Warrior Flow State
“All men are basically the same and he who is best is trained in the severest of schools.”
-- Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War
What was true then is still true today…
You’re either trained or you’re not, it’s really that simple and the sage words of Thucydides ring as true today as they did in 5th century BC.
In his day being a warrior was the highest level of attainment that an Athenian could attain for no one was more noble and admired than the man who could stand in the breach and protect his family, his nation, “Athens”.
Even today with the resurgence of the warrior ethos you see a return a “yearning” for this way of thinking because in the way of the warrior are imbued all of the traits that are most admired. Courage, faith, loyalty, selflessness, sacrifice.
This resurgence has led to the explosion of programs like CrossFit, Tough Mudder and Spartan Run and a whole host of warrior like challenges and exercise programs. All good stuff. Heck there’s even an entrainment show that explores this called “Ninja Warrior” and the list goes on. This desire to endure challenge, to have our metal tested, to stand for something greater than ourselves should not be underestimated.
But there is something else that people have also deduced for themselves that the traits of the warrior also enable one to perform at a level that seems to exceed what we think we are capable of. That there is a mindset, a thought process that transcends what our physical bodies seem to be able to accomplish, that thing that separates two people of relative equal physical ability yet their performance is literally as far apart as Heaven is to Hell.
In the martial arts above all the most lusted after application of skill that people seek is this thing referred to by many names such as Mushin Mind, Za Zen in sports it’s called The Zone, Mindfulness or the “Flow State”. This elusive quality that seems to transcend all technique and known boundaries of physical ability.
The ability to know without knowing, to think without thought. The whole concept is at the root of the legendary tales of invincible masters who were believed to be imbued with the power of the gods.
“No one is so brave that they are not startled by the unexpected.”
-- Julius Caesar
Even in the military with all of our training “flow” is a much sought to after quality for it allows us to perform in a way that helps us conquer or at least push past our greatest enemy, “irrational fear”.
As a former Marine, a Combat Veteran, a Rifleman, and Martial Artist. One thing that I have discovered having been engaged in warrior arts since I was young. I can attest that irrational fear is the number one obstacle to attaining the Flow State.
Controlling fear is a huge thing for all of us. We don’t like it because of the way it makes us feel for fear makes us feel as if we are out of control of our world and our bodies. We don’t like to feel powerless so we seek out those things that provide us with a level of certainty or control. The flow state seems to focus us in ways where for those who have experienced it fear seems to for the most part disappear.
When in flow you feel as if you are watching yourself perform outside of your body as if in the third person. Or as if the world seems to slow down, as if everything is effortless, your body in flow feels completely different as if floating, powerful yet light, your mind focused, your vision while narrowed to what you are doing everything appears more vivid. It is a way cool sensation and one that I can see why people have gone to extremes to tap into.
Flow you see, has been around since the Greeks with their concept of “ecstasis” yet while many books have written on it where people have identified the problem of achieving it. Few (virtually none) really offer a method of attaining it.
So, while the warrior arts are a natural extension toward achieving flow one thing I have noticed is that most people only achieve it by accident. I believe this is because not only do they have the wrong training modality but they start at the wrong end with their training.
You see much of what we call fear or as I like to refer to it as “irrational fear”, doesn’t just reside in our minds but probably more so “in our bodies”. It is this lack of understand and lack of focus on developing the body through a proper modality of training in a logical progressive manner that inhibits the development of flow. Without changing how the body responds to fear and stress I believe (I know) it is impossible to achieve flow. This is why it seems outside of the military that the only people who experience this on a consistent basis are those who participate in extreme or high precision sports or contact sports.
Warrior Flow, which is an outgrowth of my system "Warrior Flow Combatives" is different, the program utilizes the martial arts through a series of progress exercises and drills to develop what I call the “Warrior Flow State” or “Warrior Flow”. That optimum state of performance that everyone in every endeavor whether in sport, or under duress seek to obtain, to harness, to own. To enter into “seemingly” without thought. To perform in a way where all under Heaven falls to your will.
As General George S. Patton once said,
“In comparison to war all of man’s accomplishments and endeavors shrink it insignificance…”
No truer words could have been spoken because, you see when it comes down to it, the only thing we truly have the only thing we truly own is our lives and that of our loved ones. Take that away from a man and you take away all that he has.
Nowhere is the ability to enter into the Warrior Flow State more critical than when faced with your own mortality or that of your loved ones. Very few things in life are more stressful than that. Warriors and those who have been in harm’s way understand this because they have lived it.
However, the way of the warrior and attaining the skills of the warrior and more importantly the Warrior Flow State is available to anyone who is willing to pay the price. To develop the ability to achieve above what they think they are capable of in the body they already have through proper body movement dynamics, and learn to fundamentally “repattern” their body. To become better in both movement and thought and their “perceptions” of what is the art of the possible.
Understand that the military does not have a monopoly on the warrior arts nor the truth. We are all human and even those like myself who have served in the military at one time in our lives we were not Marines or Soldiers, we learned and became those things. And just as we learned so can you.
Now, I want you to imagine for yourself that I idealized self the person you not only want to be but were born to be. Imagine, seeing in your mind just for a moment standing in that space at a point in the future looking back from where you were. Already, feeling yourself occupying that space, stronger more capable than before, “better”.
When you are trained to possess the “moral certainty”, “mindfulness” and “perfect clarity” to see the world as it is. Having experienced in the body what it’s like to push past fear you not only know what to do but are able and willing to do something about it.
The Warrior Flow State is all about this.
Warrior Flow State or Warrior Flow is uniquely designed to create a “shift” in your thought process, to help you see in your mind that which is possible. But in order to do this you must first be able to feel and know it in the body. In Warrior Flow we have a philosophy: proficiency fosters competence, which enables you to stand in that space between courage and fear called “confidence”.
Culminating in a nearly forty-years of experience both in and out of the military too include training people in the military, law enforcement and people who provide VIP protection on five continents. This program is specifically designed to achieve a level of “presence” to stand in that space where they choose to position themselves both in their personal life and in the world.
At some point in your life, I don’t care who you are you have to choose whether to stand on that bridge and “own it”.
WARRIOR FLOW STATE training is dedicated to helping individuals both mentally and physically achieve a level of “gravitas” they never thought possible.
If you believe you are ready for the next step in your development, then you need to take the leap of faith and step up.
I promise you the change is forever…
Al Ridenhour
CEO, STRENGTH FROM WITHIN, LLC
Creator of Warrior Flow State
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