I've recently read a book -- "Way of the Peaceful Warrior" by Dan Millman
http://www.danmillman.com
I found the book inspirational on many levels, and in particular through the way eating is discussed.
It's kind of put this way:
When you're gong to have a meal - you go through several stages. You anticipate the meal, you enjoy the meal, and you savor the time after the meal.
Now -extend this idea to each bite you take during the meal. What would happen if you took the time to anticipate each bite? Took the time to savor each bite? And took the time to savor the after-taste of each bite?
And then there's another layer - the time when you've satisfied your hunger. You may not be full, or stuffed, but you've...stayed your hunger--knowing that you'll eat again in 4-6 hours, knowing that the next meal is coming...there's really not much concern that you eat until you're full. You can simply eat until you're no longer so hungry.
What if you were really, truly present and aware of your process of eating each bite. What if you were really, truly present and aware of your process of training martial arts - for every kick, every strike, every step?
food=training=presence=life.
And the funny part is -- since I've started thinking this way, I've lost 15 pounds. And now my actual weight matches the weight on my driver's license. And that feels damn good.
Dana
What's in a meal?
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Tony-San
What's in a meal?
Dana, i've always known there was a connection to eating, drinking and training but I never could put my finger on it. Thanks for posting!
What's in a meal?
Yep, all can be wonderful experiences. In all, the experience and the pleasure is heightened through our senses.
The more our senses are involved, the greater the pleasure. As in eating, we smell the wonderful aroma, we see the tantalizing and colorful sight, we taste the wonderful flavors and textures on our tongue. In some cases we hear, eg. meat sizzling on the grill or popcorn popping. As we touch what we are eating, we anticipate the experience.
You are right, Dana. This sparks and idea. In karate we should like-wise try to use as many senses as possible (impirical learning) to enhance that experience.
We use primarily use our sense of sight and touch. Maybe we should try training situations where we isolate as much as possible to spot train one or two senses only.
For touch, we could close our eyes and practice slow 'sticky hands' attack and defense. Maybe use Bill Glasheen's 'up against the wall' routine with this. I know your reaction time is quicker if you already are touching your opponent and know where he is...or have someone in the middle of a circle, eyes closed, defending soft attacks from the surrounding circle of people around him/her.
You could spin a student around several times, eyes closed, and then ask what direction they are in by what orientation they have with lights and sounds. Ask them where they think the door is and why.
Make them practice listening and being aware, training them to use senses other than just their eyes and making them more alert to noises we generally take for granted. Maybe in your bedroom, in the dark, you know your orientation by a ticking clock or by the wind that hammers your window, etc.
Smells come into play too. We were doing blind man games with our children. The child gets blindfolded and tries to tag or grab his attackers. After his turn was over, he said he knew when I was near because he could smell my perfume when I came near. It's good to train those senses since many of us will be attacked in the dark, more than likely.
When I first started karate in New Orleans I was in my 20's. I remember once when one of my first dojos was in one of the student's garage. Upon starting class, our instructor asked us how many cars did we notice were parked outside the house...and how many car doors did we hear shut since we got there, and various questions like that.
He was stressing we need to be aware of our surrounding environment as defensive tactic, so periodically did things like that.
Just food for thought.
Vicki
The more our senses are involved, the greater the pleasure. As in eating, we smell the wonderful aroma, we see the tantalizing and colorful sight, we taste the wonderful flavors and textures on our tongue. In some cases we hear, eg. meat sizzling on the grill or popcorn popping. As we touch what we are eating, we anticipate the experience.
You are right, Dana. This sparks and idea. In karate we should like-wise try to use as many senses as possible (impirical learning) to enhance that experience.
We use primarily use our sense of sight and touch. Maybe we should try training situations where we isolate as much as possible to spot train one or two senses only.
For touch, we could close our eyes and practice slow 'sticky hands' attack and defense. Maybe use Bill Glasheen's 'up against the wall' routine with this. I know your reaction time is quicker if you already are touching your opponent and know where he is...or have someone in the middle of a circle, eyes closed, defending soft attacks from the surrounding circle of people around him/her.
You could spin a student around several times, eyes closed, and then ask what direction they are in by what orientation they have with lights and sounds. Ask them where they think the door is and why.
Make them practice listening and being aware, training them to use senses other than just their eyes and making them more alert to noises we generally take for granted. Maybe in your bedroom, in the dark, you know your orientation by a ticking clock or by the wind that hammers your window, etc.
Smells come into play too. We were doing blind man games with our children. The child gets blindfolded and tries to tag or grab his attackers. After his turn was over, he said he knew when I was near because he could smell my perfume when I came near. It's good to train those senses since many of us will be attacked in the dark, more than likely.
When I first started karate in New Orleans I was in my 20's. I remember once when one of my first dojos was in one of the student's garage. Upon starting class, our instructor asked us how many cars did we notice were parked outside the house...and how many car doors did we hear shut since we got there, and various questions like that.
He was stressing we need to be aware of our surrounding environment as defensive tactic, so periodically did things like that.
Just food for thought.
Vicki
What's in a meal?
The Fifteen Minute Rule: it takes 15 minutes for you stomache to realize it's full. Hold off on the seconds for a few minutes. BTW this is also a good one for drinking; fifteen minutes before all that tequila reaches your brain... easy there, tiger!
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Tony-San
What's in a meal?
Interesting... so sensuality (not in a sexual conotation but rather utilizing all of the bodies senses to indulge in any given moment) plays a crucial role in karate awareness. At least, that's what i got from Vicki's post.
Good post!
Good post!
What's in a meal?
Thanks Tony,
That was the point I was making, to imploy not just the mind and our bodies but use all that God gave us for learning, including the senses. There will be times when one of our senses is not available, like sight. The other senses should be fine-tuned to make up for the loss.
Vicki
That was the point I was making, to imploy not just the mind and our bodies but use all that God gave us for learning, including the senses. There will be times when one of our senses is not available, like sight. The other senses should be fine-tuned to make up for the loss.
Vicki
