Consciously Martial Arts
The Tai Chi of the Two Directions

Questions for Week 2

When asked, "how do you best learn?" most people usually respond with either a technique, like, "in a classroom," or by naming their favorite sense, like, "I learn best visually." Unfortunately, this implies most people define "learning" as the ability to parrot the correct answer.

What is wrong with this? We believe that "parroting the correct answer" creates parrots, not students; dullards, not Einsteins. So how can we create more Einsteins? By asking questions which are intended to provoke the student's own questions. More important, we see this as the best way with which to reawaken in students the love of learning.

This week's topic is, "Consciously Martial Arts: The Tai Chi of the Two Directions." Would you like to actually awaken your love of learning about this topic? You can, simply by reading the teacher's questions and then, by asking yourself, "what questions did these words just provoke in me?"

"Consciously Martial Arts: The Tai Chi of the Two Worlds"

Teacher's Questions (asked by Ed)

• How can Martial Arts and Emergence blend to create conscious warriors? Are there common wounds that people who study Martial Arts share? How many students who study martial arts have been wounded by fighting and violence? How will knowledge of wounds and states of being affect the process of learning a martial art such as Tai Chi? How will knowledge of the layers of aloneness affect learning and teaching a martial art? How will knowledge of holes affect learning and teaching? How can knowledge of the two worlds affect the speed at which a student develops mastery? Are there universal holes in martial arts that can be healed through emergence? Is there a loving value to learning how to fight and wage war consciously? Is war only a function of uncivilized blame? And can it be used to "fight" for a connection? Is it possible to stay conscious while harming another human being? Is it possible to use Tai Chi to restore a connection with a human being and thereby drain him/her of their desire to harm? If so, can this heal a person?

• Is a Master a person who no longer goes into shock in combat? And is the true path of the conscious warrior the path from naive consciousness to wounded consciousness to tempered consciousness? And is the common belief that it takes 30 years of hard work and practice merely a description for walking the path blindly, wherein learning happens accidentally? As opposed to Emergence guided teaching wherein learning happens deliberately.

• Tai Chi practices the principles of "Ting": "to listen with one's entire body." Is this just another word for staying connected? I have read in the Tai Chi literature that when one achieves a high degree of mastery, then you can almost "read the mind" of your opponent and neutralize their attacks before they even move. This sounds very similar to the experience of being connected. What would happen to the course of mastery if, "connecting to overcome" was taught from the very beginning? There is a famous poem by Bruce Lee that says "victory goes to the one who has no thought of himself." Having said that, is any thought "to do" some thing a sign of being disconnected? And does this leave the practitioner vulnerable to attack?

Possible Student Response Questions (asked by Steven)

[1] Is there actually such a thing as a "conscious warrior?" If so, would a conscious warrior seek to only wound his enemy (e.g. do damage control)? Would he or she feel no guilt for doing this? Is this topic what the Bhagavad Gita is discussing?

[2] Speaking of the Bhagavad Gita, is what it implies correct. Is "war" necessary and normal? If so, is there such a thing as declaring war consciously? Does this imply that ending a war before all the conflict is resolved is an unconscious act?

[3] If Tai Chi teaches personal consciousness, is it truly a "martial art?" Doesn't hurting others; in effect, going to war against someone, imply the warrior must employ some degree of personal unconsciousness?