I am comming up on the end of year one training in Doce Pares (both San Miguel and Multi-style). At times I have been very regular and there have been times where an entire month has passed with out training due to work, school, family etc. In the last few days I have felt an urge to really look at my training and listen to what my mind and body has had to tell me about it. Near the close of year one, this is my first reflection...
Flow
If I were to look back at my previous martial arts experience I could certainly identify the virtues of specific aspects of each art. In bujinkan I learned how to effectively roll the bujinkan way, in wing chun I learned that battles are won through an overwhelming assault of basic chain punches against vulvnerable areas, in kajukenbo I learned that I can kick over my head and in YMCA karate I learned that a camoflauge belt looks better than a purple one. But the big things that I have learned in Doce Pares supercede the art itself. They speak to the truth of combat and self, agnostic of the art practiced.
One of the more important things that I have come to understand (through sinawali and sparring) is the concept of flow (I learned this in Wing Chun, but did not fully internalize it). More specifically, it is OK to make mistakes. It is ok to get hit (do not confuse this with allowing someone to hit you--it is the difference between dammage control and self delusion). Most importantly, you should expect to make mistakes and to get hit. You should expect that your opponent will do the same. Just flow.
Truly internalizing the concept of flow allows you to move past the mental incumberances associated with failure. "I got hit" *STOP*. "I missed my target" *STOP* "I was blocked" *STOP*. *HESITATE*. *FAIL*. Flow tells you to move past this. It tells you that the fight is not won or lost in pieces, but rather in the aggregate. Armed with this knowledge you become not a person executing techniques, but a force.
This understanding has superceded all of my arts. I may not be the best fighter, or even that good, but I am better now than I was one year ago. And in truth, I am better at all of my arts because this concept is universal. Perhaps this applies to all FMA and is the source of calling Modern Arnis the Art Within the Art?
Flow
If I were to look back at my previous martial arts experience I could certainly identify the virtues of specific aspects of each art. In bujinkan I learned how to effectively roll the bujinkan way, in wing chun I learned that battles are won through an overwhelming assault of basic chain punches against vulvnerable areas, in kajukenbo I learned that I can kick over my head and in YMCA karate I learned that a camoflauge belt looks better than a purple one. But the big things that I have learned in Doce Pares supercede the art itself. They speak to the truth of combat and self, agnostic of the art practiced.
One of the more important things that I have come to understand (through sinawali and sparring) is the concept of flow (I learned this in Wing Chun, but did not fully internalize it). More specifically, it is OK to make mistakes. It is ok to get hit (do not confuse this with allowing someone to hit you--it is the difference between dammage control and self delusion). Most importantly, you should expect to make mistakes and to get hit. You should expect that your opponent will do the same. Just flow.
Truly internalizing the concept of flow allows you to move past the mental incumberances associated with failure. "I got hit" *STOP*. "I missed my target" *STOP* "I was blocked" *STOP*. *HESITATE*. *FAIL*. Flow tells you to move past this. It tells you that the fight is not won or lost in pieces, but rather in the aggregate. Armed with this knowledge you become not a person executing techniques, but a force.
This understanding has superceded all of my arts. I may not be the best fighter, or even that good, but I am better now than I was one year ago. And in truth, I am better at all of my arts because this concept is universal. Perhaps this applies to all FMA and is the source of calling Modern Arnis the Art Within the Art?
