the martial arts – your gateway to a new age perspective

8/2/2019 The Martial Arts Your Gateway to a New Age Perspective

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The Martial Arts Your Gateway to a New Age Perspective

By Quinn McMurtry

AT FIRST YOU DONT SUCCEED

Ive tried meditation. I even bought a copy of Meditation for Dummies. Idownloaded podcast, after podcast and managed to find an old copy of Zen andthe Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. I visited countless websites that extolled thebenefits of meditation. I attempted to endure Wayne Dyers meditation tapes.My last attempt was installing an app for my phone that kept track and timesdaily meditation sessions. Occasionally, I would have moments or a glimmer ofmindful-here-and-now-ness, but, unfortunately, none of these approachesworked for me. It was not until I discovered the martial art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsuthat I was consistently able to reach a mindful state of awareness.

Not-so-Ancient Wisdom

In retrospect, one of the wisest shamans I ever met was a PE teacher. Clad inpolyester football coaching pants, ball cap and a whistle, Coach Tresko was thestereotypical football coached dutifully relegated to teaching PE to HanoverColleges incoming freshmen who were archaically required to endure a


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mandatory physical education. Perhaps it started with a couple laps around thefootball field, then maybe a lecture on hygiene, but during one of those classes,Coach Tresko lectured on something that turned out to be much more profoundthen it initially seemed. Coach Tresko said this:

If you dont like doing a certain physical activity, youre not going to do it.Staying in shape doesnt have to be jogging or aerobics, if you like shootingbasketball go out and shoot basketball. If you like taking walks, takewalks, but if you force yourself to do an activity that you really dont likedoing, chances are you are not going to do it over the long haul.

Despite his non-intellectual approach to his career, which might have focused onno-huddle-offenses, recruiting or booster meetings, Coach Tresko was asoothsayer for my own personal enlightenment.

Macho New Age AversionCall it a sort of new age stigma or just a general reluctance to accept a non-western type of means-to-an-end, but some people reflexively reject somethingthat is not familiar to them. As I mentioned, the traditional meditation approachdid not work for me. The word meditation to this day brings up a variety of visualstereotypes ranging from bald, chanting monks, to lotus-positioned hippies withsalt and pepper hair and guys with ponytails. Many of these images may or maynot appeal to some people but especially not me.

Personally, the thought of meditation or anything yoga-like, conjures up imagesof Cincinnatis very own Lilias Folan, who was known as the First Lady of Yogawhen her groundbreaking 1972 PBS series Lilias! Yoga and You was popular.


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The show claimed to add more flexibility, energy and joy to your life. To thisday, Cincinnatis WCET regularly rebroadcast Lilias. And still, decades later, Istill manage to have a Pavlovian aversion to her monotonous affirmations andpurple leotards.

I realize I lack a certain self-actualization but can you imagine Clint Eastwoodsaying Namaste no way perhaps maybe make my day. Or can youvisualize Arnold Swartzenneger doing downward dog. Or what about SeanConnery requesting a lemon grass shaken not stirred. The point being is that thetypical male stereotypes that I identify with or the quintessential American malestereotype, is generally not inclined to accept meditation, yoga or any other newage approach to life and fitness.

Although fading, the American narrative is still that of a gunslinger with a Colt 45riffle and solid right cross. Generally speaking, American male culture is notopen to a vegetarian Shaolin fighting monk, tofu, gongs, incense or robes.American culture needs to identify with the New Age mentalities in a differentway.

This can be done. Hollywood occasionally gets it right. For example, in the 1971movie Red Sun, two cinematic icons Toshiro Mifune and Charles Bronsonpartner together to hunt down bad guys, but eventually conflict their twoopposing styles conflict(see link.)

East Meets West

Although it may be an overgeneralization, Western culture is more deeply rootedin the scientific method, whereas Eastern cultures are more ying-yang theory-

based on a century-by-century individualistic to approach health and healing but please do not to be confuse this with Western individualism typically, anEastern approach is more holistic (see link). Western cultures are more outwardand Eastern more inward in their approaches to health and spirituality.

