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We tend to become what we focus on. The mind can narrow into the confining chamber of an obsession. Becoming unaware of All else is not the purpose of focus. Focus is a centring of attention while the peripheral senses, such as in feeling and in vision, retain knowledge of the state of being that surrounds.
Movement Meditative Focus Exercise
Mongolian Hand, Spine and Breathing Exercise.
This exercise is similar to that used by the archer horsemen of Genghis Khan (C 1162-1227AD). Genghis was The Khan or Emperor of the Mongol Empire, one of the largest empires in history. Before being processed by experience, talent and Fate into the Great Khan, he was simply human like us, a boy named Temujin of house Borjigin.
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| Kibu Dachi Position |
Stance: Go into Kibu Dachi (Horse stance, as if sitting on a horse), a wide stance where your feet are set at least two shoulder widths apart sideways; your Feet pointed forward, Head upright, Thighs pressing tight inward, Hips rolled under, Knees bent pressing outward (so shins are nearly vertical like walls of a house and thighs slant together like a house-roof), Forearms chambered at your hips.
Action
1. Breathe in, then as you slowly breathe out: arc your right open hand upward to the left side of your forehead as your left hand goes round your waist to your rear. Both arms remain close to your body.
2. Doing the above, you pivot your right foot so its toes turn inward 90 degrees to the left. That assists your hips to also turn left without straining the knees and your hips and shoulders point now sideways to the left. From this position your head is able to turn enough to fully see all that is to your rear. Your graze is firm and all-seeing. The muscles of your spine are gently twisted and stretched. FOCUS.
3. Breathe in, then breathing out slowly: reverse the process and return to facing front, your gaze forward, head still upright, both feet now pointing forward.
4. Repeat the above procedure to turn and look behind you to your right. Slowly breathing out with your left hand going to your forehead, right hand behind you at waist level, left foot pivots 90 degrees to the right to assist the hips. The torso turn means you do not strain your neck and eyes to see behind you. A good spinal exercise.
In the actual Mongol form of the exercise there are differences; and when looking to the rear on horseback each warrior would release an arrow into the enemy as each Mongol warrior in turn road back, out of range of the enemy’s return fire, to the end of the column to yet return once again: which was their successful strategy to flux in and out of danger on their hardy ponies when attacking.
The supreme treasure is knowledge, the middle treasure is children, and the lowest treasure is material wealth. - Mongolian
Nature uses only the longest threads to weave her patterns, so that each small piece of her fabric reveals the organization of the entire tapestry. - Richard P. Feynman
BALANCE
The body can be off balance. So can the mind. When the mind is cluttered with thoughts or emotions then clarity of logical thinking is impaired. In combat you distract the opponent’s mind in order to block his intended attack action, or his reaction to your own strike or grab or movement. So the use of feints is common in combat to distract the mind. Even if you shift the direction of your eyes, if noticed, it will capture their mind. When pain is felt your mind will immediately focus on that point. If you strike a pressure point, that can disrupt for a moment the mental intentions of an adversary, clouding their awareness of all else, allowing you to counter without their noticing.
Balance Exercises
1. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, toes facing front.
- Now rock back and forth from heels to ball of feet, adjusting your hips as necessary to keep balance.
- Repeat.
- Then try the same but with your toes pointed outward.
- Then try the same with your toes pointed inward.
- Back to the start doing same with toes pointed straight forward. This is a good exercise also for flexing all the muscles around the lower leg and calf.
2. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, toes facing front.
- Step one foot forward, a normal step, not too far forward, a shoulder width is fine.
- Now as in exercise number one above, rock backward and forward - while your body, knees and feet rock, keep your head still where it is.
- Mainly do with toes pointed straight ahead, but can include the versions where toes point outward and inward.This is a good exercise also for the ankles.
When a stance has one foot forward it is a combat ready stance as a better balance is obtained to meet force in any of the four directions (but not diagonally). A stance that is the normal standing one with both feet aligned does not have balance to any front or back pressures.
The meaning of good and bad, of better and worse, is simply helping or hurting. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
People today distinguish between knowledge and action and pursue them separately, believing that one must know before he can act.... They say [they will wait] till they truly know before putting their knowledge into practice. Consequently to the end of their lives, they will never act and also will never know. - Wang Yang Ming (1472-1529)
Next Chapter: Emptying & Relaxation
(Image: Ninja Meditating via Google Images)
Comments
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Hi Cheney,
ReplyDeleteIn Tae Bo we do most exercises in Kibu Dachi position. The instructor says it's good to strengthen the legs; but is there any other special explanation for this position?
