"The View From Up Here" Number Two
To continue to fine tune my writing skills, I submit a monthly column to the dojo's newsletter entitled "The View From Up Here". Since there are people from the dojo that read my posts, I will be posting the column on this blog after the Newsletter itself is posted. I don't want to spoil anything.
From the March, 2008 edition of the Phoenix Quest Center's newsletter, "Desert Elements":
On February 9, the dojo was visited by godan-ranked senior instructor, Tori Eldridge. Those of us who made it to the seminar were treated to a new outlook on how to utilize what we have been learning in To-Shin Do. Mrs. Eldridge’s passion and fiery exuberance threw even more kindling into the already blazing inferno of desire we have for this art. As with Mr. Varnum, she left us hungrier for this life-long endeavor than we walked in to the seminar with. Also as with Mr. Varnum, we each took something unique that she said or did with profound understanding, or at the very least, we were left with something to ponder.
This leads me to the topic of the month: Own the Center. For me, these words alone were worth the price of admission and have stuck with me since. By way of background, Mrs. Eldridge was teaching a series of techniques (mostly take-downs) that required little to no striking and certainly no real output of muscle power. The validity of these techniques were demonstrated many times when she would easily put a person down who is a foot and a half taller and easily outweighs her by over one hundred pounds (me) without a single strike. She attributed her ability to do this by owning the center.
Many of us, including myself, applied own the center to the strictly exoteric sense since it was only used when speaking of the physical technique. In the time that has passed since, this phrase has stuck with me. As I have pondered on this, the more intrinsic and esoteric nature of own the center began to manifest itself. The thought came to mind: If it is beneficial to own the center physically, would it not stand to reason that such a mantra would apply to the other aspects of our lives (mental, spiritual, emotional, et al)? Indeed, we have been taught many times in our Life Skills sessions that Taijutsu, while very much physical, translates harmoniously to the other aspects of our beings that altogether define who we are.
So how do we own the center? This can be a hard question to answer. How one person manages to achieve this is different than others. I believe it comes down to controlling your mantles. We all have different mantles we take on. Some come and go while some are permanent. To name a few, some of mine include husband, father, student, and employee. Other people may have different mantles and therefore have to take on more or less responsibility as a result. With our ever-changing lives, it can be hard to establish control of them. This is especially true if we tend to stand left-of-center (to coin a phrase). This is where our training comes in. We are all very fortunate to have found To-Shin Do. This unique system of martial arts has set a clear path to realizing the ownership of our centers. We just have to be willing to embrace it and make those changes we know we should make, but are afraid to. It can also be frustrating to gauge our own progress. To that end, I offer the following: think back to the person you were when you started training and consider where you are now. Then think to where you want to be, and how you might get there. Quantifying the ownership of your center should be easier to accomplish through this reflection. Theory is easier than application in this regard, but no need to let that intimidate you. Based on what I have seen at the dojo, I think everyone will be pleasantly surprised.
From the March, 2008 edition of the Phoenix Quest Center's newsletter, "Desert Elements":
On February 9, the dojo was visited by godan-ranked senior instructor, Tori Eldridge. Those of us who made it to the seminar were treated to a new outlook on how to utilize what we have been learning in To-Shin Do. Mrs. Eldridge’s passion and fiery exuberance threw even more kindling into the already blazing inferno of desire we have for this art. As with Mr. Varnum, she left us hungrier for this life-long endeavor than we walked in to the seminar with. Also as with Mr. Varnum, we each took something unique that she said or did with profound understanding, or at the very least, we were left with something to ponder.
This leads me to the topic of the month: Own the Center. For me, these words alone were worth the price of admission and have stuck with me since. By way of background, Mrs. Eldridge was teaching a series of techniques (mostly take-downs) that required little to no striking and certainly no real output of muscle power. The validity of these techniques were demonstrated many times when she would easily put a person down who is a foot and a half taller and easily outweighs her by over one hundred pounds (me) without a single strike. She attributed her ability to do this by owning the center.
Many of us, including myself, applied own the center to the strictly exoteric sense since it was only used when speaking of the physical technique. In the time that has passed since, this phrase has stuck with me. As I have pondered on this, the more intrinsic and esoteric nature of own the center began to manifest itself. The thought came to mind: If it is beneficial to own the center physically, would it not stand to reason that such a mantra would apply to the other aspects of our lives (mental, spiritual, emotional, et al)? Indeed, we have been taught many times in our Life Skills sessions that Taijutsu, while very much physical, translates harmoniously to the other aspects of our beings that altogether define who we are.
So how do we own the center? This can be a hard question to answer. How one person manages to achieve this is different than others. I believe it comes down to controlling your mantles. We all have different mantles we take on. Some come and go while some are permanent. To name a few, some of mine include husband, father, student, and employee. Other people may have different mantles and therefore have to take on more or less responsibility as a result. With our ever-changing lives, it can be hard to establish control of them. This is especially true if we tend to stand left-of-center (to coin a phrase). This is where our training comes in. We are all very fortunate to have found To-Shin Do. This unique system of martial arts has set a clear path to realizing the ownership of our centers. We just have to be willing to embrace it and make those changes we know we should make, but are afraid to. It can also be frustrating to gauge our own progress. To that end, I offer the following: think back to the person you were when you started training and consider where you are now. Then think to where you want to be, and how you might get there. Quantifying the ownership of your center should be easier to accomplish through this reflection. Theory is easier than application in this regard, but no need to let that intimidate you. Based on what I have seen at the dojo, I think everyone will be pleasantly surprised.
posted by Aaron \m/ at 10:53 PM
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