Hexagram 54 line 1 – FIGHTING AT A DISADVANTAGE

   

Hexagram 54 line 1 – FIGHTING AT A DISADVANTAGE

This story illustrates an instance where the traditional text worked perfectly.

I was doing a telesales job, selling dubious ad space on yearly ‘official’ Sasco charts (calendars) to big companies for large sums of money. It was well paid, but as it was commission only, it required a great deal of energy; the stuff did not sell itself. Pitching hard all day long built up a ton of adrenalin, and after that, I needed a good workout to sweat it all out. Come five o'clock, I would grab a greasy snack and then go off to the dojo. It was a Kung Fu school—nothing special, quite commercial, but good basic training. I progressed through the colored belts of achievement until I was ready to get my brown. Brown is the first belt you have to fight for—three one-minute rounds with another contender. It is supposed to be 50% contact only, but it gets a bit rougher than that most times, and sometimes a lot rougher.

The bout was set for one Saturday afternoon, but in the morning I was really sick. I had a cold and a really bad headache. I was thinking of canceling, but the oracle looked good, so I went to bed with some painkillers and woke with just enough time to get to the dojo. I still felt awful, but as luck would have it, there were some really cool stimulant pills back then called "Up Time". These contained a generous hit of caffeine blended with herbs, vitamins, and a noticeable amount of cayenne pepper. These things were great and made me feel warm and strong again. Infinitely better than the effect of crap like Red Bull.

The school had two masters, Mr. Chen and Mr. Wu. Mr. Chen was more technical, and his style was less aggressive; I trained with him. Mr. Wu was much more interested in training for fighting contests. The students of Mr. Wu were much meaner and rougher, often sporting tattoos and strange haircuts. It had been decided to pit the two master’s students at this grading. So each student from Mr. Chen had to fight one from Mr. Wu. I watched a few bouts and saw Mr. Chen’s students get knocked around and even fouled without the referee doing anything about it. I guess they had decided we needed toughening up a bit.

My turn came, and my opponent was a lot younger than me, though not as tall. He had tattoos of mean-looking devils and a shaven head. He gave me a fierce glare so tense that I thought his face would crack if he tried to smile. He went into the attack straight after the bell, but I kept him at bay until near the end of the round. Then he gave me a really vicious kick on the thigh that made me limp for a few minutes. Fortunately, the round ended, and I had time to recover. Next round, he was more ferocious than ever, trying to stamp on my feet and kick me in the head (both illegal). I realized that he was faster and stronger than me, and I was not going to be able to defend myself to the end.

Something had to be done. I kept cool and waited for a chance. He came in close, arms on the outside, attempting to punch my floating ribs. His front was unguarded, and by instinct, I gave him an uppercut. It was not that hard, but it shook him up alright, and the ref gave him a standing count of 6 to recover. It was illegal as well, and this time the ref gave me a warning. After that, though his confidence was shot, he was only a kid, really, easily cowed, and would not come in close again. I used my greater reach to control the rest of the fight from a distance, just picking off a few nice shots here and there. I ended up with a narrow points win. My pals were delighted, and other crowd members booed.

After that, home to my Lady Love for a slap-up celebratory dinner! To her disappointment, though, I never took another belt, as black belt requires too much training and I was only trying to keep fit.

Hex 54, traditional text

Wilhelm/Baynes: The Marrying Maiden. Undertakings bring misfortune. Nothing that would further

Sounds gloomy. The consultee is the "maiden," someone who is not in a strong position and must use wiles to prevail.

Wilhelm/Baynes:The Marrying Maiden as a concubine. A lame man who is able to tread. Undertakings bring good fortune.

This is a nice, accurate line. I was the lame man who could walk, and the undertaking did bring good fortune.

 

Maximize your Yoga/Kundalini/chi gong with ‘Sentient Edge’ and ‘Sentient Shift’ training program

Video Version (Link) The difference between steadily getting stronger and more profound technique and just getting by, or even slow decline may not be that much taken day by day. OK for a short burst you can ‘work like crazy, and make great progress but as the weeks turn into months and years, it gets harder to tell if you really progressing or not.

Spiritual physical disciplines can take you to great heights of power and insight, but need to make all your training count and steadily ratchet up your progress.  I have designed the ‘sentient edge’ sentient shift’ program to ensure that this happens.

What do I mean by ‘Sentient edge’ and ‘sentient shift’?

All sentient evolution results from the application of 'sentient edge' and 'sentient shift'. 'Sentient' edge means to use the power of intent to do something persistently and to the very ‘edge’ of your ability. If 'sentient edge' is applied long enough a 'sentient shift' occurs, this is a profound change that affects very biology of an organism.