Cheers
Hi Max, ‘Kibu’ means ‘Horse’ and ‘Dachi’ means ‘Stance’. Warriors of old often fought on horseback. They had to fight with their legs spread and do upper body techniques with spear, sword and bow.
DeleteA Key to the stance is to not spread your legs too wide as then you lose stability. To keep your toes pointed forward, not inward, or, as so often seen, pointed outward. When you are searching a person and patting them down while they are upright: it is very useful, besides having their arms outstretched and thumbs pointing down, to have their feet spread and demand that they point their toes outward. So at any point if they try to strike you, you being close next to them, you can shove and send them off balance. Also a prime requirement of Kibu Dachi is to tense your legs so that they are locked firm to the ground, as if on a horse you anchor yourself there by firmly gripping the horse with your legs.
This was especially needed before the time of saddles, more so before the time of high edged saddles use by knights of the middle ages in jousting. On a firm seat the armoured body could take impacts from other warriors with less risk of being unseated. In jousting, at the moment that your lance impacts on the opponent: you need to grip firmer your lance and horse and press down on your stirrups to be more stable, hopefully, than the other knight. There are no guarantees in battle, the warrior king Richard III even with his twisted spine unseated, near Bosworth Market, an ancestor of mine, the champion knight of Henry Tudor.
A Key to the stance is that your lower body be Tensed and firm to transmit power from leverage with the ground, while your upper body and arms are Not kept tensed but are relaxed and can move fast and free. Like the turret that can move on top of a stable tank base.
The Kibu Dachi stance is for the transmission of power, it is not for fast movement, as large shifts in your mass will be seen and telegraph your intensions. To move fast you shorten your stance (e.g. jab), to hit hard you spread your stance (e.g. close to give an uppercut).
To dance like a butterfly and sting like a bee. -- Mohammad Ali
Short stances are when you are at a distance from the opponent, when right next to them you can go into Kibu Dachi to drive a strike through their body or do a throw (except in throws like Ogoshi or Seoi-Nage). In Karate the Kibu Dachi stance can be used if you remain side-on to the opponent. The far leg is then hidden and it is suddenly shifted up to the forward foot to project and kick out with the front leg with maximum reach. However that sideways use allows only your forward leg and arm as attacking weapons. The benefit is that it offers your body’s side-edge and thus the front centre-line targets can only be reached by seeable round strikes. The stance was suited to and a favourite of a previous World Karate champion Bill (superfoot) Wallace who could only kick with his forward leg, having permanently damaged his rear leg in his previous art of Judo. A one legged man (in effect) can be a world champion.
Stances are not meant to be set in stone. They are simply balanced structures each with its strengths and weaknesses, for flowing between one to another as the combat situation ever changes. There is no one stance for all occasions. Stances may be taught is precise strict measurements and angles, well and good; but when in combat fluidity of changing stances is vital, also balance and not precision is then the key. You do not need to be worrying or thinking about what your feet are doing when needing to focus on upper body attacks and defences.
I need mention that wide stances are also generally favoured in arts of the Southern Shaolin. Southern China with its populace congestion has numerous people living on boats and wide stances provide the stability needed when fighting on rocking boats. Also in Indonesia the deadly art of Silat uses wide stances often as the stance fits the environment where it rains frequently and the surface is slippery mud. One should always consider the environment.
Thank you for the explanation, Cheney. There's always a purpose for all things.
DeleteCheers
I have problems with focus sometimes so I will definitely practise these exercises. THANK YOU, Stephen! And yes, we tend to delay action as we always find excuses: let me get more knowledge, let me get more money, let me get more time, let me get a new job, let me get this and that and when we think we are finally ready we die without having done anything!!!
ReplyDeleteHi Carla, yes procrastination is the course of effectively doing anything in time.
Delete"The supreme treasure is knowledge, the middle treasure is children, and the lowest treasure is material wealth. - Mongolian"
ReplyDeleteTo Africans the supreme wealth is children then material wealth. Knowledge is left only for some, and I don't agree with this custom cause knowledge is important to all. Even God said so!