Martial Arts in Mexico

"Before I studied Zen, mountains were mountains and water was water, when I arrived at a more intimate knowledge, I realized that mountains were not mountains and water was not water. Now that I have got its very substance I am at rest. I see mountains once again as mountains and water, once again as water" Chuan Teng Lu, The Way of Zen

When I am in Toronto, I spend a lot of time training in martial arts -- in fact, I train about 6 days a week. If I am not teaching tai chi, I am studying chi gung, if I am not teaching kobudo, I am studying jodo, if I am not studying karate, I am teaching it. I am not a particularly gifted martial artist. I do not have the natural talent of a Sheldon S, one of the young blackbelts who graded at the same time that I did, who can jump straight up in the air for at least 3 feet, and do a spinning flying side kick from that position, with what appears to be no effort at all. In fact, most of the guys who graded for their karate shodan at the same time that I did, started a long time after me..

I am not particularly gifted at martial arts, but martial arts for me has been a gift from the Spirit. It has been something that when I started training I almost left, sayiong that I would never be able to do it. I was first introcduced to martial arts at age 28, when I took one of those continuing education classes in shotokan karate. When I lived in Brazil I trained at two different dojos. At that time I was mostly interested in the exercise aspect of martial arts.

When I returned to Canada, Gloria, a good friend of mine, had recently enrolled in tae kwon do, so I signed up for a year and got as far as my first non white belt-- a yellow belt. It was when I was 39 years old that the martial arts bug really bit me. I was finishing up my PhD and was really stressed. I found a dojo where classical martial arts were taught -- many different arts in the same place. I started with tai chi, moved on to iaido, of Japanese sword, then added jodo to my repertopireand the rest is history... the bug had bitten so hard that I could not stop. Kobudo, or ancient weapons, was my next venture, and finally karate.

I was one of the oldest students in the dojo when I started. I certainly did not feel fit or that I had the ability to make the moves, or remember the katas that the black belts were doing. For the first few months I struggled to do what others were doing so effortlessly. My struggling, as my Sensei used to tell me, was not so much because it was physically difficult, though it was, byt mostly because it looked easy, and my ego mind told me that I was very smart and that I "should" be able to pick up something that looked so easy very quickly. I was used to learning quickly, so why was this so difficult.

I had forgotten, or maybe I had not yet learned, that learning with the body and learning with the mind required similar but different techniques. I was always over thinking and interfering with my own learning process. I was seeking the truth behind each of the martial arts instead of expereincing them as they were. Well, almost eight years later, taking it one step at a time, learning how to let go of my own interferance, I have achieved shodan (first degree black belt) and above, in five different arts/disciplines.

Now, here I am again, starting at white belt, learning a new modus operandi -- travelling with Spirit, trusting that I will be taken care of by the Great Spirit, the Creator, the Divine Mother, Jesus Christ, the Buddha, the Universe, the Goddess, whatever name I or others have given to the energy that moves that Universe. Again, I am challenged to put into practice, but ina different way, all of the zen philosophy and martial arts training I have been doing for the past 7 years.

Who would have thought that at 46 years old I would be called to leave the "normal" life behind and venture off in search of my personal destiny. That is the progative of youth. I always thought that I had missed my opportunity to seek my fortune, to fulfill my personal destiny, because I had gotten sidetracked doing what I knew how to do best -- to study. I had spent most of my adult life in University studying one thing or another, maybe that is why studying martial arts on some level was easy for me.... studying was what I knw best. Now I have been called to apply the lessons of martial arts to the artistry of life -- my Sensei always says that a martial artist is an artist of life! Like the Zen monks who have gone before me I am now on my walk about ....

I have been called to trust that the Spirit is leading me where I need to be, that I am learning the lessons that are needed for the moment where I am and that I will be taken care of. A couple days ago my faith was truly tested and I would like to thank for the most sacred place in my heart those of my readers, family and friends who responded and who have supported me in my travels. You have renewed my faith in Spirit and in the hand of the Divine acting through fellow humans. They say that when you travel, you put your self in the hands of strangers. They also say that strangers are really not strangers, only freinds you have yet to meet.

Lessons learned: 1) first and foremost, trust Spirit, 2) second and utmost, trust Spirit implicitly, 3) third and finally, trust Spirit always.

ps- if any of my fellow kareta ka from Hasu Dojo are reading this, I found the first real dojo since I have been in Mexico yesterday in Morelia. The Sensei is a Mexican who lives in China for many years. He teaches Kung Fu and Tai Chi... Martial Arts are Alive and Well and Living in Mexico too!