Blog Article/Post Caveat (Read First Please: Click the Link)
The Chinese Bubishi teaches that throughout the day (24 hours) the human body ebbs and flows accordingly as to energy, power and force.
I believe this to be true both from personal experiences and from modern research.
In the Bubishi it is suggested that martial applications are effected dependent on cycles in our bodies according to natures cycles of moon, sun, tides and the weather and seasons. Then add in where on the planet you live such as close to the equator or closer to the poles.
Research, going on memory because I didn't keep the reference, has shown that such daily, time and season does effect us both physiological and psychological.
Apparently, we also all have a unique reaction according to the cycles such as some are more productive in the morning and less so at night.
In modern times we also have to deal with effects from sudden changes and effects from traveling from location and environments as well as cultural differences to others like locations, etc.
Michael Clarke Sensei wrote an article on Shinseidokan blog on the time of day aspect and, of course, his article inspired this one - Thanks Mike Sensei.
For me, my training, practice, study and application is best served by efforts applied in the mornings. I can spend my time from about 5a.m., till around 1p.m.
When I ran my dojo's I always felt less productive because all the sessions were from about 6p.m. To 8 or 9p.m., evenings.
I am way productive in the mornings and that held true during my Marine experiences too. Reveille at 0500 hours till lights out at 2100 hours - daily.
I also believe at one time before we decided to watch time and the advent of the clock humans depended on a natural connection to the cycles of seasons, etc., to maintain our perception to time, weather and seasons. Humans have not evolved beyond those natural and necessary needs and connections much to our detriment.
I have come to a personal conclusion that our brains Abe aspects that still connect us as individual groups as to things like empathy as well as effects of nature's cycles and a good deal of our modern stresses come from our loss to that connection due to modern technologies, etc.
I also look at that disconnect as one reason that conflict and violence has gone to higher levels with a great deal of the modern tendency toward a very aggressive verbal violent attack.
According to the Bubishi as translated by Patrick McCarthy Sensei, the references to the cycles I mention begins with, “Meridian Channels in Chinese Medicine,” page 112 and then go on to others, i.e., “Article 11: Twelve-Hour Theory Recuperative Herbal Prescriptions, page 119, Vital Point Analysis, page 148, Articles on Vital Points, page 171, Article 24: Bronze Man Statue, page 182,”
As you can see from the reference made from the Bubishi, to break down methods to coincide with time of day to applied method does take away from proper application of principles except for a "Shu-ha-Ti" model with such sub-atomic like breakdown for knowledge and understanding so that we, as practitioners, can achieve the benefits of shy-ha-ri while benefiting applications with these teachings of the Bubishi.
I recommend caution when trying to implement the Bubishi's teachings into your practice. Although the ancient Chinese are thought of highly for their work, still a lot of it is without scientific backing or the vetting from experience in combat, fighting and for our modern times - self-defense.
It is also prudent for students of karate, martial arts and Bubishi to practice and train toward the reality of fighting, combatives and the modern world of self-defense,iI.e., how that training relates to appropriate levels of force and modern perceptions and distinctions to the mandates of society, that of the law and of the legal system.
Remember, an attack requiring self-defense is never going to happen at convenient times and when it does you can count on it being such that you will not be able to think of what time of day it is, what the season is and other such things. You can only hope your training in the “HA” levels will allow you to access procedural memory to find those zombie sub-routines that will be using fundamental principled driven multiple defense methodologies to get-r-done.
Taking it back to the true modern nature of karate and martial arts, that of a kara-te-DO that is less about the jutsu and more about the “Way of life” or path the one travels utilizing the method of karate and martial arts toward a perfection of self with mastery over a moral life, humility and enlightenment.
Remember, modern karate begin its journey down this less combative, fighting and defensive model toward a more metaphysical model through the more meditative body-mind practice that actually began pre-1905, etc., to include the effort to make them suitable toward the educational systems of Japan and Okinawa. Once the new version of karate was formed the new characters/ideograms when officially accepted on Okinawa around 1936 it solidified the newer pathway educational versions that were passed on to the military occupiers starting around the early fifties.
Lastly, the study and practice of the concepts toward cycles for karate and martial arts are beneficial even if not actually in a defensive way but in a health, fitness and well-being way. Take it as a means to make adjustments toward how you teach your system or style. It also gives us information about our selves so that we can maximize our training and practice for greater efficient and productive results.
Such things do benefit training and practice regardless, regardless of the distinctions of an individuals goals be they self-defense, sport competitions, club like social collectives, combatives and psychological self-improvement efforts.
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