You know how doctors are often asked by random people about some condition or symptom that they have, well I teach Kung Fu, and guess what, people often ask me about self-defence, but it’s normally worded in terms of defence against being physically attacked. They don’t normally get that Kung Fu, when taught right, is more holistic, it’s a lifestyle, a process of personal development, emotional maturity and spiritual growth. Truth is, if it were simply a way of fighting off a violent attack it would be a far simpler thing to teach. Of course, those skills are in fact significantly more complex than most people presume. Not least because learning a some fighting skills within the context of a lesson is one thing – Being able to use those skills within the context of a real-life attack is quite another. That is the first distinction of any good instructor; they train you in the emotional control necessary for real life application of the art. But a complete Kung Fu teacher (Sifu) is much more like a life coach. They should help you to develop a personal philosophy that enables you to live your life to the full, to grow into the person you have the potential for and who you wish to become.
Life’s battles can be hard and often the most dangerous conflicts will happen within the confines of your own mind. Teaching someone to deal with a violent stranger attacking you should actually be simply the structure for a vastly wider and more holistic curriculum.
For a start, you are much, much more likely to be attacked by someone you know, than by a stranger. A family member or your partner is in fact far more likely to hurt you than a stranger. So, your stock of self-esteem and your ability to be aware of others at an intuitive level is vital for your safety.
However, the person most likely to try to kill you, by a long margin, is YOU. Suicide is a far greater risk to your personal safety than violent crime or domestic abuse. Now people don’t generally kill themselves because they want to be dead, they do it because they can no long tolerate living their life and their situation appears to them intractable.
If you want your life to a very different experience, you have to first become a different person, with different thoughts, perceptions and attitudes. That is what Meditation Living has been created for. The resources to make these changes are what we provide.
You are able to be a happy and content person, by your choices and not dependent on circumstances. I would argue that serenity and joy are natural to your nature, the nature that you would be experiencing if external circumstances or outside influences hadn’t knocked you off-course along the way. You will discover the theory, strategy and practical techniques that enable you to grow into the person you wish to become, which will invariably reveal your true nature that has been unable to shine. That is not only the theme of many of these blogs, but is the primary purpose of Meditation Living.
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