Double impact

Meditation and martial arts

School children, security forces and others are attracted to martial arts for self-defense, winning championships and maintaining physical fitness. It is becoming important for show business as well. Every year official competitions are held and the number of participants is increasing. It attracts both male and female adolescents, but most of them are unaware of its founder and his teaching.

It is difficult to track the evolution of martial arts due to lack of historical records. Martial arts have been shaped by many factors and different continents have their own skills and techniques. History records extensive trade across nations and many diplomats, businessmen and monks traveled through jungles for business. Time and again, they had to encounter wild animals and dacoits. It was to defend their bodies, documents and property that the travelling monks developed martial arts by observing the movement of animals like tiger, cat, monkey, snake and crane.

Legend has it that the Indian Buddhist monk Bodhidharma, believed to be born in the fifth or sixth century, was the son of a Tamil king of Pallava Dynasty. Bodhidharma had two older brothers who were jealous of his intelligence. He was the best son but he had no interest in politics so he had chosen Prajnatara, a Buddhist monk as his Guru (teacher). Bodhidharma served his teacher for many years. Upon Prajnatara's death Bodhidharma left his monastery in India to follow his master's last wish that he go to China and spread the Buddhist teaching.

As per his master's wish, Bodhidharma went to China to spread his knowledge of herbal medicine, meditation and martial arts. So he was regarded as the founder of meditation philosophy in Zen Buddhism and he also influenced the unarmed combat art in the Shaolin temple in China. The temple teaches meditation and martial arts for spiritual goals. It is the only place where martial artists practice meditation, for inner and outer fitness.

I have been practicing Taekwondo for last 20 years but have never come across meditation during my training. My instructors never bothered. The teaching of martial arts in Asia has historically followed the tradition of teacher and disciple apprenticeship with strict discipline. These days, however, students learn what the instructor teach but many martial art instructors lament lack of knowledge of meditation. Martial arts without mediation is akin to standing on one leg. The fully equipped martial artist and trainer must possess the knowledge of mediation.

I am thankful to Osho (Master of modern meditation). Since Osho's arrival in my life, I practice meditation and martial arts together. I am happy to teach meditation and martial arts to my students. Still there is misconception that meditation is related to a certain religious group. Meditation is inner journey of self discovery. It has nothing to do with any religious sects.

I know that awareness in the fighting ring is different to sitting quietly cross-legged. Meditation teaches focus on mind. Without proper focus muscular power goes weak. The more focused the player, the more efficiently s/he will activate cells through nervous system. Apart from that, meditation improves awareness, reduces anxiety, enhances academic skills, stirs up creativity, slows down biological aging and activates the immune system and other beneficial physiological processes. There are many other benefits.

Meditation's primary goal is to gain accurate perception of reality. Our five sense organs—eyes, nose, ears, tongue and skin—can pick up things that can be seen, smelled, heard, tasted and felt, but there is something apart from that, the sixth sense. The five senses can only detect gross manifestation of reality but it cannot handle subtle manifestation. Meditation is the only way to get to the cosmic reality, which is unreachable through our five sensory organs. Meditation is a technique to explore inner potential. In true sense, it is connecting with nature.

Meditation is important for martial arts. Without awareness a performer will not be able to strike or defend at right times. Abnormal breathing, fear, urinating, anxiety, thirst, and drying of lips in fighting ring are examples of absence of meditation in martial artist. Those who do not practice meditation in relation to martial arts burn their vital energy before entering the ring.

Recently, I got an opportunity to practice meditation with Master Yuming Zhang from both Shoaling and Hu-Dang Temple of China, who learnt Kung Fu and Meditation from 16 grandmasters. He is from the lineage of Lao Tzu Buddha and presently Lao Tzu Buddha cave is under his preservation in China. Zhang helped me to relate with martial arts and meditation.

I can observe aggressive behavior in new martial art practitioners because an important element is missing. If we can bring together martial arts and meditation, only then it becomes a complete art. Poomse, Kata and Tie Chi are parts of martial arts for active meditation which has been developed seeing the movements of animals. But most modern instructors teach without this background. The instructors, in other words, have forgotten the essence.

I request National Sports Council to seriously consider imparting lessons on meditation and martial arts, together, so that our martial arts practitioners gain more success.

The author is a sociologist, martial arts instructor and meditation practitioner girithejorba@gmail.com