Tag: meditation

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Who Do You Train For?

Steve Rowe

Who do you train for? Is it yourself? Or your self? Do you train to please your Instructor? Are you good because he says you are? Do you ‘try’ to do your martial arts well? If you’re ‘trying’ to do something, You’re not really doing it, You’re admitting failure before you begin. If you separate yourself from doing your art, You’re doing the opposite to what you should. If you’re training to please a separate ‘self’ you’ll fail, If it’s to please any other person, you will always be vulnerable. If you stop ‘trying’, If you stop trying to please … Continue reading Who Do You Train For?

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Looking Back Down Our Eyes..

Steve Rowe

Looking Back Down Our Eyes.. We can’t look back down our own eyes, To see who’s looking out, Or listen down our ears, To find who’s listening. We can’t smell who’s smelling, Or taste who’s tasting. We can’t bite our own teeth, Or even beat our own heart. We can’t hold our breath until we die, Or stop our heart from beating, Our internal organs work by themselves, Until it’s time to die. We think we have control, And we may have a little, Not as much as we’d like, Or do we have any? Who or what is our … Continue reading Looking Back Down Our Eyes..

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Magpies and Monkeys

Steve Rowe

Ooohhh…… shiny object…. Damn.. I was supposed to be meditating, Then I started thinking about that argument, Then what I was having for dinner, And then… oh well it doesn’t matter. How can I think of nothing? Surely that’s a thought in itself? And if I don’t know when my mind wanders, How can I bring it back? I feel like have a monkey on my back, Always chattering in my ear, Finding things for me to think about, When I’m supposed to be concentrating on one thing. Single whip again in Tai Chi, damn! It occurs in the form … Continue reading Magpies and Monkeys

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The Aliens have Landed!

Steve Rowe

The Aliens have landed! The mysterious spaceship lands, The leaders of humanity arrive to greet it, At last, we get to know what’s out there… The crowds gather, Everyone waits expectantly, The doors ‘woosh’ open, And perfectly circular beings roll out.. The Prime Minister steps forward and extends a hand, The circle recoils, gathers itself and moves forwards; “Sorry, your appearance is terrifying…. And I was taken aback.” “You have tentacles – and tentacles on tentacles, Eyes that swivel and scary teeth when you smile. You look shaven with ugly bits of hair in strange places and move strangely; We … Continue reading The Aliens have Landed!

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Life’s Not Fair…

Steve Rowe

Life’s Not Fair… Life’s not fair, It never was, It’s your life, Deal with it. God won’t save you, Neither will karma, There is no lifeline, You either swim or sink. Life is a battle, Your mind must be focused, And always ready, If it gets distracted, You die. When the warrior goes into battle, If he thinks of home, he dies, If he worries for the future, he dies, He can only focus on the task in hand. If he worries, he’s killing himself. If he’s scared, he’s killing himself. If he blames others, he’s killing himself. Why would … Continue reading Life’s Not Fair…

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Invest In Loss..

Steve Rowe

“OK, line up sparring.” My favourite.  We form two lines down the centre of the Dojo facing each other and then spar with the person that you are facing.  After a couple of minutes we stop and the person at the end of one line goes up to the other end and everyone in that line moves down one person.  This way you get to spar with every person in the other line. It was inevitable that John and Vince two of our 2nd Dans would end up facing each other. They just didn’t like each other, nothing was ever … Continue reading Invest In Loss..

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Tai Chi Does You…

Steve Rowe

For many years I trained in Boxing, Kickboxing and the hard styles of Karate, all my training was directed towards my mind and spirit overcoming the pain and reluctance of my body, I literally punished and pushed myself for decades!  Today my body pays the price, with joint replacement, nasal surgery and all my old injuries returning to haunt me on a daily basis. Training in Tai Chi totally reversed this thinking.  I was in Hong Kong having a lesson with Ma Lee Yang (Yang Sau Chung’s daughter) when we were discussing the transition from Mol Gik to Tai Gik and then into … Continue reading Tai Chi Does You…

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Blood On Wood…

Steve Rowe

Thump, thump, thump… He’s out there again, Hitting that bloody piece of wood in the garden, One of those Kung Fu nutters. Every bloody day it’s the same, Well I ain’t gonna tell him, He’ll probably tie me up like a pretzel, And post me back through our letterbox. Thump, thump, thump, Each time strike with seiken, Shuto, tettsui and teisho, Haito, koken and nukite. Feet press directionally to the floor, Spiraling through the legs, Connecting through the core, And powering out through the hands. Thump, thump, thump, The makiwara bends and is momentarily held, The return force is repulsed, … Continue reading Blood On Wood…

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Martial Arts – The Masterkey!

Steve Rowe

“To do Martial Arts you have to be totally dedicated!”…. “To be good you have to sacrifice many other things in your life”….. “To get there you have to be single minded”….. How often do you hear this?  How true is it? Words can be confusing because they are a method we use for defining an idea and often they mean slightly different things to different people, but let’s look at the idea that you have to dedicate yourself to one thing to the exclusion of most others to be good at Martial Arts – because I disagree. Martial Arts … Continue reading Martial Arts – The Masterkey!

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Blind Assumptions…

Steve Rowe

Do you know what blind assumptions are? They are the views and opinions that we grew up with, They were always around us, our culture, And we never knew they were there. They came from our family, They came from or friends, They came from our schooling, They came from our environment, They were just always there. We took them on board without knowing, We naturally voice them as opinions, We blindly accept them as a part of us, Even though they never came from us. They act as a barrier to the outside world, We seek out like minded … Continue reading Blind Assumptions…