This is so soothing

[sketchbo0k]

 

His walking is very peaceful.

 

To me, when I spar using Bagua I invite the person to dance with me instead of fight. I don't want to have to hurt anybody.

[Fate]

I feel the same way about martial arts, I don't want to hurt anybody so I've stopped cultivating the martial arts.

 

then I keep getting drawn back to them, like Capoeira recently which was disguised as a dance.

 

 

What are martial artists thoughts on this? I know MIyamoto Musashi saw that the ultimate in not fighting anyone by scaring them with your superior precense/spirit/etc.

 

but you cultivate that through a vigorous and aggressive training.

 

Is Tai chi and Bagua more of a "cultivate peacefullness and flow and you won't run into enemies?" or what? I've been at odds with this whole "don't cultivate martial arts because its an entirely different energy than healing and qi gong" and "if you cultivate martial arts your bound to run into situations where you need to use them" etc.

[Marblehead]

 

His walking is very peaceful.

 

To me, when I spar using Bagua I invite the person to dance with me instead of fight. I don't want to have to hurt anybody.

 

But he didn't invite the lady in the background to dance.

[Marblehead]

Sadly my Tai Chi has not become instinctual/intuitional yet.  Maybe one day.

[blue eyed snake]

Sadly my Tai Chi has not become instinctual/intuitional yet.  Maybe one day.

 

maybe you need the lady in the background to take a dance with you

[WisteriaWinds]

I feel the same way about martial arts, I don't want to hurt anybody so I've stopped cultivating the martial arts.

 

then I keep getting drawn back to them, like Capoeira recently which was disguised as a dance.

 

 

What are martial artists thoughts on this? I know MIyamoto Musashi saw that the ultimate in not fighting anyone by scaring them with your superior precense/spirit/etc.

 

but you cultivate that through a vigorous and aggressive training.

 

Is Tai chi and Bagua more of a "cultivate peacefullness and flow and you won't run into enemies?" or what? I've been at odds with this whole "don't cultivate martial arts because its an entirely different energy than healing and qi gong" and "if you cultivate martial arts your bound to run into situations where you need to use them" etc.

A lot of old arts were founded by warriors. As someone who was a warrior and didn't pay money to an instructor to pretend to be one, here are my thoughts.

When you cultivate true competency at speed, surprise, and violent action, it changes the energy you give off and no one screws with you. Its real killer ability. The person who doesn't cultivate that has to subconsciously deal with the underlying anxiety of not being able to protect their body (spiritual house) or their loved ones. It changes how you live and navigate life but few admit it to themselves. The person who lacks the capacity to kill is more likely to end up having to do it. A person who projects true warrior energy tends to send the bad guys off to look for softer targets.

The end state is that warriors get to live peacefully. The potential energy for violence balances with the kinetic energy of a peaceful experience. The Tao happens.

That's just my take and others may vary vary.

However, keep in mind many people's philosophical outlook is nurtured living a privilege Western lifestyle....

[Marblehead]

maybe you need the lady in the background to take a dance with you

Yeah, I'm old but I can still dance.

[WisteriaWinds]

Another thing to keep in mind: intent. If your Repulse the Monkey can't Repulse the jackass monkey-minded fool attacking you, a traditional sifu is going to walk over and tell you your technique sucks, even if the movement was so perfect it induced Total Chi Flow Instant Enlightenment and visions of Guan Yin are dancing in your Third Eye. Why?

Because you can't do what the founder intended for the technique to do...so it sucks.

You are, in all practicality, practicing a totally different art.

Edited June 29, 2016 by WisteriaWinds