Bokken practice is same as running ...

Yes, Bokken practice is same as running in terms of breathing patterns. I discovered that while my yesterday's work out. As the master was telling bokken practice is same as running is same as sitting down in meditation in Friday's class.

I was running on treadmill with an elevation level. I started following same breathing pattern as I did in the Friday's class while doing bokken practice. And what a surprise, running became as easy as that at no elevation level.

I had read something in connection with this in the book "Zen and the art of Archery" by Eugen Herrigel. Eugen Herrigel went to Japan to learn about Zen and picked up archery as the sport to learn the application of Zen. In his initial attempts, he mentions about how difficult it was to even stretch the string and put the arrow on the bow the way it is expected in the Zen art of archery. Within few shots, Herrigel would feel exhausted. His master explains to him that Herrigel has to develop the right breathing pattern. I couldn't make sense of it then but after this experience of mine, I can tell that it is 100% true.

So the master was telling ... Bokken practice is same as running is same as sitting down and meditating. Another aspect is that all should be instinctive and intuitive rather than driven out of intellect. We have learned to do everything through the intellect and it has suppressed our instinctive and intuitive behavior. Yes, it is true that we have to learn everything through the intellect, but then we have to do it so many times over and over again that it is removed from intellect or mind and becomes instinctive and intuitive. Mind you it is not mechanical or habitual. There should be an awareness behind it. The behavior has to come out only when needed and not otherwise. That's what no mind is. No conscious thought. A mind trying to become empty mind is not an empty mind because there is a thought of making mind empty.

To conclude this post, there is a Zen story. A man practiced archery for 20 years. He became master archer with 100% perfect aim. His master called him and said now give up the archery. Forget everything about it. The man followed it literally. Another twenty years passed.He forgot everything about archery even the word 'bow'. The master called on him again. Pleased with students progress, the master said, "When you go out, there will be birds in the sky. If you drop them in your mind, the birds will drop." The man went out. There were birds in the sky. He dropped them from his mind and the birds dropped ...

Sword practice and running ...

Yesterday I practiced with bokken (Japanese wooden sword used for practice instead of using Katana, the metal sword) for the first time. We did all the regular rigorous workout before and then the master said we can participate in bokken practice with others. Few of us didn't have bokkens of our own, but the master had brought some and let us use. So we stood there with bokkens in our hand, took the stance. Japanese sword is held with both the hands most of the times. The first lesson was to raise the sword above head and bring it down straight to the level of hara (navel). We were supposed to repeat this over and over again. Within few strokes, my hands started feeling heavy, my back started feeling the strain. Then I started exhaling breath with each stroke as I brought down the sword. I started exhaling with loud "shoo" sound. I got into rhythm of it and what a surprise, I stopped feeling all strain and pain. It became easy as breeze. Then master was counting loud in Japanese and at the end of each round there was a loud cry. The whole experience was sort of transcendental as I started getting the feeling of runner's high same as what I get while running. I think breathing was the key ...

The master was explaining ... how sitting in meditation is same as running is same as sword practice ... Zazen! At least I can say running is same as sword practice because I almost got the same runner's high in both the activities. I think breathing is the connecting factor ...

Other than that it was a sad day at class. We have lot of Japanese folks in our class. The earthquake and tsunamis devastated Japan. My master unfortunately lost few friends. We prayed for them and ended the class.

"The Centipede's Dilemma"

A centipede was happy quite,
Until a frog in fun
Said, "Pray, which leg comes after which?"
This raised her mind to such a pitch,
She lay distracted in the ditch
Considering how to run.


-- Anonymous

We were practising a pattern, everyone seemed to do well after doing it number of times. Then master changed the orientation of class i.e. earlier we were starting facing the mirror and he asked us to start facing the wall. And in very first attempt after changing the orientation, many of us missed. So as one can see any small thing can become a conscious thought in mind, which can throw us off. Which is exactly what above poem is saying. Until centipede was unaware of complexity of moving it's legs without interfering with each other, everything was fine but the moment a thought was introduced about how to consciously do it, everything went haywire.

In martial arts, we are supposed to learn through head and then forget, which means the technique should be so much assimilated in the body that there should be practically no need for applying brain - it should become instinctive.