Okay people. This is an article I found on the net, and It had no signs of copyright, so I thought I would post it here. If you want the original article, you can find it here Martial Arts: My Path to Nam By: Grandmaster Kim Soo 10th. Dan & Founder, Chayon-Ryu Martial Arts Written by: Brian Hammer 3rd Dan Over the course of my 53 years of martial art practice and teaching, I have thought a great deal about, and have developed a system of martial arts practice that anyone can study, at any time in their life. Chayon Ryu is Sang Hwal Mu Do - a lifestyle martial art. Chayon Ryu is designed for those who are interested in and remain committed to the path of martial arts and its many benefits, including self-realization. Whether sixteen or sixty years of age, consistent, committed martial arts training will bring physical, mental, emotional and spiritual benefits. The longer one trains, the deeper the benefits. Committed martial artists will develop greater balance and control, a sharper and clearer mind, a more generous and loving heart, and a more authentic experience and expression of one's true self. The self beyond fear and self-judgment. The ultimate treasure that long-term, "right" practice offers is a path to liberate the confident and powerful being that we all are at our core, but perhaps have lost touch with along the way. Consistent martial arts practice, then, can be much more than physical fitness; self-defense and mental discipline. Making a commitment to "natural way" practice is a path of freedom; toward what is commonly referred to as "enlightenment" or "nam." I teach martial arts because I believe in individual freedom. Everyone should control their own life, and enjoy confidence, passion, and a sense of being a powerful being able to live the life of their dreams. Martial arts is a path to freedom. Most of us are limited in our confidence and power because we see ourselves as victim to enemies outside of ourselves. What I mean by this is that many of us feel that the world does not seem to be cooperating with our dreams. We feel unlucky, not smart enough, young enough, or just plain enough, or otherwise hindered by people and situations that are "keeping us down." It is my belief, however, that these "outside enemies" are merely a reflection of our "inside enemies." What we perceive as limitations outside of ourselves are generally mirrors of something going on inside of ourselves. Mostly, these inner obstacles fall into the categories of negative self-talk, self-judgments and other irrationally held and limiting beliefs about ourselves and the world. From this perspective, it is the inner victories over the internal enemies that sets us free. For me then, the true aim of martial arts practice is not to learn how to kick and punch, and defeat the external enemy. Rather, consistent "right practice" with humility and patience, is a natural path to defeat our internal enemies that exist in our mind. This is what I mean when I tell your during form practice to set up your internal enemies in your mind, and then "knock them down" or "destroy them." As we do this, consistently and over time, we begin to free ourselves from the shackles of fear and self-doubt. With continued practice, we develop confidence, willpower and creativity to take the necessary steps and live the lives of our dreams. Commitment to right practice is all that is required. Martial arts saved my life. As a junior high school student in 1951, I was shy and lacked life direction. My mother recognized my lack of confidence and encouraged me to study martial arts. In 1951, during the height of the Korean war and when I was in 5th grade, she arranged for a neighbor to teach me martial arts. Attracted to what I was learning, in 1952, I enrolled at a Kong Soo Do school in Seoul. On several occasions over the first few years of my training, however, I became bored, experienced setbacks, and was frustrated. I wanted to quit. My mother inspired me to keep training. I remember her telling me on many occasions that I must dig in one place in order to discover water. At that time in my life, my role model was my mother. She was not a well-educated woman. She came from a poor, but noble family, and she had a difficult life in some ways. Yet, she always believed in and inspired me. She taught me to dream and have ambition. As I see it now, the water she was referring to was my authentic self. Lacking confidence, my mother told me that I could be anything I wanted to be. She told me that everyone has a mission in life, and that I must dig deep inside of myself in order to discover my purpose. This is what she meant by digging in one place to discover water. I remember one day she gave me a blank piece of paper and told me to draw whatever I wanted to be. To this day, I am drawing that picture. Martial arts became my compass -- orienting me toward the life of my dreams. I am still digging. And I am living the life of my dreams. My passion and my path is to teach martial arts, and offer to others the gifts I received from my training. What is "Nam"? Over the past 40 years in the west, there has been a lot of talk about "nam" or "enlightenment." There has also been a lot of misunderstanding. Enlightenment is often presented as available exclusively to the very few who meditate for hours each day and renounce worldly pleasures. This is not my belief. My understanding is that enlightenment is for everyone - in varying degrees. My belief is that we are all already enlightened beings. This is the nature of our souls. Yet we are souls having a human experience, and the human part has forgotten that we are enlightened. For many, the human experience is sometimes experienced as a walk in a dark cave, fraught with perceived dangers and scary enemies lurking about. Enlightenment then, is like having a headlamp in the dark cave. With a headlamp, we can at least shine a light a few feet in front of us, even if we cannot illuminate the entire cave. We can take safe steps. Moreover, the stronger our batteries and brighter our bulbs, the more we can see. And the more we see, the more we realize that what we once "thought" was a dark cave, was all along the Garden of Eden. This, in my opinion, is enlightenment; simply seeing more clearly the true nature of things. My greatest wish if for my students to recognize this truth, and live the lives of their dreams. I want my students to be enlightened. If you think about it, all of us are born geniuses. Within a few years of birth, we are able to grow into walking and talking beings, mastering and deciphering a language that allows us to communicate our needs and feelings. We learn to play sports, create art, fall in love, invent and ask questions. All of these are amazing feats. Yet, most of us learn to identify ourselves with what we cannot do, and we lose sight of our genius. We see others who are better than us at drawing and we conclude that we are not