Controlled Falling aka ‘Walking’

In November 2011 I went to a seminar taught by Sensei Mark Loucks in New York.  One thing he said during the seminar is something that I think of every day and that is that ‘what most people do is not walking, it’s merely controlled falling’.  I really had to stop and think about that… controlled falling.  He said that instead of moving forward with our balance centered and strong we shift our weight and just let ourselves ‘fall’ into the next step.  Some, if you watch closely, may have periods of time when both feet are off the floor rather than keeping at least some of their weight grounded.  I believe that walking is something you learn to do and never really stop to think about it again; you just wash, rinse, and repeat the habits you are naturally inclined to do.  For someone who instinctively holds their breath while working out and doesn’t always stand straight, walking in some stances and performing katas require extra mindfulness.  I knew at that moment that I probably walk incorrectly as well.  Great!

My walk into work has a slight but long incline and you have to walk through a wind tunnel to get in the building.  Every morning commuters hunch their shoulders forward, duck their heads into their chests and push through the wind.  This used to feel like the best bet to make it through to the other side.  However, at this time every single day without fail I hear Sensei Mark Loucks and I have to stop myself and remember that this is not the strongest posture.  Relaxing my shoulders back, standing straight, keeping my center of gravity low and pushing through thinking of pushing a steadfast horizontal bo forward with my tanden, I feel stronger and am using my muscles and mental force rather than just my weight.  This has helped my Sanchin and all my dachi, in karate and in everyday life, tenfold.

Mind Over Body ?

It is hard to watch videos of men pulling planes with their teeth and not believe that there is a certain amount of power that humans possess when they set their mind on a goal.

Recently, I was told that I may have to do 50 push-ups for a grading.  My eyes bulged out of my head!  I’ve been at it ever since and every time I get down there I fail to reach 40 let alone 50.  I told my best friend about my anxiousness and he said me that it is in my mind…  In my mind.  When he said this it brought up a battle between the mind and the body and being that this is a blog about my daily three battles I had to write it down.

Lately, I have moved away from focusing on ‘spirit’ in favor of focusing on the ‘body’ so  push-ups are completely applicable.  50 push-ups!  I give myself a good pep talk each time before I start.  I put on some good music and when I get down there I think to myself: “this is the time that you’re going to break through”.  I actually have to laugh at the whole thing after when I fail, once again.  As much as I believe that we as humans can do anything if we really, truly believe we can, every time I push myself back up for the 20^th time I feel like my arms are going to collapse on the way down for the next one.  So now I have to ask myself, is it that my body is too weak to do the  push-ups or that my mind is too weak to get me there?  How do you know when it’s your mind and when it’s your body?

I am definitely not qualified enough to know the answer to this but I’m putting it out there in case someone has an answer, and so later I can look back and answer myself.