Effortless Power - Part 3

[Note: This is part Three of Five in this series on Effortless Power by Yosef Susskind, 4th Degree Instructor GUIDED CHAOS. Once again I want to thank Yosef for allowing me to post this to my blog. For Parts - 1 and 2 go here: https://protectyourself.mykajabi.com/blog/effortless-power-part-1-2   and  https://protectyourself.mykajabi.com/blog/2 ]

By Yosef Susskind

In “Effortless Power” parts one and two, we identified an ability that has been displayed by the greatest fighters and athletes on film.  They are the true outliers in every physical undertaking, who seem to have a qualitative advantage over their competitors. 

Viewed objectively, one can hardly believe that these outliers practice the same drills and exercises as their teammates, at the same training camps, with the same coaches. 

They perform fine motor movements with an ease and grace that belies the awesome power they generate.  They accomplish this even as they transgress the rules of “correct” technique. 

They move with childlike freedom that grants them spontaneity and creativity, which their rivals cannot keep astride.

Every physical training regimen promises to grant effortless power.  If these systems were capable of training effortless power, why don’t they work for everyone on the team? 

Why is it that only a handful in each generation reach the pinnacle of natural movement, and their peers, who train just as hard, remain second tier? 

Certainly we can attribute this to talent, but in truth, the fault lies not only with the aptitude of the individuals, but with a fundamental flaw in their training.

The reason that coaches, trainers, and martial arts masters are unable to turn the vast majority of people into outliers is because they have failed to determine the physical principles that make the outliers who they are. 

If they were to divine the principles behind the outlier’s performance, they might then discover a way to make them teachable.

Guided Chaos, created by Grandmaster John Perkins, offers a training methodology that delineates the principles at work in the outliers’ feats of greatness. 

It demystifies the power of the adept, and makes it accessible to the average practitioner.  Deepening one’s understanding of the art’s principles is part of the mental effort our students make to achieve the proper mindset—for training, and for the moment of truth. 

Coupled with a functional understanding and a righteous mindset, refining one’s mastery of the principles imparts the neuromuscular coordination that results in effortless execution. 

The crowning achievement of Guided Chaos is not the outliers who choose to train with us, but the fact that we turn everyday enthusiasts into outliers.  Guided Chaos is a methodology that makes excellence teachable. 

Guided Chaos begins with the five foundational principles.  The first four—Balance, Looseness, Sensitivity, and Body Unity—culminate in the fifth principle:  Freedom of Action. 

Freedom of Action is the name we give to the defining attributes of masters and champions.  It describes the outliers’ capacity to execute the most intricate movements with grace and power, to act effortlessly, spontaneously, and most important, creatively.  

Students who desire effortless power must understand that effortless power is just one facet of a greater capacity, a component of Freedom of Action.  Without Freedom of Action, power is irrelevant. 

Power without creativity is a heavyweight who can’t out-position his opponent.  It is a 300lbs lineman who can only push in one direction.   It is a two-hundred and eighty mile Maginot Line. 

Effortless power grants potency to creative movement.  It is not an end in itself, but only a means, a prerequisite to moving creatively with devastating effect.  Mistaking power for the end goal, rather than creativity, is walking down the path of defeat. 

Power is a luxury—cunning is a necessity.  Every one of us is strong enough to crush a trachea, lance an eyeball, or hyper-extend cervical vertebrae like the joint of a fried chicken wing. 

If we can outfox our opponent and deliver our strikes, our chances of going home remain high.  No matter how powerful we are, if our opponent outmaneuvers us, our chances are slim.  It is better to hit with a 9mm than to miss with a grand old .45.

Nine times out of ten, when we become fixated on cultivating power, we do so at the expense of creativity.  By recognizing Freedom of Action as our consummate goal, we contextualize our pursuit of effortless power, and prevent ourselves from fixating on the wrong things. 

This allows us to focus on developing our mastery of the principles, the principles which not only produce effortless power, but ultimately, produce outliers.  

In the coming articles, we will begin to explore how the five principles build on each other and manifest in effortless power.

Copyright 10/29/17 copyrighted.com Z7QU-PZ8O-A3YC-JWDS

Yosef Susskind a 4th Degree Black Belt Instructor in Guided Chaos, who has trained with Grandmaster John Perkins and Senior Master Al Ridenhour since 2003. He is the editor of the Guided Chaos Instructors Guide, and writes newsletters on the mental and technical aspects of the art. He holds a bachelor of arts in literature from Columbia University and a master of arts in philosophy from Duquesne, and has lectured on Nietzsche, Plato, existentialism, and symbolic logic. As a security consultant with a background in executive protection and event security, he has protected prime-time network TV hosts, Fortune 500 executives, and Israeli dignitaries, and provided security at some of the most high-risk nightlife venues in New York City.