I need to find some kind of exercize that i can do. I need something fast pased. Yoga doesn't agree with me. I need something fast pased with a spiritual basis. HELP!!!!@@#@#@##@
Any kind. You just need a good sensei, sifu, teacher. They will show you the art of self actualization through martial arts. To master one's body is a continuous process, but to learn the body, one must learn the mind. Like the body, the mind has obstacles. You must learn yourself, your fears, and discover your inner potential to simply 'be' (no-mind). Very zen. Parallel to zen really. Spirituality, energy, self knowledge. That's martial art. None of this competitive sport nonsense.
Martial arts means arts of war. In essence, it's about as spiritual as washing a dog. Washing a dog, can be very spiritual, it could also be for fun, or just getting a clean dog. Never foget that all martial arts originated as a means of killing. The spiritual components of martial arts weren't even considered much untill the rise of the shogunate in Japan, which meant you had a lot of Samurai who no longer had wars to fight. This is when the spiritual essence of martial arts were considered. In the mainland (China) martial arts and spirituality had been tied together for a thousand years, but this is because most of your martial artists were priests, who were employed by feudal lords to train their soldiers to kill. If your looking for a great workout, you can take most martial arts and get that. If you're looking for something that you can use to defend yourself efficiently, talk to me, and I can recommend several things. If your looking for spirituality, look inside yourself. Then anything you do will be meditation.
Anything has the potential to be spiritual. Spirituality is life. They are not separated. To truly live, one must cultivate the art of dying. In other words, when learning to die, one discovers the immediacy of the now, of life. To die is to be liberated from death, metaphorically speaking. Yes, martial art is the art of killing. There is much to be learned from death. Literally and spiritually, for the two are indeed one. Commentaries on Martial Art - "Artistic skill, therefore, does not mean artistic perfection. It remains rather a continuing medium or reflection of some step in psychic development, the perfection of which is not to be found in shape or form, but must radiate from the human soul." "The artistic activity does not lie in art itself as such. It penetrates into a deeper world in which all forms (of things inwardly experience) flow together, and in which the harmony of soul and cosmos in the nothing has its outcome in reality." "Punches and kicks are tools to kill the ego. The tools represent the force of intuitive or instinctive directness which, unlike the intellect or the complicated ego, does not divide itself, blocking its own freedom. The tools move onward without looking back or to the side." "The tools, your natural weapons, have a double purpose: 1. To destory the opponent in front of you - annihilation of things that stand in the way of peace, justice and humanity. 2. To destroy your own impulses caused by the instincts of self-preservation. To destroy anything bothering your mind. Not to hurt anyone, but to overcome your own greed, anger and folly. Jeet Kune Do is directed toward oneself." -Bruce Lee Just some quotes for you to skim over. Learning how to fight is indeed fast paced. Cultivating the warrior spirit takes time, but one may find its path rich for the body and mind.
Well I partially agree with you Shaman, most activities have the potential to be spiritual. Not killing however. Which was the original design of all martial arts, aside from the more recent ones such as akido, which is itself related to Aikijitsu which is an art formed for killing rebelious samurais by the emporers guards. Dying is perhaps spiritual, but I'm not one who believes in an afterlife or a soul. Killing isn't spiritual, it's a desperate resort in any form of it. War/crime/sociopathy. There is something very tranquil about the exercises which go along with martial arts. Theres something tranquil which goes along with sport fighting which has the potential, and somewhat the goal of hurting someone to the degree of being pronounced the victor. There is nothing noble about a street fight however. I regret every street fight I've ever been in, as anything can be avoided to the extent of hurting another person. That's why I reccomend Judo, Aiki, and 'softer' styles of Karate to people who ask. You'll be comfortable with your ability to defend yourself. It can be as spiritual as ay activity, and you won't be as likely to hurt anyone should you need to defend yourself. I'm pretty heavy into that competitive sport nonsense.
No, you're right Lodui. It's not the killing that's spiritual. It's dying. "Most of us are frightened of dying because we don't know what it means to live. We don't know how to live, therefore we don't know how to die. As long as we are frightened of life we shall be frightened of death. The man who is not frightened of life is not frightened of being completely insecure for he understands that inwardly, psychologically, there is no security. When there is no security there is an endless movement and then life and death are the same. The man who lives without conflict, who lives with beauty and love, is not frightened of death because to love is to die." - Jiddu Krishnamurti
