai Chi Programme

Steve Rowe

From Aaron Davis MKG Southampton: “I’m really enjoying my Tai Chi journey with the Shi Kon Martial Arts team. As someone who has never done Tai Chi before I have still made great progress in the past 3 months due to how Steve and Mikey present the material, the online platform being so good and the other students in the group who have all had experience in the art being so helpful. I read about Steve in martial arts publications as a teenager so I’ve wanted to train with him for a while and I’ve got to say that I’m … Continue reading Feedback On The 2022 Tai Chi Programme

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I’m Fine ….

Steve Rowe

I’m fine.We all say it.When others ask how we are.When their burden is bigger than ours.When we know they will only worry.When we know they’ll nag if we tell them.When we know they’re only being polite in asking.When we can’t be arsed to explain.When we need privacy.When we know they won’t understand.When we’re too embarrassed to explain.We all say it.……I’m fine. Continue reading I’m Fine ….

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Finding The Depth

Steve Rowe

I’ve never understood people with a romantic or joyous view of life. When I was young I hated life, didn’t get on at school or with my family. It was only when I discovered martial arts and Asian philosophy that I found peace and balance. Life is suffering and learning how to see it in the right perspective and deal with it emotionally are good tools to have in your emotional toolbox. It’s always struck me that the people that have the mask of a romantic and joyous view of life also tend to be the most needy and emotionally … Continue reading Finding The Depth

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Be Still To See…

Steve Rowe

When we’re born, we still have our original face;We haven’t been given an identity;We don’t know that we’re separate from everything else. Our indoctrinators give us a name;And then set up our false identity;Over time we think that’s who we are;We develop humanity’s version of Stockholm Syndrome. Deep inside we know it’s a mask;Our original face weeps to be known;Without the tools it constantly eludes us;This causes untold suffering;It constantly disappears as we try to see;The harder we try, the worse it gets. Until we sit still….In stillness the clouds part;And finally we get to realise;Our original face is where … Continue reading Be Still To See…

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International Men’s Day and Mental Health

Steve Rowe

Today is ‘International Men’s Day’ and an opportunity to look at and understand men’s mental health from a man’s point of view. It’s all very well telling them what they’re supposed to do by people that don’t understand why they are the way they are, but the natural and powerful urges and the social indoctrination from a young age is very powerful. Most fighters understand that it’s not death or pain that they fear but humiliation. Therefore they would rather die than display or discuss their weaknesses. So the advice to talk about their vulnerabilities with others may catch a … Continue reading International Men’s Day and Mental Health

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Men’s Mental Health

Steve Rowe

Mental Health For Men There are a lot of memes and ‘copy and paste’ posts basically saying that men suffering from mental health need to talk about their problems and be able to communicate and seek help. I don’t think these help because they’re asking men to do something that feels too unnatural. Men are built physically, mentally and emotionally in a different way to women. Men are traditionally the protectors, hunters, and warriors and they would demonstrate their prowess in these areas to impress females like much of the animal world, it’s written into their DNA to not ‘break … Continue reading Men’s Mental Health

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What The Prophets Knew

Steve Rowe

If someone’s never eaten a banana, how could you describe the taste to them? If you meditate regularly and discover the immortal within yourself and the person you’re talking to doesn’t, how could you describe it to them? The first lines in the Tao Te Ching say “The way that can be spoken of is not the eternal way”. This is why Jesus told parables;The Buddha told sutras;Zen uses koans. In Karate the title ‘sensei’ means one who’s gone before and therefore points the way. A ‘Guru’ is one who sheds light into darkness. All we can do is provide … Continue reading What The Prophets Knew

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Discovering Your Original Face

Steve Rowe

Daily martial arts practice can be like saying your prayers. A daily ritual that takes you deeper and deeper, beyond the individual, absorbing you into the wordless, unformed, immortal part of your ‘being’. The longer you practice, the faster and more permanent this process becomes. Those that never understand the ritual of practice will never get there. Most people train martial arts to consolidate the social indoctrination they’ve already had, to ‘lose weight’, ‘defend themselves’ and to engage in a social activity treating the ‘Dojo’ like a western gym. But for those that have a little dust in their eyes … Continue reading Discovering Your Original Face

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The Kundalini

Steve Rowe

What is the ‘kundalini’ and why is it dangerous? The kundalini is your life force. If you animate your raw life force and don’t have the emotional intelligence to alchemise it into a healthy vigour it can do more harm than good. In Tai Chi the raw energy from the root chakra is the energy of life and death (sex and violence) and is very powerful. When this energy is raised, it’s essential to pass it through the chakras of our instinctive feelings, understanding and coping with anger and fear, learning patience, kindness and compassion, using these skills to affect … Continue reading The Kundalini

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What’s Your Personality?

Steve Rowe

What is your personality? The word personality comes from the word ‘persona’ which in turn comes from the mask that actors wore on stage before the use of microphones to project their voices, thus ‘person sonar’. We use different personalities or ‘masks’ according to the situation, so most people have a mask for the public, one for their friends, one for their family and then there is their true self. Knowing who you are and what the masks are is an important skill in inhabiting a body or ‘being human’. The problem comes when we get so used to wearing … Continue reading What’s Your Personality?