doc benway

I hate it when that happens... Cheers!

I liked Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa - a bit long and slowly paced but very good. I loved Angry White Pyjamas by Robert Twigger - it's not ficiton but it's a great read. It recounts Twigger's year training at the Yoshinkan with the senshusei (instructor training) program.

You may be referring to a different person. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Cheung http://www.cheungswingchun.com/ William Cheung has always spelled his name with an "e" and told me personally that he and Bruce were close childhood friends. I can't speak to the veracity of his statement, just the fact that he said it. To my knowledge he's never lived in the states and I've never heard anyone call him Bill. I always called him Sigung as did the other people with us the few times we were together.

What is True Daoism? I'd like to ask a question in response. Who has the privilege to define that? Millions of Chinese who practice and deeply believe all of the rituals and religious trappings? Thousands or millions of Westerners who have adopted and resonate with the philosophy but have no interest in the ritualistic components? Laozi? Laozi is most likely a legendary figure representing Chinese wisdom developed over centuries. The likelihood of him being a historical figure is nearly zero. For the record - for me, the philosophical foundations and the cultivation methods that I practice are "real Daoism". But all I mean by that is that is what is real or meaningful for me. I have no interest at this point in my life in Yijing, exorcism, geomancy, astrology, and so on. That doesn't mean all that stuff isn't real. Every aspect of Daoism originates in and acts in human thought - without exception. It is a construct of human thought to attempt to put words to things that are beyond words. Why would one set of words be more real than another? None of it is real and all of it is real. Daoism is what it is. Religious, spiritual, philosophical, metaphysical, practical, social, cultural, and much much more. It's all real. It's as real as the people who practice each of those aspects. And it's all illusion, it's all a collection of words and human thoughts that have very little to do with the reality they try to describe. Every religion can be described in a similar fashion. It may be more meaningful to simply identify what is valuable to you, take that and leave the rest. Daoism has a lot to offer and nowhere does it require you to take anything more than what you choose.

Fajin = 發勁 Fa = issue or deliver Jin = strength or force or energy It's the generation and transfer of force over a short distance. The fajin strike is different from the external strike because of the shorter distance. If you throw a kick or punch from a distance of a foot or two, much of the force is dissipated by the impact on the surface of the object being struck. This is the nature of an external strike and this is where the idea arises of the damage being more on the surface. If you generate equal force right at the surface or a few inches away, more of the force "penetrates" the target because less is dissipated at the surface. This is why internal or fajin strikes are known for internal damage. THere are differences in how the strike needs to be generated also. With the closer strike, posture and timing are much more critical because the momentum is being generated starting from scratch very close to the target. With the longer distance, there's much more momentum and energy at the point of impact so posture, "rooting", and timing are a bit less critical. So there's nothing magical about the fajin strike - like any strike it still involves force = mass x acceleration. Here's a simple example - if you stand next to a heavy chest of drawers and push it hard and fast with your hands starting from two feet away you'll hit the chest, maybe rock it, get a nice impact, maybe even crack the wood. If your posture isn't great you'll still make a noise and get a pretty good impact. If you use the same force with your hands resting on the chest or an inch or two away, you'll push it over or really rattle the drawers and contents of the drawers inside but your stance and timing will be much more critical. If you're not "rooted" or your posture is off, you won't be as effective. Fajin is not magic and it's effect does not require the postulation of some invisible stuff or energy-like something called Qi. Given that Qi is an awareness of physical manifestation, Qi is still critical in the development of fajin (and anything else for that matter). The difference is simply that I don't see Qi as being something separate from us, some quantity of something to be stored or gained or lost. To me it's more the interaction of my consciousness or awareness with the physical world. I think that the fundamental error is our basic assumption that we are separate from everything else. I don't accept that. This is just my personal experience of it - nothing more.

My opponent Why is it necessary that jing form from stuff? Do you understand jing better by relating it to the word Qi? So many words...

I have a similar viewpoint. My way of understanding qi is that it is not stuff, it is process. I feel it more as what happens when awareness meets "substance" or "physicality" if you will. So developing qi to me is developing a new awareness, a different sense, outside of the normal five. So I can't have more or less qi - I am what I am. I can't store it or lose it, but I can be more in tune to an awareness of my physical manifestation and movement and surroundings and so forth. I find this awareness to be very important in Taijiquan. In fact, I believe this is exactly the reason for the Taiji method of slow form, development of sensitivity, and so one. It is this awareness which allows us to be sensitive which allows us to yield and so on. It's also this awareness that allows us to develop proper posture and timing which is so critical in fajin and other martial skills. Finally, Daoist meditation techniques are an elegant and effective method for developing this awareness. They integrate with Taiji and other martial arts perfectly. This is why so many accomplished Taiji players emphasize the importance of meditation. I am coming at this from a martial perspective here but it's equally applicable to non-martial avocations.

I'm an old guy and feel the same way you do. In my world, once you entered into a sexual relationship, monogamy was generally assumed. Younger folks (and some older folks) seem to be a bit more comfortable with having multiple concurrent sexual partners. I would agree that being open about it and communicating clearly is the best approach. I'm not sure that's as generally accepted in today's game.