In terms of species development, take anteaters. Anteaters diverged from insectivores, little fury insects eaters, see link for history (genealogy of anteaters). Some individuals find that ants are good to eat and plentiful. However, eating ants is a lot of work, and to get enough food the animal must go to ‘edge’ of its ability each day to get enough nourishment, this is 'sentient edge'. As the Milena drift by the proto anteaters spend more and time eating and 'sentient edge' leads to a long series of 'sentient shifts' and longer noses. In time a new and distinct strain becomes a species and eventually a whole type of animal.

For a more practical example; a bodybuilder uses 'sentient edge' when working out. By pushing to the very ‘edge’ of what can be lifted each session for a sustained period, say a month, the body will change, the muscles becoming larger. This change is semi permanent, but if a second month of training follows, then the previous month’s gains will become permanent and a second level of semi permanent gain will be made. This is a 'ratchet' effect, and each subsequent month of training firstly secures the previous months gains and makes a fresh 'semi permanent' gain. Over many years a very impressive physique can be achieved.

Applying ‘sentient edge/shift to physical/ spiritual disciplines makes it possible to develop to your full potential and have a beautiful supple body and enjoy a relaxed, cheerful consciousness with powerful concentration. The physical part is easy, check exactly what exercises you can perform and how well you can perform them, if you have access to a camera or better still a video, use this to ‘set you standard’. Train for ten days as many times as you can and then check your progress. You should able to perform all the exercises better than at the beginning and in addition should add something new to the routine. If you haven’t made progress in ten days try for another ten, if you haven’t made progress in a month, you routine is not working and you should change it.

As well as physical progress you should make mental/spiritual progress, though this is harder to gauge. Building concentration is essentially like muscle building, except concentration is measured by length; how long can you go on each exercise without getting distracted?  Another important factor is mood; how good do you feel when practicing? You should be able to detach yourself from various worries during your practice and this ability should increase to a degree that is clearly noticeable over ten days of good solid effort. You set up criteria of your own as you think best. 

Again if don’t any progress over thirty days something is is wrong, you are either not working enough, your practice needs to have some additional element or it is not suited to you as an individual. There is no point in just ‘grinding away’ at practice that is not working as you waste more than just time; your ‘faith’ in yourself and your discipline are also at stake. You need you need ‘faith’ for all mental and spiritual disciplines, but faith must be well placed and just because something works well for other people it doesn’t mean it work out well for you. That is why keeping a careful check on your progress is essential. Do not be afraid to try different disciplines until you find the right path your personal self development, just make sure try each thoroughly before deciding on its value. Once you are on the right path over the years, you can use sentient edge and sentient to ratchet up your body and mind to heights you would not have believed possible.

You might like check out some of the valuable interesting practices I have put in this blog.

The Secrets Of Yogic and Chi Gong Breathing

Video Version Link 

The 'Ojai' the single most important thing you need to know about Yogic Breathing

Some people make the 'Ojai' naturally and they have no trouble with Yogic breathing, Chi Gung, meditation, or singing. Unfortunately, many more do not and cannot ever get these techniques quite right. The 'Ojai' is a small block that you make in your throat. To find the Ojai is easy, if you fill your lungs and hold your breath it is the Ojai that is blocking the throat and preventing the air from escaping; release the Ojai and the lung deflates.

The Ojai function we are interested in here to make the pressure even at all times in the lung. To accomplish what is require a ‘partial Ojai’; anything from 25-75% of the airflow. It takes a little practice to get this partial block right, and it is something of an art that you can develop to a very high and precise standard.

For singers and wind players this is clearly necessary as without a partial Ojai you cannot sustain a clear steady note. The technique is to decrease the size of the wind pipe steadily as the air decreases in the lung, in this way you can get a pure and even sound right to the last grasp of air in the lungs.

For Yoga, Chi Gong, and Tai Chi using a partial Ojai is also vital for a number of reasons;

1. To support the back, if the pressure is low in the lungs the back is weak and easily injured.
2. To control the displacement pressure made when by the process of breathing. (I cover this in the ‘Abdominal Breathing’ section later in this section.)
3. To improve smoothness and power movement, changes in pressure cause the body to become slightly unstable making the movements shaky and ugly.
4. To massage the internal organs and improve overall vitality

Basic Ojai breathing for Yoga, Chi gong and Tai Chi

Try it, first an in-breath; close the Ojai 30% and breathe in.  Feel the resistance of the Ojai making your lung work hard to draw in air. The effect should cause you to feel pressure in the abdomen. Release the Ojai and let the air go as normal.

Next try an out-breath, breath in normally, then apply to Ojai at 30% as the air leaves your lungs. Once again, feel the resistance making pressure in the abdomen.

First steps in practicing Ojai breathing.

This time when you breathe using the 30% Ojai, only breath in half way then release the Ojai, open the throat and completely fill the lungs.  Release the Ojai and let the air out. Practice this a few times.

