How to Get Rid of Reaction Time
[I:http://mymartialartsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/AlCase25.jpg]Time is a more like a liquid than a solid, and it can be manipulated at will. At first glance, time is a fixed thing, used to measure the object and paths of the universe. A little martial arts training, however, will convince one that time is a measuring stick that is quite flexible.
Understanding time merely requires a little presence of mind. This understanding can be applied to the martial arts easily, and does result in the required presence of mind. There are four easily defined steps, or stages, to this theory.
To see, then think, then is the first step. After seeing a threat, and thinking about it, the beginner finally reacts. One could label this stage of training as the block and counter step.
To see and then to react is the second step of training. The student goes from seeing a threat to reacting to it, for he has eliminated having to think about attacks through practice. The student is usually able to block and counter with the same hand at this stage, for speed is picking up.
The third step is when the student reacts. The student is actually starting to have a sixth sense when a threat is about and whirls to meet it, he is becoming more polished, and he doesn’t even need to see a threat to react. This step would be labeled as the simultaneous block and counter stage.
To go into action is the fourth step. A student moves before a situation can result in a launched foot or even a raised fist. The student is moving inside the moment at this stage, and he has eliminated rea-, which is reaction time.
Mind of no mind is the meaning of the Japanese term Mushin no shin, and it means that a person is moving in the moment. A person is an actual master of the world at this stage, able to see things before they happen, and act accordingly, and he is not a victim of the world, only capable of reacting to a threat. Personal choice is immense and developing at this a stage.
The world is measured by time, but time is a perception of the world. If you train your perceptions, you can train yourself to handle the world. This is just one of the many blessings of a course of study in the martial arts.
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Tagged with: Aikido • exercise • fitness • goju • karate • kenpo • kung fu • self defense • shotokan • wado • zen
Filed under: Aikido
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