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Slightly off topic, but I recently started Kickboxing, and I finally have the impression that I start to understand the connection between martial arts/combat s

Slightly off topic, but I recently started Kickboxing, and I finally have the impression that I start to understand the connection between martial arts/combat sports and spirituality as it is emphasized in e.g. Bruce Lee's movies. There is a strange wisdom operating in channeling rage to make a technique more effective while respecting (or even caring for) your opponent/partner. I tried Aikido in the past, in search for this kind of wisdom, even selecting a club of a mostly "spiritual" tradition, and did not find it in the few trainings I did - but started seeing it after one session of heavy bag training. There is something about training for actual fight (which I now aim for, at my own surprise) that shifts one view of oneself and others in surprisingly useful ways. I can only recommend trying this kind of sports, if one is interested but puzzled at the strange dialogues in Kung Fu movies.

mtalantikite 3y ago
When I started training Muay Thai a little over a year ago the first thing that struck me was how kind everyone was in the gym. There's something about training that hard that really starts to remove the ego. I've had a long standing, daily seated meditation practice, and it wasn't until I started training my body hard (first ashtanga style yoga, now muay thai) that the meditation practice really started to deepen.
- aftoprokrustes 3y ago
  That's funny, I have exactly the opposite effect with meditation: in the last two years I have been following teachings with which I resonated a lot and helped my meditation deepen a lot, and I attribute my newfound sports skills to this deepening. I was able to run 20km 2 weeks after taking up jogging again after a few years break, which is a distance I never managed in the past. I can see how my meditative work helps me switch the perception of effort and push further than I ever thought possible. The work with pain, effort and strong emotions in boxing also has a lot of parallels with my seated meditation practice. There is definitely something to the stereotype of the martial artist meditating in a cave
  - mtalantikite 3y ago
    For sure, they definitely feed into each other. The yoga practice got me to put that meditation practice into my body in a different way, as did the Muay Thai. Plus the physical practice opened and strengthened my body so I could sit comfortably in lotus for long periods of time. Before that my hips were tight and the first few years of daily seated practice were uncomfortable. I rarely if ever exercised previously. Anyway, getting the meditation practice off of the cushion was what the physical practices taught me. It's like the story of the arrow making dakini [1], you've got to have the practice in all actions you take. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saraha#The_Arrow_Making_Dakini https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saraha#The_Arrow_Making_Dakini

mtalantikite 3y ago

When I started training Muay Thai a little over a year ago the first thing that struck me was how kind everyone was in the gym. There's something about training that hard that really starts to remove the ego. I've had a long standing, daily seated meditation practice, and it wasn't until I started training my body hard (first ashtanga style yoga, now muay thai) that the meditation practice really started to deepen.

aftoprokrustes 3y ago
That's funny, I have exactly the opposite effect with meditation: in the last two years I have been following teachings with which I resonated a lot and helped my meditation deepen a lot, and I attribute my newfound sports skills to this deepening. I was able to run 20km 2 weeks after taking up jogging again after a few years break, which is a distance I never managed in the past. I can see how my meditative work helps me switch the perception of effort and push further than I ever thought possible. The work with pain, effort and strong emotions in boxing also has a lot of parallels with my seated meditation practice. There is definitely something to the stereotype of the martial artist meditating in a cave
- mtalantikite 3y ago
  For sure, they definitely feed into each other. The yoga practice got me to put that meditation practice into my body in a different way, as did the Muay Thai. Plus the physical practice opened and strengthened my body so I could sit comfortably in lotus for long periods of time. Before that my hips were tight and the first few years of daily seated practice were uncomfortable. I rarely if ever exercised previously. Anyway, getting the meditation practice off of the cushion was what the physical practices taught me. It's like the story of the arrow making dakini [1], you've got to have the practice in all actions you take. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saraha#The_Arrow_Making_Dakini https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saraha#The_Arrow_Making_Dakini