It doesn't matter which art you study, Karate, taekwondo, Kenpo or whatever, you simply must see the thought behind any attack. I have written about this subject since my first articles in the martial arts magazines back in 1981. I find it odd that nobody else writes about it.
I originally described this idea by analogizing somebody driving down a street. Drive down that street enough time, and you start to know where the kids are playing, where the lights turn, and so on. In the martial arts, do the forms application enough times, and you know what it means when the opponent lifts his shoulder, turns his foot, and otherwise sets himself up.
I was working with a class once, and this fellow was watching, and he said, "What if they threw a punch instead?" I'd handled the 'what if' character many times, and I told him to throw a punch at me. He half pivoted in my direction.
He sunk his weight, and I knew how he was going to turn, the angle of his punch, everything. And, I experienced a cartoon overlay of him punching me--I saw it happen in a separate reality before it happened. And then it didn't occur.
He simply gave up and didn't punch me. Well, of course. I had seen the thought behind his action--I had defeated his thought, and that had pulled the plug on any physical manifestation of his thought.
Over the years I read tales of other people doing this. Foremost among the martial arts stories was the experience of Morihei Ueshiba, who perceived a bullet coming out of the barrel of a gun. He saw the thought before the attack, and so was able to handle that thought.
Now, why doesn't it happen for everybody? The answer is simple, because everybody is not a fanatic. Or, let me get personal, you are not a fanatic.
Are you willing to give up education and a high paying career, endure meatloaf instead of steak, spend all your off hours sweating in a training hall with other like minded individuals? Are you willing to spend all your time and money practicing, reading everything ever written on the martial arts, delving into the oddities and weaknesses of your own individual personality? Are you willing to endure starting over again in art after martial art--Kung Fu, Taekwondo, Ninjitsu--then maybe you'll make it; maybe you'll actually gain the ability to see the idea before the action.
I originally described this idea by analogizing somebody driving down a street. Drive down that street enough time, and you start to know where the kids are playing, where the lights turn, and so on. In the martial arts, do the forms application enough times, and you know what it means when the opponent lifts his shoulder, turns his foot, and otherwise sets himself up.
I was working with a class once, and this fellow was watching, and he said, "What if they threw a punch instead?" I'd handled the 'what if' character many times, and I told him to throw a punch at me. He half pivoted in my direction.
He sunk his weight, and I knew how he was going to turn, the angle of his punch, everything. And, I experienced a cartoon overlay of him punching me--I saw it happen in a separate reality before it happened. And then it didn't occur.
He simply gave up and didn't punch me. Well, of course. I had seen the thought behind his action--I had defeated his thought, and that had pulled the plug on any physical manifestation of his thought.
Over the years I read tales of other people doing this. Foremost among the martial arts stories was the experience of Morihei Ueshiba, who perceived a bullet coming out of the barrel of a gun. He saw the thought before the attack, and so was able to handle that thought.
Now, why doesn't it happen for everybody? The answer is simple, because everybody is not a fanatic. Or, let me get personal, you are not a fanatic.
Are you willing to give up education and a high paying career, endure meatloaf instead of steak, spend all your off hours sweating in a training hall with other like minded individuals? Are you willing to spend all your time and money practicing, reading everything ever written on the martial arts, delving into the oddities and weaknesses of your own individual personality? Are you willing to endure starting over again in art after martial art--Kung Fu, Taekwondo, Ninjitsu--then maybe you'll make it; maybe you'll actually gain the ability to see the idea before the action.
About the Author:
I should say that learning how to matrix your martial arts will speed up the action. When you Matrix an Art it makes the whole process incredibly logical and simple. Head on over to Monster Martial Arts to find out about Matrixing.