Focusing on Keeping the Main Thing the “Main Thing”
Nov 10, 2019
The Thing
This is hilarious!
I was sent this by a buddy around Halloween along the lines of a Charlie Brown Halloween Special he’d like to see called, “It’s The Thing Charlie Brown”. You’ve got to admit this is pretty funny.
But seeing this picture it got me thinking about something I’ve been meaning to blog about.
If you ever saw John Carpenters “The Thing” which was a remake from the original movie starring James Arness as “The Thing”. Next to “Alien”, it was probably the most insane Sci-Fi movie of its time. The reason it was called “The Thing” was because you really didn’t know what it was other than an alien creature that devoured it’s host, duplicated them and then continued on likewise. You never got to see what the Thing was in its original form. So you really never knew what it was. The other point I wouldn’t notice until years later as I saw the sequel to the movie was that no matter how the creature tried to duplicate its host, it was never quite the same, there was always something “off” about the copy.
Well, the same can be said about much of what passes for training in the martial arts especially in the realm of reality-based systems. You can look at it but never quite know what it's supposed to be. But if you use your powers of discernment filtered through the lense of reality eventually you can look at something and no matter how it looks, like the copies in the movie "The Thing" you can see that there is something missing, that somethings off.
First of all, when I’m talking about “The Thing” as it relates to self-defense, the main thing that I’m discussing is what is the essence of what the thing is? The essence of the thing you want to do? The thing you want to develop? This along with focusing on developing all of the other subtle things and salient “points” that make “The Thing” work.
To me the "Main Thing" is the ability to move combatively, to move better than your adversary, to be able to get ahead of his movement and smite him where he stands before he can get his stuff off.
To win the damn fight!
This is the "essence" of Warrior Flow the Raison d'etre...
"I will find a way or make one."
- Hannibal
To find a way to win at all costs, to stand in that space and protect your loved ones, or "make one".
This is the spirit in which Warrior Flow practitioners train and "no thing" that can be studied, understood, trained to that could give us the advantage in battle, whether physical or psychological is overlooked.
We don't know what we don't know until we know it, and we won't know it until we know it.
We train not because we are "brave" or "wise", but because "we refuse to be cowards and fools".
That is the difference... the Warrior Flow difference.
This is the Warrior Flow Way!
Perceptions of Time
“Perception is a tool pointed at both ends.”
- Hannibal
Just as our perception of our fears can magnify them. Along the lines of “The Thing” that you want to develop before I go too far down the Rabbit Hole on this, I want to cover this a little because it needs to be understood and that is how "Time" affects movement or motion and our perceptions of it. No matter what without movement there is no fight. As one of my Masters used to always say, “You’re just dealing with motion”. In other words, it’s just movement.
“Never let them catch you in the bag boys, never let them catch you in the bag or your done…”
- Col Robert Faucet, USMC, (ret)
“Combat is movement”, “War is movement”, a "Street Fight is movement", “Thought is movement”, and until somebody moves nothing for the most part happens. Because at the end of the day the thing I’m going to go over influences “all movement” and our perceptions of it and how to deal with it. This is an inescapable truth!
So no matter how big, how strong or how fast your antagonist may be, until he can overcome how the known universe works, he’s just as vulnerable to decapitation as the next guy and if you get what I’m going to cover in some of these blog posts. You will develop the proper mindset and “The Thing” in this context on how to train to get ahead of movement.
For those who’ve read a number of my blog posts then you’ll know that I spend an awful lot of electrons trying to explain how “time” works for combat. The Legendary Bruce Lee as far back as I can remember was one of the first people to discuss this concept of “distancing and timing” as he called it. Now, I’m sure others knew of it and were familiar with how “action/reaction” works. Even Musashi stated along the lines of, “...when you make him flinch you’ve won”. So this is not new. The point is both of them as well as the military scholars like Sun Tzu, von Clausewitz, and others understood not only the importance the role time plays in combat but its “relative nature” and how it affected battle.
