The Armour Archive

Hi all,

Thanks to Cedric for his good post "What do you look at"!

This topic came from that thread. There were several mentions of the concept of "unfocused focus" mindful nothingness etc. Can someone give me some good starting places for research/reading online and in print? I have "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu but that is as close as I get. Need a place to begin please.

Thanks!

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I hope that you will...
Farewell

Anradan

You could consider Musashi's book, in
English it translates to something like "The Book Of Five Rings". You can get an English translation online at /www.samurai.com/5rings/

I lifted this section as it pertains to the gaze I spoke of. It is not exactly the same, but the people that gave me this idea borrowed freely from Musashi and it is a very interesting read. Unlike many Asian texts, it leaves out a lot of the psycho babble that I can't stand:

The Gaze in Strategy
The gaze should be large and broad. This is the twofold gaze "Perception and Sight". Perception is strong and sight weak.
In strategy it is important to see distant things as if they were close and to take a distanced view of close things. It is important in strategy to know the enemy's sword and not to be distracted by insignificant movements of his sword. You must study this. The gaze is the same for single combat and for large-scale combat.

It is necessary in strategy to be able to look to both sides without moving the eyeballs. You cannot master this ability quickly. Learn what is written here: use this gaze in everyday life and do not vary it whatever happens.



[This message has been edited by Richard Blackmoore (edited 02-05-2002).]

"Zen in the Martial Arts" by Joe Hyams is a good primer into using Zen in your fighting. It is written by a westerner for westerners. Most bookstores stock a copy or two under both Martial Arts and/or Eastern Philosophy and I believe that Amazon.com carries it. I have probably given away 20 copies of the book over the years. Of course, my first copy I received as a gift from my sensi. Second read "Zen and the Art of Archery" by Eugen Herrigel, a German who lived in Japan and studied archery under a Zen Master. Next read the section Zen and Swordmanship I in "Zen and the Japanese Culture" by D.T. Suzuki. This was written by an easterner for westerners. Also, "The Unfettered Mind" is a collection of letters on Zen, written in the 16th century by Zen Master Takuan Soho to a Sword master. Read these in the order listed, otherwise it will be hard to comprehend what is being said.

Regards,
Jean Richard

Anradan,
Just about any "non-agressive" martial art will have some element of unfocused-focus in it. Two books that I have that had elements in it (and were pretty good, insightful reads) are "Akido-Exercises for teaching and training" and "IAI- The art of drawing the sword". Both are obviously Japanese oriented, but they have good training info throughout. While I doubt an IAI kata will ever be useful in a list, just practicing them helps learn sword control, patience, etc etc (besides, they look cool ) Of the two, the Akido one is probably the better buy. The book tends to stay away from exercises that involve people hitting a wall violently and instead focuses on the basics: mind/concentration activities, pressure point explanations, footwork, mental exercises, etc. Highly recommended.

Also, here's a link I found on the topic. Not exhaustive by any means, but a start. Search for things like "visualization +martial", "focus +martial" and the like. Avoid the phrase "blind fighting" though... brings up a BUNCH of gaming sites.
http://martialarts.about.com/library/weekly/aa061200.htm

Hope that helps.
Paul

I second "The Book of Five Rings" or "Go Rin No Sho" by Musashi, the Kensei or "Sword Saint" of Japan. Every time I read it I get something new out of it.

BEDLAM

Thank - you all very much I will begin my journey in the morning!



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I hope that you will...
Farewell

Anradan

Just to pipe in on the topic I can recommend Musashi - I have given away a ridiculous number of copies, I try to read it through about every three months, and after twenty something years of doing so still gain a new insight when I read him.
As an exercise at fighting prctice try watching a fight (that you're not in) without focosing on any specific part of the fight you'll find your attention wandering towards movement

Well,

I went to my first practice in about 6 months today (rotten moving/new job etc)

I tried the "gaze"...lets say I need LOTS more practice

Although I seemed a bit more successful while watching other fighters. I think this will really improve my skills.
Thanks to all.

