from gross to
A contemplative Bruce Lee painted by my dear friend Stine Walsh. Click the image to enlarge.
OK, so it wasn't really Kung-Fu I studied for something like seventeen years. Tae-Kwon-Do is what grabbed me when I was just out of high school. Once again it was a fascination with Asian ways
and culture that drew me to martial arts. My good friend and designer Kevin Taylor taught me a little Wing-Chun during the last
few years I studied - we had so much fun sparring for hours on end once or twice a week.
Although the martial arts are as diversified and ancient as any other aspect of human culture, there are spiritual aspects that point as signposts to our seeking something deeper than the superficial. It is another journey, like yoga, from gross to subtle.
I love the traditional description of the progression through the belt ranking in the classical martial arts systems. It is said that when you begin, a white belt is worn, and it symbolizes the virgin canvas of the mind-body, or the space before understanding. As the student practices with diligence and dedication, the white belt begins to become soiled and eventually appears brown. After enough time and practice (assuming here that it never sees soap and water!), that same brown belt becomes black. At this point the practitioner is steeped in knowledge and technique, and can apply with proficiency what has been learned. Finally, after more time and practice, the black belt becomes more and more worn and tattered, until at last it returns to a very soft white. At this point the practitioner has reached a state of understanding in which the actual technique is no longer necessary. The layers of personal untruth have been stripped away until all that remains is wisdom.
a spiritual
So, from at least one perspective, the martial arts could be compared in many ways to the yogic path of self realization, and the sweet unbinding of the heart-mind from distraction. Both require hard work that begins with gross body and mind, eventually refining an individual in more and more subtle ways, resulting in a state of deepened peace. Both practices deepen mind-body awareness, until finally we realize strengths, sensitivities and insight we might have previously thought impossible. Like the legendary sages of the yogic tradition, martial arts masters of old are said to have been capable of super-human, unimaginable things.
It is worth noting that although the martial arts are more outwardly physical, involving seemingly violent practices, this process can be seen as a device for humbling the ego, much in the same way the first few years of asana practice can throw the practitioner headlong into dealing with egoic patterns.
I spent many years teaching Tae-Kwon-Do to students at a university. It was my first teaching experience that involved breath, body, mind and spirit. Even then, there was a profound attraction for me to the magic that resulted when people found their way, and took their first mindful steps on a path towards freedom.