I recently saw a short film called "To the Death." I think it is done very well, with dialogue that reveals important truths about martial art and self defence.When I teach self defence, one of the first things I need to do is assess what the student thinks self defence is. Each student comes from a unique place, with different experiences and different needs. Each student may have very different concepts of what martial arts are and how they relate to self defence.Some think that a martial art is a set of training methods designed to make a person skilled at violence. I think that is a poor description. It is like saying that the study of medicine is about becoming skilled at illness. Violence is what happens when you do nothing to curb it. We don't eliminate violence by pretending it doesn't exist.I don’t teach people to become killing machines. That would be easy. Historically, armies have been able to do that in less than three months. But, from a martial art perspective, we don’t do students any favours by turning them into the thing they fear.If balance is the goal, balance must also be the path.Some think that self defence is about learning techniques like strikes, throws, joint control, kicks, pressure points, ground fighting, and weapon training. That is part of it, in the way that learning notes and chords is part of learning to be a musician. But that is only the external shape of it.Some think a martial art is about improving conditioning, endurance, strength, flexibility, agility, and a speed. That, too, is part of it, in the same way that practising scales, arpeggios, and other drills is part of becoming a musician. But arpeggios are not hit songs.Some students might learn that a martial art is about refining the subtle structure of the body and coordinating it with the mind. They might develop a deep understanding of the profound and subtle changes that occur where mind, body, and spirit meet. This, perhaps, is getting closer to scratching the surface of the truth.Think of the way that a great musician learns to subtly manipulate elements of sound, melody, harmony, rhythm, texture, form and expression. You might have experienced the difference between listening to an emotional song, and listening to a performance that actually made the audience emotional. The song is not the performance.The way that martial arts are typically taught, is similar to learning to be a musician by learning a song. That way of teaching can actually work if you grow up in a musical family and hone your chops at kitchen parties. In the early days, of the music industry, there were many self-taught musicians who couldn't read music. They learned to play the way they learned to speak.Traditional martial arts have a similar history. People did not learn to fight. It was just who they were. When they were asked to teach adults, they couldn't do it. Fighting was their first language, and they didn't know how to teach it to people who were learning it as a second one. They tried to deconstruct the art in a way that made sense to others. But without the full immersion, the art did not survive the transmission.Some say that the ultimate test of a martial art, or a system of self defence, is whether or not you defeat the opponent. That, technically, is true. That is the test. But few beginners understand what those words actually mean.In the book, "The Art of War," Sunzi famously quoted an ancient military maxim when he wrote, "It has long been said that, if you know your enemy and know yourself, you will never be defeated, even if you face one hundred battles."But here is the thing. The more you train, and the better you get, the more you realize that the "enemy" is not so easily defined. In fact, defining your enemy too clearly can lead to your defeat.In the beginning, the enemy is an object of fear, of animosity, of anger, and of hatred. But as you improve, you realize that those feelings are yours, not theirs. The opponent is not the cause of those emotions, but a measure of the emotions that already exist within you. Those feelings are already inside you, just waiting for an opponent to shine some awareness on them.The line...the distinction between what you are experiencing and what the opponent is causing becomes fluid during advanced training. The moment you see an answer to a problem, you immediately realize that the nature of the question as changed.Martial art is not about finding the answer. It is about recognizing the question, and understanding why the question is the question in the first place.When we become attached to our own fear, we project it on the opponent and defeat ourselves. If we focus on their strength, we will be overpowered. When we focus on their agility, we are outmaneuvered. When we focus on their subtlety, we deceive ourselves.The feelings that we have when we face the enemy are what will defeat us, and make all of our technique, methodology, conditioning and subtlety become meaningless.Some of the greatest musicians have been known to fall apart in front of a critical audience.There must come a time when we discover that the enemy we face is a measure and a reflection of the enemy within. When we come to terms with our internal conflicts, we become free to see the external conflict for what it is. Then we can react appropriately."Know the enemy and know yourself." It is an endless journey. It should also be remembered that we don't learn anything about anyone by hating them or by fearing them. Our ignorance of reality can be exacerbated by pride, envy, lust, excess, and apathy. Come to think of it, those are the deadly sins. In a fight, they can get us killed.When it comes down to it, the state of mind that best aligns with victory is one of love, empathy, and kindness. It may take years of training and lots of bruises to get there. But ultimately we are seeking a state of being that martial artists call "No enemy.""No enemy" is a state of mind that is applicable in the midst of physical conflict, as well as in daily life, and as a way of preventing violence in the first place.Conflict is an eternal part of life. It is happening all the time whether we recognize it or not. Self defence is about seeing conflict for what it is, and resolving it in the most appropriate way possible. At times, this might mean a fight to the death. Ideally, it is about living in a way that makes such fights less likely.But realistically, self defence training is about fearlessness. Overcoming fear allows for love and understanding. Love and understanding are the most powerful weapons for winning a fight, or preventing it from happening.Love and understanding are the opposite of fear and hatred, and can empower your physical techniques in ways that blind aggression cannot.Love does not only make you more aware of what is happening. It also allows for the type of self-sacrifice that is necessary to win a fight. I don't mean self-sacrifice as in "roll over and die." I mean sacrificing a reference frame and allowing yourself to let go of who and what you think you are, in order to become something more effective. This is a topic for another lesson. But it basically means not being attached to a failed strategy. Fear makes you curl up in a tense little fetus-shaped target. Love lets you blend and dissolve and reincarnate in a tactically superior position.After learning about this concept, I think that the biggest mistake that a student can make is underestimating the kind of intensity and commitment that is required to achieve such love and understanding. They think they can do it without suffering, without bruises, without confronting the enemy within, or the enemy without. They fear confronting the real enemy.But until they do, they will never know the power, the peace, and the liberation that comes from having no enemy.<div data-youtube-video=""><iframe width="640" height="480" allowfullscreen="true" autoplay="false" disablekbcontrols="false" enableiframeapi="false" endtime="0" ivloadpolicy="0" loop="false" modestbranding="false" origin="" playlist="" progressbarcolor="white" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AAzY28C8Syc?color=white" start="0"></iframe></div>

To say that a martial art teaches violence is like saying that medical professionals practise illness. Violence is what happens when you do nothing to curb it.

Love is a Jedi. Realistic Self Defence.

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Love is a Jedi. Realistic Self Defence.

Love is a Jedi. Realistic Self Defence.

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