Now the out-breath. Breathe in normally, then start the out-breath with the throat still fully open. Do not apply the Ojai until the lung is half empty. Practice this few times.

Full Ojai breathing

Now, you are ready to practice the in-breath and out-breath together. Breathe in with the Ojai at 30% until the lungs are half full, release the Ojai and completely fill the lungs. Begin the out breath with the throat fully open, then apply the Ojai when they are half empty. Do not release the Ojai and begin the next in-breath, when the lungs are half full release the Ojai and so on.

At first, you should practice this simple type of Ojai while sitting, lying down or standing. After practicing this for while each day, you will find that it feels better and better and more and more natural. You are then ready to try the Ojai breathing with selection of Yoga postures of your choice. Once this has been mastered you may like to use the Ojai breathing for some Chi Gong or Tai Chi.

There are various variations of Ojai technique, for different practices: for singing and wind instruments, the throat is fully open during the in breath as you need to breathe in quickly. On the out-breath you need to apply the Ojai straight away to control the note and gradually increase the block until the end of the note. Tai Chi requires more pressure than Yoga, and the Ojai is more intense. You can experiment with the Ojai and find the best way to apply it to different exercises. In particular you can try gradually increases and decreasing the Ojai instead of just on and off. The Ojai is an art in itself and you will have fun explore this vital and powerful technique. You will be amazed at how at better your exercise feels and how rapidly your strength and stamina improve as well.

The Ojai is particularly useful in meditation.

In meditation the Ojai gives the ability to sit for much longer without becoming stiff and uncomfortable. Different meditations techniques require different breath lengths, and the Ojai allows you to lengthen or shorten the breath simply by adjusting the size of your windpipe.  This saves having to concentrate on controlling the length of breath and allows your mind to be free. It also causes less tension in the diaphragm.

'Abdominal Breathing'

To clear up another point about Yogic breathing I would like to discuss the phenomenon of 'abdominal breathing'. Many teachers tell you to breath with your abdomen, but this is actually impossible as the lungs are the chest. What happens in the abdomen and other places is that pressure caused by the act of breathing can be felt. It is important to separate these events as otherwise you may constrict your chest to make more pressure in the abdomen thinking that you are 'breathing in the abdomen' - don't do this as it decreases oxygen intake and creates unnecessary tension. Try to be aware of the air flow in your nose, throat, and your lungs opening and closing naturally. The only regulation this action requires is the application of the 'Ojai'. As for the pressure created by the act of breathing, this can be directed to just about any part of the body. In Chi Gung, Tai Chi we use this pressure to help move the limbs by first directing it to the 'Dan Jen'  and routing it from their to the wrists, or ankles.

In Yoga and meditation the pressure is often directed into the abdomen to massage the inner organs and this is the origin of the false notion of ‘abdomen breathing’.

The Three Patterns of Breath

To be more specific there are three major patterns of breathe:

1 ‘Yin Pattern’ expands the lungs into the ribs at the front of chest. This moves the weight of the torso forward and creates a corresponding displacement pressure in the buttocks and back of the legs. The chest swell and buttocks stick out like a women’s figure, the head tilts back slightly lifting the face like a model on the catwalk, which is why I call it ‘yin pattern’. Yin pattern breathing is good when walking as it keeps the weight forward, keeping the weight forward means that gravity does a lot of the work and ‘fall forwards’ as they teach in Alexander technique. It is also good for swimming breast stroke and many other things; you can experiment.

2 ‘Yang Pattern’ Breathing. This spattern of breath is to open the lungs into the ribs of the back. This causes the weight of the torso to move backward and thrusts the pelvis forward, with the head tilted slightly down, like Elvis Presley looking mean, which is why I call it ‘Yang Pattern’.

Yang Pattern breathing is good as preparation for powerful forward motion and is popular with marshal artists. It is also the main breathing pattern used in Chi Gong, (This breathing is the principle pattern used when pushing from the Dan Jen and causing the circulation of chi in the inner orbit) Tai Chi etc. The ribs of the back are stronger than those of the front and more pressure is needed to open them, so it needs a really strong deep in breath to work. Once open though the elasticity of the back ribs means the out breath requires little, or no muscular effort. Then on the out-breath you can use the Ojai and just let the whole body 'coast' on the power of the ribs closing. Alternatively, if you want to make a really hard strike, you can add the muscular closing of the lungs to the elastic closing of the ribs and make a massively powerful strike.

The third way to breath is open the ribs front and back at the same time. This breathing is the standard breathing we do most of the time. It can be made slow and can be used in Yoga for really full breath (Yoga uses all three breathing patterns according to the posture) or to hyper ventilate in preparation to hold your breath for long time.