Long ago, while standing in a crowded New York City bus I was violently shoved from behind. I spun around in a fighting position. My mugger turned out to be a terrified elderly woman clutching a bag of groceries. She fell into me when the bus jerked to a sudden stop. Fortunately, my defense was limited to a loud kiaaa. Embarrassing.
The goal of developing fighting reflexes so that our power is unleashed instinctively seems to represent mastery. It is only partial mastery as I realized from this experience. There is a vastly different response required by being ambushed by a sociopath mugger, getting in a macho challenge with an inebriated guy in a bar, or being suddenly jumped from behind by a playful child.
Martial arts teach a continuum of responses ranging from a wrist lock to restrain; a stinging strike to deter aggression through pain but not injury; a knockout punch to subdue; or a lethal move that targets vital points in a life and death situation. Control. But the zenith of control extends to having the maturity and confidence to say, “I’m sorry, my bad,” even if its not our fault, in order to avoid physical conflict all together.
One goal of Evolving Martial Artists is to cultivate the high level awareness to regulate the instinctive expression of techniques depending upon the situation. In TanDao this guiding principle is termed, controlled degrees of response. Think about it.
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We are excited about introducing a new feature for our TanDao Clan. Those of you who get our TanDao newsletter, from time to time, will be able to link up to a short secret tip video to complement our TanDao Fight Lab video. These are the equivalent to closed door teachings revealed to the master’s inner circle. Then we can discuss the deeper meaning on our site. Join us. We welcome your views.
Keep practicing and exploring,
Lawrence Tan
Tags: control, evovling martial artist, fight, fighting, kung fu, lawrence tan, Martial Arts, mastery, restraint
Master Tan, As I’ve grown more “mature,” and am in the prime of life (according to Hallmark), I’ve learned that using the “respect” game works in a normal encounter (though I haven’t had one for a decade). Show you respect the guy without compromising your own self-respect. Of course, one can’t show fear because the erstwhile opponent will pick up on it. Outhink the guy, baffle him–Oddyseus rather than Achilles.
I’ve never been attacked by a mugger, but I think a confident walk, positive body language and the steely-eyed look lets people know that jumping you will be painful. Of course, I do routinely walk around with a Viking long-axe. Might have something to do with it…
Well put. Mastery does not consist of the ability to destroy alone, but to be wise in the use of that power, if at all.
I can relate. I had a similar experience in my younger days. I was at an amusement park and one of the costumed characters was running around bumping people with it’s nose. It hit me from behind and I spun around in a stance. The character comically crossed it’s arms in front of it’s face covering its eyes in a submissive gesture and those on-lookers who had spotted the whole thing got quite a laugh. I appreciated the humor of the incident, but my companions were all incredibly embarassed.
Wow, that IS a good tale to tell. Let your friends know that you changed his life: http://bit.ly/j6xw33