Our guest post is from Neil Hall, Chief Instructor at London Chinatown’s Tae Kwon Do.

The riots across London have touched the lives of many of our students who live and work in the areas affected, and many more who have been in fear of the violence which has spread with such speed from one part of the city to another, or who are afraid for the welfare of their family and friends across the capital.

Neil Hall
http://www.lctkd.com/martialartsblog.html

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We want to thank Neil Hall, Chief Instructor of London Chinatown Tae Kwon Do, for his inspiring post, The Most Important Person in the Room. In it he raises insights on on mastery, “The essence, I would say, is master yourself in context of others.”

Whether intentional or not, his message echoes the hidden spiritual seeds of Shaolin, where martial arts is interwined with Bodhidharma’s Zen Buddhism. In Buddhism, the source of many far eastern martial arts, the ideal of an enlightened master took on two models: the arhat (lohan in Chinese) and the bodhisattva.  Arhats are perfected masters revered for their disciplined journey to awakening and are role models to emulate.  But the bodhisattva took spiritual awareness to another stage.  In this state of consciousness, the compassionate master nobly forsakes nirvana or final liberation (release from the Matrix, so to speak) until all others are enlightened.

What does this have to do with martial arts? Shaolin spiritual ideals are universal.  To become a complete martial artist, power is not just about developing physical strength for a side kick or punch to defeat the opponent, but the inner strength to conquer ourselves like the arhat.  And like the bodhisattva, the wisdom to use our power for the well being of others.  As Neil Hall states, “when we focus on others, when we think of them first, only then are we on the way.”

That the popular notion of martial art mastery should expand beyond self-defense to self-transformation is to reconnect to the deepest roots of the Shaolin spiritual legacy.  Is this too much of a leap? Not for Evolving Martial Artists.

Lawrence Tan

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The Most Important Person In The Room

This week, I’m asking my students, “who is the most important person in the room?”  You may find the answer surprising.  I don’t know.  Let’s see.

I’m frustrated by something that I often encounter in teaching practical martial arts.   People want to learn how to fight, and to do that they study and practice a series of moves.  They work hard to get super fit.  They work hard to perfect their movement.  They can show you the best shape and the finest position, and hold it, unwavering.  They can do those moves in perfect synchronisation with their training partners.  The can break bricks.  They are strong.  Their patterns inspire spontaneous applause.  They really do look the part.

So what’s to be frustrated about?  Well, what they’re learning is to master themselves.  No small thing, that.  Some might say that’s the very essence of martial arts.  Indeed.  I would like to refine that point a little.  The essence, I would say, is to master yourself in the context of others.  There is merit in practicing movement and position, and of course that will in due course be of great benefit to your well being just on its own.  But if you want to learn to defend yourself, if you want to learn the martial in martial art, you need to learn how to move in relation to someone else.  Your moves and reactions must be not yours alone, but by way of a complex dance with the other person.  A dance in which you are leader or follower, but ultimately a dance in which, as you progress, will not need to be choreographed in advance.  To succeed, you need to think about them, not you.

For me, thinking not of yourself but of those around you is essential not just to heightening your awareness and honing your skills, it is also about overcoming ego.  We fail in martial arts when our ego takes hold, when we think of making ourselves look good instead of understanding and overcoming our opponent.  When we think that we must be most important, when we want to do things to show how good we are or how we are better than others, we are too wrapped up in ourselves to learn, and too focused on ourselves to understand how to overcome an opponent – which requires us, as I’ve said, to focus on them, not us.

Our emphasis in traditional martial arts on humility and helping others is, ultimately, not just good for the soul, it’s essential in allowing us to become complete martial artists.  You want to succeed?  Don’t just go through the motions of being humble, of being thoughtful.  It’s not just something we do to get a black belt.  It’s something which must be fully part of us for us.  When we focus on others, when we think of them first, only then are we on the way.

So who’s the most important person in the room?  The other person.

Neil Hall

http://www.lctkdwellbeing.com/

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Our friend Neil R. Hall, Author and Chief Instructor at the London Chinatown Tae Kwon Do School, recently used his martial art skills to deal with a man attacking a woman while riding a London train.  In his blog he recounts his thought provoking tale.

First, Neil chose to be a Good Samaritan martial artist – might for right  – instead of displaying the urban indifference or “let’s not get involved” attitude. The couple’s arguing intensified, and then the man began to strike the woman. Second, instead of indiscriminately unleashing his martial powers, he displayed a higher skill level: he consciously chose to restrain and not incapacitate, by utilizing a manipulation technique rather than injuring the violent man with a strike. This is control and moral conscience. And third, as a thoughtful teacher, Neil shares this encounter as a lesson to teach his students the difference between training and the real thing. For example, the difference between practicing in an open dojang, with mats and space, and the reality of fighting in close quarters. He also shows a concerned awareness on how other by standers may be affected by the confrontation.

Skillful. Mature. Moral. Yes, sounds like an Evolving Martial Artist.

A bow to you Neil.

Read the full story.
First Steps In Martial Arts by Neil R. Hall

Lawrence  Tan
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How inspiring to turn a half century birthday into a celebration. To mark his 50th, Neil Hall, Chief Instructor of London Chinatown Tae Kwon Do, took the challenge of creating a new martial art, Ensodo. In the spirit of the zen circle, the enso, Ensodo is a soft system favoring circular motions in place of high kicking Taekwondo. Neil wisely recognizes the maturity of the body, and has created something appropriate for this next stage of life. It is something to grow into. As he says, “It’s a martial art for grown-ups. It’s an art for the thoughtful martial artist, not the soldier. ”

This embodies the spirit of the Evolving Martial Artist. Visit his blog and read his insightful martial musings on this significant turning point: On Getting Older and learn more about Ensodo

Neil, you are a rare jewel…Happy Birthday!
Lawrence & Toni

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First Steps in Martial Arts by Neil R. Hall is for novices about to embark on their martial art journey. It guides prospective students on all aspects: history, self defense, basics, sparring, etc. Martial Arts 101. With the proliferation of books delving into martial arts, this handbook is not about secret techniques, subtle strategies, or deep philosophy. Yet it inspired and humbled me. This modest work embodies the Evolving Martial Artist by bridging East and West, old and new, classical and contemporary with a new vision.

Neil Hall is a Scotsman and chief instructor of a thriving Tae Kwon Do school, London Chinatown TKD. This says a lot. His students reflect cultural diversity, male and female, young and old, students and professionals – all sharing a passion for kicking and punching. Ultimately, the persuasive power for the martial journey comes from the voices and photos of the students themselves. No grim samurai here. This is a community – no, it is a family – brimming with esprit de corp, supportive yet competitive fighters. By honoring his students above his own accomplishments, Sensei Hall’s book is refreshing.

The vision evoked by Hall’s First Steps in Martial Arts transcends the rigid old world warrior blood and guts discipline; it is a celebration of a new martial art spirit for the Evolving Martial Artist. It is a path of heart.

Lawrence Tan

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