No Mind!

My newfound confidence as well as my passion for Kuk Sool was slowly gaining momentum. I was still however having problems in other areas of my life. For instance my girlfriend at the time was becoming more and more resentful of the attention that I was giving toward my training.

One evening, just before I was about to set off for my weekly session, my girlfriend confronted me and insisted that I should stay at home with her.  I was really irritated that I would miss my lesson and the discussion soon erupted into a full-scale argument, resulting in some very choice words being said.

Her way in preventing me from attending my class was to lean over my motorbike, snatch the keys from the ignition and then hurl them over a hedge into a nearby pond. I was absolutely furious;  for her own safety she ran off very quickly in the opposite direction. She’d made her point very clear - there was no way was I going to make class on that particular night.

On that occasion my girlfriend had obviously made her point, however there were many other major disagreements that soon followed. We eventually came to the conclusion that our relationship was never going to work. Unfortunately my passion for the martial arts far outweighed my feelings for her and we inevitably parted.

My martial art training was slowly but surely becoming more important to me, nonetheless without a steadying influence in my life I was still spending far too much time in the pub with my mates. I was slowly becoming aware that physical training and excessive drinking just didn't mix; it was like advancing two steps forward and one step back.

My closest friends didn't really care too much about martial arts; all they wanted to do was just hangout and drink. On one particular Sunday we had gathered in the pub and had been drinking considerably for most of the lunchtime period. By late afternoon we were all very much under the influence.

Last drinking orders were announced and we subsequently fell-out of the pub and searched to for a suitable place to chill out. We'd purchased some additional beers while exiting and found an isolated piece of common land to sit and drink. When the majority of the bottles became empty, the fresh air and alcohol began to produce a concoction of agitation and friendly aggression.  

My friends were evidently aware about my martial art training but had never really seen me in action. Whether it was the drink or my new found confidence, I had no fear about squaring up to all three of them. By this time they’d all decided to join forces to try and playfully test me out. For a split second I stood motionless in a typical martial art fighting position; the circumstances actually reminded me of a classic fight-scene out of a Bruce Lee movie; the baddies pausing momentarily before all hell would let loose.

Despite myself being moderately drunk, I was mentally ready for action. As my mates approached closer and closer, it seemed like everything was happening in slow motion. I remained poised and unperturbed and witnessed a weird sense of calmness and emptiness inside, which I can only describe as some kind of a void.

The first of my mates lunged forward at me without any warning at all. His movement was clumsy and unbalanced and he clearly projected his intentions, which I was easily able to detect. I immediately stepped back out of his way, allowing him to completely lose balance and fall down on his knees. He quickly recovered and returned to his feet, again he charged. I relaxed and applied exactly the same response, which resulted in him once again falling to the ground; only this time he remained there.

My other two friends moved in and I scanned each of them out the corner of my eyes. Again I maintained composure and eagerly awaited their intended attack. It wasn’t long before the next  pal came charging forward. As he approached, again without thinking, I dealt with his  assault with comparative ease. I applied another circular movement, but this time I combined it with straight arm-bar technique, which I'd frequently practised in class. Once again I brought him swiftly down - bitting the dust.

As I retreated a few steps back, I could see both of my chums lying face down on the grass,  reeling around in mild discomfort. The third pal after witnessing my actions was reluctant to follow through. He’d obviously thought twice and casually edged away from the scene like a cowering dog, with his tail between his legs.

During this encounter I realised that my power had amplified considerably, but I wasn’t exactly sure where this force was coming from. Was this just my own adrenalin kicking-in or was it this mystifying energy that was often mentioned in our training, referred to as  Ki / Chi? Whatever it was I was grateful for having it with me.

I was absolutely stunned and surprised concerning my own ability. I thought to myself, what had I done? How was I able to accomplish such a feat? I’d only been practicing martial arts for approximately eight months; surely I wasn’t that proficient was I?

My three friends despite being downtrodden at what had taken place, soon made up their differences with me. The excessive amount of alcohol simply anaesthetized any pain, discomfort or ill feeling and after finishing any leftover beer we all decided to call it a day and go home.

Upon reflection, secretly inside I was absolutely thrilled that my martial art training had actually begun to pay off. This particular situation reminded me of why I started practising in the first place. I had effectively defended myself, albeit in a relatively non-hostile situation.

The real point of this story and what I later discovered many years later, was a well-known Zen principle called Musin – “the state of no mindedness.” It has been said that when a martial artist’s mind is free from thought, anger, fear and ego, they’re ready to do combat. 

There's a great scene in the movie, The Last Samurai, where Tom Cruise, who's playing the main character is confronted by a gang of thugs brandishing weapons. He specifically uses 'Musin' to successfully defeat his opponents. It's certainly worth watching just for that one scene alone.

I truly understand that the principle of Musin may take many, many years of continuos study and practice to accomplish. Strangely enough though, I actually believe on that particular Sunday afternoon, when play-fighting with my mates in my drunken state, I momentarily slipped into one of the most important concepts of martial art training –  “the state of no mind.”