You're about to! I am one with Dao. Always was, always will be. It was easy, I never had to do anything, just see it for what it is, ME! If we are not Dao, what could we possibly be? It's funny what the human mind does. I think that most would agree that Dao is a word used to describe, in a word - everything, all that is and all that isn't, the natural way of things, the yin and yang aspects of everything, whatever words we throw at it... And yet, somehow we insist on remaining separate. So is the Dao everything except me? Ridiculous! It's just a result of conditioning since childhood and our sensory apparatus. Similarly - all Christians would readily agree that God is infinite and yet it is heresy for a Christian to say I AM GOD. If I'm not God, what else could I possibly be? Is God everything but me? Everything but humanity? Everything but all living creatures? Infinity plus one? What sense does that make? With love and respect - WAKE UP! You were always Dao, what else could you possibly be? The one thing that's not Dao? We just feel separate because of our skin and our sensory organs and our thoughts. Being one with Dao is not an accomplishment or magic or anything special, it's just what we are. And we made up the word Dao to try and describe what we have no capacity to express adequately in words which is basically everything! Sorry if I sound arrogant or bombastic - I'm just a little passionate about this. It's such a simple and beautiful truth and we get so fucked up over it. I'll stop now.

Where is the distinction between adherent and Dao?

I think it boils down to personal values. If you like the person and don't have a problem with the sexual freedom, there is no reason not to continue to enjoy each other. Remember that freedom works both ways. There is no reason to demand or expect monogamy unless it is important to you. If you do believe that a monogamous relationship is important, there is no point in trying to maintain a relationship with someone who doesn't value that. It will continue to cause you pain and suffering.

Very well said - I think you hit it right on the money.

I think you're right about that. I got some internal training methods in Wing Chun (mostly related to generating fajin in the striking) but it was primarily external type training. I studied with my Wing Chun teacher for about 6 years. There may have been more internal curriculum that I didn't get to. Do you know who his teachers were in Seattle? Are any of their students still teaching in the area?

Magnificent photos! I'm going to be moving to the Puget sound area in June. I've been struggling a bit with my decision to relocate to the area but these photos are making me feel much better. Thanks

That's fine with me, I'm just sharing information I got directly from Cheung many years ago. He didn't seem at all bitter to me back then - he seemed to be doing exactly what he wanted in continuing to teach and train and seemed to be genuinely proud that he had been Bruce's friend as children. His point was that Bruce cared more about his career in the movies than about being a fighter - I think Bruce's life bears that out. He never fought professionally and fought very minimally in amateur competition. I could be wrong though... it doesn't matter to me one or the other. He was one of my early inspirations as well.

I think you're on to something here. I studied Wing Chun in Baltimore. My teacher's teacher was William Cheung. Cheung visited us from time to time and I was usually his driver (not many of my classmates had cars). A a result I got to spend a fair amount of time with him. He was good friends with Bruce as kids and told me that he was the one that introduced Bruce to Yip Man and managed to get him accepted into the school. He described Bruce as being a very quick learner but much more interested in a career in movies than in fighting. Cheung said that Bruce was not as good a fighter as he was assumed to be in the US. He only learned a relatively small part of the Wing Chun curriculum before being asked to leave the school because of problems with other students. At least that's what Cheung told me (as best I can recall - it was about 20 years ago). Soon after, he came to the US, studied other arts and synthesized all of that into JKD. When you look at his history, though, it seems to me that acting was always his great love since childhood and was probably the inspiration for his martial arts training and dedication.

Can't wait - it's on my Netflix list and should be here tomorrow!

Yup

Wuji is beyond words but I'll throw some at it anyway. Wuji is always already there, it is just obscured by our illusions and distractions - the 10,000 things... How to access it? You are already it. The illusions can be seen through and the distractions discarded through skillful meditation. Wuji is the ground substance within which Daoist practices arise and seek to return.

I agree - that's why I quite training with the Wing Chun guy. The only way to get good at streetfighting is to do it - he lived in a tough, threatening world and so he did it. Fighting is not that important to me so I moved on...

Unequivocally yes! ZmwfF6kzlAE I'll turn the question around for fun - does qi exist outside our ability to feel it? PS - this video is not meant to insult anyone - I just love the "I felt it!" part...

Every style has it's strengths and weaknesses. I think that we jump to too many conclusions based on limited experience and information, even the most experienced of us. I don't think it's valid to say that any one style is better than any other. A good fighter is made from a multitude of variables, style and method being only one. I used to train with a Wing Chun guy many years ago. His solution to learning how to fight (for real) was to go out to a local park (pretty tough section of Baltimore) and do some forms to get peoples' attention, then pick fights with strangers. He would never attack anyone, just bait them. No rules, no expectations, good luck - right there in the park. He was one hell of a fighter. To earn my black sash, I was required to go one on one with him in the back room of the school, no audience but my wife who wanted to watch me fight. It was tough and bloody. My wife never wants to watch me fight again, she didn't like it. Years later, he ended up in prison for a few years. When he returned home, he had no teeth. No matter how tough you think you are, there's always tougher.

I'll check it out.

If you resonate with Watts and you are struggling with the oneness thing, have you ever read The Book on the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are by Watts? If not, and you are comfortable PMing me with your mailing address, I'd be happy to send you a copy. It's a cool little book. I try to keep an extra on hand for a friend.... you could keep it or pass it on when you're done with it. Exactly!!! That's what we're trying to figure out! Ramana admonishes us to dive into that question for all we're worth.

It's important to learn how to be a good partner. I don't think his training partners do a good job here. No question, however, that he is a very accomplished martial artist. His focus at the beginning of his circle walking seemed to be lacking but his footwork and balance were very good as he got into the fancy stuff.