It’s because we as humans exist within the universe and are bound by her physical laws and are therefore subject to the relative nature of time and how we experience it as humans. That, in my view as martial artists, as pugilists, as warriors we must master the understanding of time and or perception of it as best we can for we sure as hell can't escape it.
Any warrior who trains without an appreciation for how time affects the battle, affects his movement, his actions thereof. As the song "Locomotive Breath" by Jethro Tull, says, "...runs the all-time loser... headlong to his death..."
Yeah... you'll be that guy...
In his excellent article, “No Such Thing as Now: The present? Blink and you’ll miss it. And other musings on time”. Author Marcelo Gleiser, discusses this where he writes,
“A famous example is the definition of simultaneity when two or more events are said to happen at the very same time. Einstein explained that two events that happen simultaneously for an observer A, happen at different times for an observer B in motion with respect to A.
Einstein, living near the train station in Bern at the time, used trains to illustrate. Imagine A is standing by the station as a train goes by. When the train is exactly halfway through, two lightning strikes hit its front and back. Observer A measures the time it takes for light from the strikes to hit her and concludes they did it at the same time: they were simultaneous. Observer B, however, was inside the moving train. To him, the lightning striking the front came to him before the one hitting the back. The reason is simple, Einstein suggested: since light travels at the same speed no matter what (and this was his revolutionary assumption), and the train is moving forward, the lighting hitting the front would have a shorter distance to travel and, hence, would come to him before the strike in the back, that had to catch up with the moving train.
Now, for normal train speeds, the difference is ridiculously small. That’s why we don’t notice such things in ordinary life. And that’s why Newton’s approximation of absolute time, irrespective of the observer’s motion, works for everyday stuff. But as speeds increase and get closer to the speed of light, the differences are noticeable; and have been measured countless of times in laboratory and other experiments, confirming Einstein’s special theory of relativity. Time and its perception is indeed quite subtle.”
The point of this is to show that time doesn’t work quite the way we mostly think of it and our perception of it is "observational" and not "absolute" but “relative”.
I’ve expressed this “relativeness” in a number of ways such as how human reaction time works, the OODA Loop or better known as “The Boyd Cycle”, the 7 Dimensions of Combat, Stopping Time, Slowing Time, Anticipation, Adumbration, Getting to The Future to “Play where the Puck is Going to Be”, and Learning How to Move Sooner, and of course my favorite and that is what I call the “Quantum Sphere” or “Quantum Sphere of Human Movement”, and on it goes.
Because we occupy “multiple dimensions” of space simultaneously how we understand how to move our physical bodies within it is of vital importance in battle. More importantly how we perceive time influences how we experience it “and” directly influences the choices we make in the battle. In war, we call this “Battlespace Geometry” and included in that equation is the concept of "time -space-logistics".
End up in the wrong place at the wrong time in the battle and “sayonara”!
The point is there is a timing to all this that cannot be ignored. Moreover, the same that applies in war in a microcosm also applies in any self-defense situation whether fighting on the street or your home.
Therefore, how you move within time and space are matters of life and death in combat, something a warrior should never forget.
It’s funny because it never ceases to amaze me how in the martial arts we place a premium on things such as speed and power and striking with the proper timing yet when presented with how it works on the most fundamental level. The very people who go around spouting off at the mouth about it haven’t’ a clue but even worse, no desire to know how time as it relates to fighting really works.
Or they say that certain things cannot be done at “high speed” or in a “real fight”, yet people do these things in contact sports all-of-the-time while moving at full speed. I guess they’ve never seen a wide receiver in football stretch his body out and catch a ball before going out of bounds where they seemingly stop all forward motion to make the catch while keeping their feet in bounds. Happens every weekend during football season in the NFL, college and high school level.
Folks I see things that people are not supposed to be able to do in a real fight on YouTube “all-of-the-time” so I really don’t know what these folks are talking about. My suggestion is to do your own research and think for yourself. Understand one of the reasons why I keep referencing how the universe works is because I always remember that my perceptions of a fight are influenced based on my experiences and depending on what the "context" of the situation was. Determined my understanding of that experience because remember everything has its own dynamic. So the only thing that is constant is how the universe works and how we as humans interact in it. All else is subjective and depending on the situation may not even be relevant in a different context.
