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形破り
We spend many years training in budo to learn new good habits to replace our old bad habits. But it seems as time goes by we arrive at a stage, where we have to forget the form to progress and grow in our understanding and expression of budo. This is illustrated in the axiom: “learn the form, practice the form, and then forget the form”.
We are creatures of habit, so how do we develop the habit of having no habit? If we consider this as a goal, it seems like an insurmountable task, but we must remember that we did not get to our current level of understanding in life in a day or even a year, it has taken many years and we are still travelling. So maybe we need to have the attitude of equanimity, taking each day one step at a time.
But how do we take the first step? This is the million dollar question. Everybody is different, with different habits, and thus different perception of what is and what is not.
The most simple way to move away from the form (at all levels not just the pattern of movements) is to stop conceptualising about what we are doing and just get on with doing; reacting to how our training partner is attacking, without analysis or internal discuss, and more importantly without pride. Whilst doing this we should try and be mindful of where our mind is, without conceptualisation, becoming aware of the present moment, forgetting the concepts of past and future. Have you ever seen the past or the future? No matter how hard I have tried, I have only ever seen now.
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