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The connection between meditation and kung fu goes back as far as the art has history. The tendency of many students of the martial arts is to think about what you have to do whether you’re using what you learn for self-defense or for winning matches (the sport side of the martial arts).
When you start thinking, you’ll find things start going against you. Your thoughts often revolve around doubts and fears. Meditation and kung fu both help you get away from thinking. They help you learn to stay centered and depend on what you’ve learned and stored away within yourself from hours of practice.
Staying centered through meditation and kung fu, you stay more alert and aware under pressure. Many people who do realize meditation is an integral part of kung fu training, feel intimidated under pressure. This leads them to start thinking, lose concentration and focus, and possibly get injured.
With meditation and kung fu, you will find peace. This peace will enable you to stay relaxed, vigilant, and in control of yourself. You will then react spontaneously due to your training and practice, rather than thinking and wonder what about what you should do.
Oriental medicine says the qi follows the mind. A mind that is jumbled, thinking, worrying, trying to figure out what to do distorts qi. But the mind that has practiced properly with both meditation and physical training will be relaxed, allowing your natural qi to flow as it should. With this natural flow of qi, your physical body will become more flexible and stronger.
Control of qi comes from control of your mind. Control of your mind comes from meditation. Keeping meditation in your regular practice of kung fu allows you to be confident about handling whatever comes your way. Not just in the training area you use, but also in every aspect of your life, no matter where you are or what you’re doing.
The complete practice of meditation with kung fu will bring you relief from stress, feelings of inner peace and happiness, healing from many things that bother you, helps you control your ego, and brings relaxation.
Meditation is a skill that grows with practice. The more you combine meditation and the physical side of kung fu, the better you get at both.
The more you practice these skills, the calmer and more in control you feel. You will be able to handle any situation in which you find yourself. You will be better able to focus and concentrate on whatever you encounter, whether in your personal life or at work. Your stress management will increase and your health will improve.
Meditation and kung fu are inseparable for the full affect of the practice on your life. Practicing these skills and getting better at them will make you a stronger person, better able to perform optimally, no matter what you face.
Shifu Raymond Ahles at Blue Dragon School of Martial Arts has been meditating for over 30 years. He is ready and able to help you in learning how to improve both your body and your mind through meditation and kung fu. He will monitor your training and sparring and make suggestions when he sees some area in which you may be lacking. Contact him at 201-385-3130 today and get started or started again!
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