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Outside your circle, everything is spinning and chaotic.
Within your circle, everything is spinning and chaotic.
Within your circle, you learn to be calm and steady.
Mind and body become one.
Body extends to grab something from outside the circle.
Mind and body learns to use things outside the circle.
And masters these things one at a time.
Your circle slowly grows it's boundaries.
Mind and body masters everything outside the circle.
Everything becomes part of the body.
Everything becomes one.
Your circle is boundless.
I just got done taking Computer Science I: Introduction to Java, at Rutgers University, in New Brunswick, NJ.
May 8th was my final exam, and boy, what a relief! I saw my final grade result for the class, and I'm glad that I passed! Actually, I did better than I expected. It's one of those classes that once you're in, you're always on your toes and you just want to get it over with.
So what does this have to do with martial arts? Well, it's the lack of it that I'm feeling the effect. After this winter 2006 semester, my whole body, especially my back, hurt a lot from doing programming homeworks. But hey, I'm going to stop whining now and start training again.
We've just finished one Baji form, but we're still rehashing it. At the same time, we're just started learning a Hsing-Yi form.
Life is worth it if Teacher says something and it sort of makes sense.
What I got from Teacher's lecture last Saturday is that Baji is about balance, like the yin-yang principle. For example, when the left hand moves, the right hand goes the exact opposite, and both stay in a straight line. This principle is present throughout the whole form.
"You can't stop the waves, but you can learn how to surf."-from a fortune cookie
Lately, Teacher started mentioning the idea of being trapped by our own physical body. Our mind wants to do something, but we are limited only to what our body can do. The mind says go to the right, but the body goes the opposite way or does not even go at all. What use is it to have a great mind, but with a weak body? Does this kind of situation exist? The mind thinks of ideas and formulates theories, and the body then applies it to a given situation. Then the result gets processed back to the mind. And the cycle goes on again. So if the body is weak, then the mind is only full of untried theories.
Ideas and theories are useless unless they are proven to work in a given situation. If a theory does not work, then try another theory. But what if you don't have the right materials to test your theory? Then you cannot really test your theory the right way. But if you have the right materials, and your theory works, then everything is great!
I can only imagine the frustration Teacher feels when he's teaching us how to move one way, and us moving in some convoluted, distorted version of his way. But it is clear that body and mind are equally important and both need to be trained.
For now, I feel that my body limits my mind. Going to work and sitting hunchedback in front of the monitor makes my situation worse. My mind needs a lot of work, but my body needs more. Maybe through martial arts training, my body can catch up with my mind.
What is "mind", anyway? When I refer to "mind", I mean everyday awareness of my surroundings and how I deal with it. Maybe having "no-mind" is better. Having a clear mind, like a newly installed glass windshield, is the best.
Sometimes, my mind is attached or trapped in my old way of thinking that I resist trying out new things. I know that change is all around me, but the problem is that sometimes I'm not ready for the change. Sometimes, I'm sick of having to change. Why can't things just stay the way they are? Apparently, that's not how the world works. How does the world work? There seems to be a beginning, middle and end to everything. Does it matter, though? Does the whole beginning, middle and end of things matter at all? Once the destination is reached, does that mean it's the end? Or is it another beginning? Or maybe a middle? The world seems to just go on.
So what's the overall benefit of practicing Ba Gua Quan? I can only say from my point of view. So far, my overall body flexibility has improved. My awareness and concentration seems to have improved. My posture seems to have improved. I'm not as hunchback as I was before. Maybe I need to do something else in life other than sit in front of the monitor for hours. But I'm not sure if it's just my nature or practicing the art of Ba Gua Quan that makes me strive for better things. I guess all of us strive for better things, but in different levels. Each one of us seem to have a way, or strives to find a way, for coping with life. For me, Ba Gua Quan is one of the best ways, so far.