Wisdom From The Force
Over the years I have taught on these concepts as they relate to the martial arts and I can tell you without a doubt. Those who make the effort to understand how humans move within the known universe are able to develop a proper understanding of how to develop their minds and bodies for combat and continually improve.
Those who scoff at how we as humans interact in the world do not grow beyond whatever physical abilities they already possess. It really is that obvious to me…
They have superficial goals so they achieve superficial results.
They do not seek the "unexpected" so they don't find it.
They say it can't be done so they do not try therefore, they cannot "do".
They deny its existence so they cannot see it with their minds, nor can they see it with their eyes.
Like I’ve said before there is the way the universe works then there are our perceptions of it (i.e., that shit we have in our heads) and how it works. Now if what you perceive is consistent with how the universe works then there is no issue.
However...
However, if your “perceptions” don’t align with the way the universe works?
Let me help you, fuck your perceptions, fuck your feelings, and get over yourself…
No really, because if you can’t get on board with the truth there is a place you just cannot get to and will never get too.
The universe doesn't give a "rats ass" what you or I think so fuck your feelings and get over yourself.
This is the level of clarity you seek if you wish to advance in skill...
This is the Way, the Warrior Flow Way...
How to Begin
"Day by day we become what we do."
- Heraclitus
Okay now… I’m always asked from a training standpoint the question,
Aside from doing certain exercises to develop the body what else can do to develop “X” or “Y”?
So, I’m going to pull the curtain back a little and I’ve touched on this in the past but I don’t think I’ve adequately explained it. So while you’ll want to continue to do the basic exercises as they are designed to build the foundation for your body to develop what I call in Warrior Flow the “Dynamic-Coordination”. You then want to begin the process of “polishing” and “refining” all of your movement through “smooth movement” including when practicing the exercises. This will begin the process for you to develop those micro-muscles so to speak to also control fine motor coordination only instead of just trying to develop it in your arms or hands (a terrible mistake people make in training including the martial arts) you’ll develop this throughout your “entire body”.
The main thing is developing “Mastery” and “100% percent control” or as close to it, over your body and the ability to be able to "move deliberately" without thought (subconscious competence). Remember that this shit is not random, now the lottery is random and even in that... Hmm... I’m not so sure. You see whether you move correctly or incorrectly or not at all there was a reason for it but no matter what it was far from "random". It only seems random from your “perspective” if you do not understand it. [Note: I will build on the concept of "Mastery" at a later time.]
What I mean is the ability to control your body where you are only moving as natural as possible doing only those movements at that time in your body necessary to complete the task at hand (i.e., focusing on what “the thing is). Eventually, your body will begin to learn how to deal with “the thing” at hand as well as begin to move to where it knows it needs to be in the future without thought. Yeah, this is way cool and the essence “The Thing” of Mushin or Flow.
Think of this, the old Chinese Warrior Monks used to always talk about mastering your mind by mastering control over your body. They were onto something and probably knew more about this sort of thing than we do now. Maybe they didn’t have the ten-dollar words we use to describe these things now but trust me they knew what the hell they were talking about.
Here's the deal the main thing your brain does or one of its primary functions is to "physically" move your body. This is why physical activity is so crucial to be not only healthy but is a major contributor towards developing higher brain function and "neuroplasticity" and all that good stuff. Believe it or not, your physicality is a part of your intellect. So not only does it contribute to our emotions and wellbeing as to how we view ourselves via our self-image but also to developing higher cognitive abilities.
As the saying above the secret is by starting off slow you train the muscles, the body, the timing until you can do it without much conscious thought of how to move in the body. From there as you refine and polish your movements you will become more proficient, competent and confident, but you must start slow and only after developing a thing to some level can you add speed. This is something you want to do as early in your training as possible since speed changes the way we move on a "profound level". But this will be a topic for another post.
