Tag: philosophy

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Arrogance At Black Belt

Steve Rowe

“Hey!”  It was Manfred, we hadn’t seen him for ages, he passed Shodan several years ago and had trained only sporadically since, but he was a happy guy and it was always pleasant to see him. “How’s it going?”  I asked. “Not bad, fathered another rugrat since I saw you last, got promoted at work and been working out in the garage when I had the time, how’s things with you?” “Yeah, OK…..”  I hadn’t the time or the heart to even begin to tell him how much study and change he had missed. “Thought I’d get back to it … Continue reading Arrogance At Black Belt

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Soft And Slow Or Efficient…

Steve Rowe

Another visitor to the Dojo, as we were changing, the visitor explained that he had trained with all the “best” instructors for over 15 years and liked to “travel” around to see what each Sensei had…… He had heard of our Sensei “on the grapevine” and wanted to check him out.  He then went on to pull each senior Sensei to pieces and thought that the majority of them were overrated.  As he put on his somewhat “designer scruffy” (and smelly) Karategi we could see that it had “designer” blood stains strategically placed to impress….. He obviously did a lot … Continue reading Soft And Slow Or Efficient…

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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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Inside Out…

Steve Rowe

Are your techniques YouTube friendly? Do they follow the ‘fashion’ of the day? Do you ‘train’ or do you ‘study? Do you pay lip service to meditation? Or do you assiduously study it? Are you the person that everyone thinks you are? Are you your grade and qualifications? Are you your career and car? Are you how attractive you appear to others? Are you the ‘good guy’ everyone says? Are flattered by others? Do you go with the ‘zeitgeist’ of opinion? Do you work to ‘fit in’ and be popular? Do you culture yourself to be accepted and praised? Are … Continue reading Inside Out…

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My Immortal Soul..

Steve Rowe

Most of us are worried about what will happen to us when we die. When all we have to do, Is remember what we were before we were born. What we are now, have always been, And will always be. Where is you immortal soul? Why can’t you feel it now? Of course you can, it rests in your stillness. Stand tall, breathe deep, focus your mind, When the words stop and the body is still, ‘You’ cease to exist – and there it is. It has no name, it permeates everything, Everything within it rises and falls in time, … Continue reading My Immortal Soul..

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The Stopped Breath…

Steve Rowe

Between breathing in and out, And between out and in, There is a magic Zen moment, A moment in which we can access infinity. We stop our breath to concentrate. To draw a straight line freehand, To listen intently, Before we pee or poo, And even before we vomit. A moment of perfect Zen. When we meditate, these are our magic moments. Like the pauses between waves rolling in and out. We learn to extend our Zen from these pauses. And how to extend and deepen our breathing. When in combat we can’t match breath to technique. So breathing has … Continue reading The Stopped Breath…