The Fist. The Hand.

“We will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.”- Barack Obama. Wondering if any of you who heard or read this quote thought about your hands…….

Tools
Consider the hand as the starting point of our human beginning. The fist held power, the earliest of tools. But the developing mind, moving the hand, strengthened it. However simple that may seem, it was at that intersection where conception gave rise to development – the tool was an extension of the hand and emerging consciousness was defined. It promoted the ability to adapt to the changing environment.

Balance
The Southern Shaolin greeting is executed with the right fist pressed against the palm of the open left hand. It signifies balance: yang and yin, sun and moon, hard and soft, defense and offense. The fist shows powerful external force, tempered by the yielding left hand, the internal force. There is bravery, but intelligence, aesthetics, morality.

Awareness
In Karate there is the notion of the “empty hand”. The two characters for Chinese hand, “kara” and “te”, were changed and reinterpreted by the Japanese as “empty hand” to represent fighting without weapons. It is also an expression of Zen – as the Buddhist character for “emptiness” — moving beyond the ego, turning off the internal noise, and moving towards the silent and “empty” mind. And what that means is that the hustle and bustle of our subjectivity keeps us from actually experiencing our existence.

Early Man
Doubt has been cast on the belief that our ancestors, the Cro-Magnons, had the edge on the Neanderthals in tool efficiency. A US-British team of researchers found no evidence of this. In a published paper, lead author Metin Eren, University of Exeter, UK said, “there is no clear evidence of one tool over another. It’s time for archaeologists to start searching for other reasons why Neanderthals became extinct while our ancestors survived.” All blades are created equal. So what happened?

Refinement
Professor Stringer, head of human origins at London’s Natural History Museum noted that the modern humans had a variety of tools created from bone, antler and ivory. Though not more efficient, these were challenging materials to work with. Chisels, engravers and paintbrushes were made. Tools to refine tools. The hand carved and fashioned adornments of shells, beads and paint.

Creation became technique, as the hand defined the group. Eren called this “ a new shared and flashy looking technology.” Stories were told in cave paintings. There is bonding. Strategies are put in place. A group smaller is size and strength, but working together to hunt, fight or create, becomes a powerful network. A community develops, a culture emerges. Though there is some evidence that the Neanderthal attempted to imitate some of the adornment, ultimately its hand could not evolve into a sophisticated system.

Balance and growth are what help us to define and endure. The purity of a fist holds a key in its grasp as it seeks the softness of its other open hand. The sword and pen are extensions of the hands. There is room and need for both. Look at your hands. How do you use them in your practice and life?

Toni Josephson

Tags: karate shaolin martial arts