The time frame for when to make this switch in terms of increasing speed varies depending on the skill you're trying to develop. But I can tell you a lot of things in the martial arts don't take "years" to develop. Mastery? Sure but on a basic level of proficiency where you can fight? No way! Like I said in my last post I train people how to strike in minutes. This shit is not hard, people just make it hard in the way they present information.
If the military can train people to do complex tasks in less than a year and in many cases less than six months then there is no excuse for people having to spend years and years to develop basic Warrior Skills.
Here we go…
1) Practice moving "slowly" and as "smooth" and as "deliberate" in your movements as possible - In all that you do, and not just when you are practicing some martial technique or exercise. Remember to your body a punch is just a punch, a kick is a kick, it’s just movement and as far as your body is concerned throwing a punch is not any different than throwing a baseball, it’s just something you command it to do. The movement only has meaning based on the intent or context that you apply to it.
The reason I say this is because you'll want to practice this as much as possible in all that you do throughout your day. Whether lifting a glass of water to drink or opening a door or whatever. You want to be as smooth and deliberate as possible focusing your attention on just doing that thing and that thing only you are doing at the time. This begins the process of your body become more controlled and aware of what it is doing at the time it is doing it. Eventually, this becomes just the way you move. In other words, your trying to change on a fundamental level how your entire body moves within time and space. This is “The Thing” in this application you want to focus on.
(One day I'll probably do a post of how to train yourself to combine multiple attributes where you do them near simultaneously. This is not what people sometimes incorrectly refer to as multitasking this is a different thing. Such as how I teach people how to strike from seemingly "everywhere" and "nowhere". Final point on this because it needs to be said, "multitasking" is pure bullshit and just teaches people how to do many things poorly. No! What I'm talking about is teaching people how to do something seamlessly where each attribute works with and reinforces the action of all the others. Folks Warrior Flow is just a different jam...)
2) "Zen Out" with the Movement - this same process of moving on purpose develops what Grandmaster Carron taught me about how to develop "purposeful habits". This idea of developing purposeful habits is what this slow smooth movement and deliberate movement develops. After that, as you practice with your weapons or whatever, the better your body moves the easier it is to control the weapon the more it becomes a part of your or a mere extension of who you are. Understand that there is a part of what we call in Warrior Flow our "Perceptual Awareness" where we have a sense of where we are and then we have this sense of where our body ends and where the outside world begins to what people refer to as "the other". When your body moves in this fashion what happens is that things that you physically touch over time become so much a part of you, where at times it can even feel as if "the line" where you begin and where the object or thing you are holding begins becomes blurred. This is the sense that you want to develop with your weapons (and or other people) so that you can then focus on doing the thing you need to do.
3) Moving Masterfully will enable you to move “faster” - Believe it or not, as you continue to build up the level of control over your body “moving smoothly” you will actually be able to move faster and faster. This is because as you gain greater control over your body the efficiency in your movement will remove all of the unnecessary movement and antagonistic muscular movements in your body and you will be able to move “more naturally” and at supernatural speeds. The key is in order to move at as I like to call it “supernatural speed” you have to train the muscles first thus the smooth movement practice. Then gradually practice doing the same things faster and faster and faster etc., while trying to remain as smooth as possible focusing on being as accurate in your movement as possible controlling the tendency to over-travel in your movement.
Eventually, this type of movement will begin to take over all of your movement where as long as you move within the natural range of motion in your body the various ways in which you can move within your body become virtually limitless. That is because within the natural range of motion (or Quantum Sphere of Movement) as to how we can move as humans we have virtually an unlimited range of motion relative to what we can naturally do in our bodies.
Warrior Flow is all about this about moving in ways that give you the combative advantage to crush the enemy or neutralize them before it becomes a problem “for you”.
Like I’ve said, Warrior Flow is a different vibe all together…
Well, that’s it, for now, I’m going to build on this in the next installment and discuss some other ways to learn to move with better Combative Movement.
Until next time...
Thank you.
Al Ridenhour
CEO, Creator Warrior Flow™