Cultivating a Warrior Spirit
by Sifu John Loupos
There is a difference between
being a fighter and being a warrior. Not all fighters are warriors.
And, thankfully, not all warriors are fighters. At Jade Forest,
whether in the Kung Fu program or the Tai Chi Chuan program, warrior
spirit is an essential feature that all students are encouraged to
aspire to, regardless of age, as part of their personal and martial
development. Developing the ability to tap into your own personal
power, both physical and mental, is paramount for any warrior.
However, despite the martial connotations of Kung Fu or the "Chuan"
of Tai Chi, the true warrior tries to avoid violence. The key is to
"use" but not "abuse" your power in the most constructive way.
Wherein, then, lies the power of our art, if not in actually
using/testing what we learn against others who threaten us with harm
or encroach on our space?
Certainly, students must be prepared to apply their martial art
skills in the event that someone tries to physically harm them or
another person whom they wish to protect. But, such a scenario
aside, the greatest challenge to your health and wellbeing lies not
in the danger posed to you by others, but by your own inner self.
Just as there is no such thing as absolute Yin or Yang, but always a
relative balance between the two, so does every person have a
"shadow side", however friendly or good-natured they may be. Even
people who are outwardly happy, altruistic, or seemingly
well-adjusted have hidden aspects of themselves, or even just
moments in their lives, that entail insecurity, fear, envy,
stuckness or rigidity, cognitive or emotional laziness, ennui, or
simply a complacent disinclination to challenge themselves and grow
as a person. Any or all of these can interfere with your ability to
function as a truly happy, well-adjusted, and creative individual.
Hypothetically, you could spend a lifetime defeating enemies or
challenges from outside, yet fail to find lasting peace within. How
many people do you know who you can say are truly happy? Your most
important order of business, therefore, is to know yourself.
In truth, warrior spirit has very little to do with war.
Rather, it has to do with impeccability - impeccability of spirit.
In this sense, warrior spirit implies the very opposite of those
negative qualities listed above. Warrior spirit is more synonymous
to that quality known in Chinese martial arts as Yi, or clear and
powerful mind intent. In order to exercise your Yi you must have a
clear intention, and an equally clear awareness of your self.
Naturally, this ability or quality doesn't just happen on its own
just because you think it sounds like a good idea. It happens when
you set your heart and mind to accomplishing self-knowledge and
personal improvement, and as a rule only then over and extended
period of time. Even once you set your mind to the task of a new
self-paradigm actually implementing it requires a certain context,
one that supports your goals. This where Kung Fu and Tai Chi can be
most useful in helping you to develop warrior spirit, because
the context in which you practice your art encourages an awareness
of "self" that you are not likely to experience while engaged at
your usual every day tasks of work, school, leisure, family, etc.
Kung Fu and Tai Chi both tend to be activities that challenge your
personal status quo by compelling you to become more aware of
yourself, and of your self. This includes your limitations
and your possibilities in new and, sometimes frustrating, sometimes
challenging, and sometimes exciting ways. It is the process of
practicing your art over an extended study that allows you to
gradually increase your ability to be present to yourself, and to
behave more deliberately as a direct result of a more focused
attention and intention. These are the steps that lay a foundation
for developing warrior spirit and for allowing you to come to
terms with your own inner challenges. If and once you are able to
attain a sense of warrior spirit you'll find yourself able to apply
it in all areas of your life, even outside the training that
inspired it.