Typical Western Handsaw and Typical Eastern Handsaws

Something as simple as a handsaw can reveal deeply rooted cultural differencesbetween East and West. A Western handsaw is a steel blade with sharp teeth
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sULTwrKipchttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sULTwrKipchttp://trojanhealthconnection.com/?p=310http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sULTwrKipchttp://trojanhealthconnection.com/?p=310


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pointing outward and the cutting action is on the outward stroke, whereas anEastern handsaw is a steel blade with sharp teeth pointing inward with thecutting action on the inward stroke.

Perhaps a more violent or graphic example is the difference in the traditional

approaches to suicide. In the West suicide is often done in public by jumping off abuilding or a bridge, whereas in Japan suicide is and was often done in thecenturies old tradition of seppuku (see link) where a self-inflicted fatal stabwound often done in seclusion.

Karate Chop New Age Barriers

Although there are cultural barriers preventing full acceptance of New Agepractices and methodologies, the martial arts is perhaps the most marketable wayto promote and persuade people to accept alternative approaches to meditationor New Age approaches. Think about it. What makes a better ad campaign animage of Bruce Lee or Dr. Andrew Weil?

VS.Who would you pick?

Perhaps some might choose Dr. Weils image over the Bruce Lees, but obviouslyBruce Lee is one of the most iconic individuals of the modern world. Formillions, Bruce Lee is the embodiment of the martial arts and he is identifiedwith health, strength, spirituality, eastern methodologies and perhaps the mostprogressive style of martial arts ever witnessed.

Despite Eastern cultural shunning of individuality, Bruce Lee was a rebel. After
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seppukuhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seppuku


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mastering the ancient art of Wing Chun (see link), Bruce Lee selectively chosevarious techniques from the vast array of martial arts, such a Wing Chun, Boxing,Fencing and Jiu-Jitsu, creating his very own composite style of new age martialarts called Jeet Kune Do (see link).

Bruce Lee discouraged anyone from calling his martial arts a new style insteadhe preferred describing it as a composite style - a mixture of eastern and westernapproaches. Ever adapting the mind and body to the situation, Bruce Leesphilosophy was to become water. Water flows, bends, splashes, cuts, strikes,adapts and water becomes its surroundings. Akin to the New Age movement,Bruce Lee demonstrates that Eastern and Western philosophies can beintertwined and adaptable to the individual.

Bruce Lees popularity soared in the 1970s. Culturally, the 1970s is perhaps oneAmericas most significant decades and a decade that marked a greateracceptance of alternative approaches. From Motown, to classic American movies,to the creation of carrot cake, America and the West gradually became more openand more accepting of non-traditional approaches towards philosophy, vitamins,yoga, spirituality and the martial arts.

Independent films surged in popularity during this time. The film, One FlewOver The Cuckoos Nest questioned institutionalization and individuality. TheDeer Hunter portrayed individuals affected by the Vietnam War and de-glorifiedbattle. It was during this era that Bruce Lee changed the martial art genre withmovies like Enter The Dragon, Fist of Fury and Return of the Dragon, butmore importantly, Bruce Lee enabled million of people to be more accepting ofEastern influences.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wing_Chunhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeet_Kune_Dohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wing_Chunhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeet_Kune_Do


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Brazilian Jiu-jitsu

The origins of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu are vague. Some theories believe the martial art

developed in Indian by Buddhist Monks as a method of self-defense as theytraveled spreading the teachings of Buddha. Eventually Jiu-Jitsu spread toJapan, where it was further modified by the Samurai, evolving over hundreds ofyears into the sport of Judo.

Mitsuyo Maeda circa 1910

For centuries, the secrets of Jiu-Jitsu were hidden and only parts of it wereallowed to be learned by the public and adapted to Judo. It was during this time,the 1910s, that Mitsuyo Maeda, a Judo and Jiu-Jitsu master, immigrated to Braziland adapted the art to a more realistic martial art. It was this martial art thatCarlos and Heilo Gracie further transformed and harmoniously combined the

techniques of East and West into what is known today as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu orthe gentle art the most effective self-defense method in the world (watchvideo) and my very own personal gateway into a new age personal enlightenmentand meditation.
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the martial arts – your gateway to a new age perspective

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