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I hope that you will...
Farewell

Anradan

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Anradan MacEwan:
<B>Well,

I went to my first practice in about 6 months today (rotten moving/new job etc)

I tried the "gaze"...lets say I need LOTS more practice

Although I seemed a bit more successful while watching other fighters. I think this will really improve my skills.
Thanks to all.

</B></font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Just remember that what really matters most is helmet time: Get out there and fight, as often as you can, against the best that you can. The deep, philisophical books are fine, and some actually do reflect reality, but they can't *teach* you to do what you're looking for (no pun intended), all they can do is describe it for you.

I think it was Plato who said: "Be what you would seem" (if that wasn't him, would somone correct me? I've been trying to re-find that quote since college). In this case, if you want to be a skilled fighter, you have to *do* it. Reading about it won't do anything for you, except to give you an "Ah, ha!" moment afterward.

Don't get me wrong, I'm no knocking the idea of reading the philosophers of war; I believe in it very much. I just don't think it will teach you what you're looking for.

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Hugh Knight
"Welcome to the Church of the Open Field, let us 'prey': Hunt hard, kill swiftly, waste nothing, make no apologies"

Anradan -

The "gaze" as people call it, can take YEARS to develop and use consistently. And a big part of it (the most important part, it terms of a sport / combat art) is the development of muscle memory. that is what practice is all about.

Concentrate on the muscle memory at practice, and when the body "knows" what to do with out the brain leading, the "gaze" will follow...

Unfocused gaze exercise:
Go to an open, sunny area with lots of people passing through. have a seat, somewhere with an unobstructed 180 to 270 degree view. Pick some focal point across from you. Keep your eyes pointed at this point. Do this for a minute or two. More difficult to keep your eyes focused on one thing than you thought, yes?
Now, keeping your eyes on that point, wait until someone passes through your gaze. When they do, keep your eyes fixed, but use your mind to follow them across your cone of vision until they pass out of it. Could you do it without moving your eyes?
Now with your eyes fixed, try determining when someone enters your cone of vision. Follow them, with your mind and not your eyes, until they leave it again.
Can you count the number of people moving in your field of vision?
The number of people all together?
What people are here together?
What people are looking at someone else?
Those exercises should keep you busy for a while. I find the unfocused gaze tremendously useful in chaotic situations, like the D.C. beltway, for example .

- Kyle

Rhys: You are completely right, of course there can be no substitute for actually "doing" a thing. My activity will finally get a chance to increase to a level where I can actually progress instead of just falling into old habits.

Irish: Absolutely correct! This is simply the beginning of a long journey that will require many thousands of small steps along the way. Muscle memory will have to be developed on the pell. Our practices tend to be more about fighting than practicing. On the upside out of the 4-5 fighters we normally have come out 50% are knights who are always happy to discuss a fight and the techniques I need to improve.

Kyle: Great excercises! Thanks.

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I hope that you will...
Farewell

Anradan

Anradan -

I am not a huge proponent of doing lots of pell work - especially if you are trying to learn a new blow or weapon.

Simply put, pells don't talk to you. They stand still, let you hit them, and don't hit back. That is why I train people to work in a "3 man rotation" - 2 guys fight/spar/train a new blow, the third man gives feedback. Then they rotate after a few minutes.

Everyone benefits - the 2 guys fighting get feedback from someone detached from the action ("You leave this opening when you throw this shot - I think you are lifting the elbow", and the guy doing feedback learns from abservation, get experience to train new people, and learns what tot watch for as a marshal.

I still spend at least 50% of practice at 1/2 speed, and still practice the basic shots (leg/head/thrust/offside/slot) after 16 years of fighting. And I win most of my fights with these basics, not the "super-looping-overhand-fake-thrust-to-a-scorpion-wrap" trick shot.


Diolun
Midrealm

I've also been a student of Zen and Taoism for almost 20 years.

I don't normally recommend this kind of stuff, but a good modern source for improving one's focus in any activity be it martial, competetive sports or otherwise are the books written by James E Loehr.

He's got a few in print and they should be pretty easy to find in public libraries.
The new toughness training for sports : mental, emotional, and physical conditioning from one of the world's premier sports psychologists.

Mentally tough : the principles of winning at sports applied to winning in business.

Stress for success : the proven program for transforming stress into positive energy at work.