creative. Another does better than us at math and we conclude that we are not smart. A third has a better basic form number one, and we conclude that we are average martial artists. We come to judge ourselves as "not smart enough," "not creative enough," "not talented enough," "not coordinated," "not worthy," "not lovable," or simply "not enough." It is these judgments, delusions and irrational beliefs that block our natural state of enlightenment. How then does enlightenment come? My belief is that enlightenment simply requires long-standing dedication to a particular path. Modern culture is filled with promises of instant happiness and get rich quick schemes. All of these pursuits, in my opinion, lead us in exactly the wrong direction. The true path of enlightenment requires a commitment to a single practice, with humility and patience. As my mother said, you must dig in one place in order to discover water. This requires, among other things, patience -- for it is a lifetime journey. Yet, a journey with increasing rewards along the way. Further, it is the wrong attitude to get on this journey in order to achieve something, such as a black-belt or nam. Rather, the journey itself is the path; what the Chinese refer to as "tao," and the Japanese and Koreans as "do." If we approach the journey with an attitude of humility, and practice for it's sake alone, the nam will come. First will come a glimpse, as we recognize for the first time that the headlamp was already in place. Already we are more empowered to live our life in alignment with our heart, gut and soul. And as long as we stay committed to our practice and do not fall back asleep, we will naturally gain luminosity and brilliance as we reach higher degrees of nam. According to mystical understanding from eastern and western tradition, this path continues toward the ultimate revelation of our authentic selves, complete enlightenment, or Buddha or Christ consciousness as it is sometimes called. Few ever reach this ultimate nam. I have not attained this stage and cannot, therefore, say much about it. In Korean martial arts, this stage is referred to as "do sa." This is the level of sainthood. The Three Stages on the Path to Nam: Whether calligraphy, carpentry, music or martial arts, there are three stages of practice that lead to increasing degrees of enlightenment. The first stage is "practice." Whatever the discipline, in order to get anywhere, there must be consistent practice. Many do not get very far along and quit when their practice gets "boring" and their wondering minds seek new thrills and immediate gratifications. Yet, as described by the Aikido master and teacher, George Leonard in his book "Mastery" [Plume 1992], the path (what he calls the "Mastery Curve") is predominated by plateaus during which growth seems stagnant. He encourages us to remain committed to our practice during these times of perceived stagnation, however, for a growth spurt will soon come. Attaining mastery, according to Leonard, is learning to love the plateaus and the practice itself. I agree, for with consistent "right" practice, the growth spurts are inevitable. And each growth spurt is an upgrade in voltage and a brighter bulb for your headlamp. The second stage requires study. After consistent years of practice under good teaching, the student must look for and discover the principles that underlie his chosen art or discipline. This is a philosophical phase which leads to a deeper understanding of the art or discipline. The third stage emphasizes "right practice," and is critical for healthy advancement along the path of mastery and enlightenment. This stage involves discrimination, as the student more deeply realizes that the principles of his chosen practice are in fact, universal principles. He or she will then begin to apply these principles to all aspects of his life. As examples, balance of movement, rhythm, and proper breathing are critical to healthy, powerful martial arts practice. These same principles, however, also apply to business negotiations and child-rearing! During the third stage, the practitioner begins to integrate the physical and mental with the heart and soul. This, in my opinion, is a significant step on the path of nam. I came to the United States in order to teach third-stage martial arts to Americans. As a writer for Black Belt Magazine in the early 1960's, I came to recognize that most American martial arts instructors at that time lacked the training and understanding to teach "right practice" discrimination. Instead they were focused on kicking, punching and tournament sparring, with the goal to win trophies. This is low-level martial arts practice that does not lead to enlightenment, but instead results in injury, quitting, and cancer of the mind. I came to the United States to teach the discrimination path of martial arts and to preserve the purity of the arts that had evolved over thousands of years as a path to nam. "Right" Practice - Humility: Humility is critical in order to achieve enlightenment. Humility means "humbleness of mind; lack of pride." [The World Book Encyclopedia Dictionary, 1963]. Humility means letting go of our false identifications as "worse than," "not enough," "special," or "better than" anyone else. Humility is recognizing the open-hearted, perfect beings that we naturally are. Easier said than done, and cultivating this perspective is a lifetime practice that is very much a part of the path to nam. A big part of cultivating this humility is through selfless service. In the case of martial arts practice, we cultivate humility and kong through service to the dojang and system. But a word of caution: "don't do it for me!" Students sometimes clean or improve the dojang in some helpful manner, and then let me know in some subtle or direct way that they did this for me. Another student told me that he wanted to write something for me. Again, "don't do it for me!" If you think that by cleaning the dojang, mowing the lawn or writing an article, you are going to gain a special status with me, then you are taking action for exactly the wrong reason. You are actually taking a step away from humility and enlightenment. I see this as trying to be "special," and this is cultivating the falsity that imprisons us from our natural state of freedom. Furthermore, I will not be obliged to you for cleaning the dojang, and I will not give you special status. I don't teach for myself, I teach for the benefit of others. As I stated earlier, I do reap kong benefits from teaching, but this is incidental and I am convinced that those who act in order to reap personal benefit, do not build kong. Kong is a bi-product of service. Mother Teresa did not become a saint because she figured that feeding the hungry was the best path to sainthood. Her mission was simply to feed the hungry - her path one of service. So when you do something in your school, do it for the school, do it for the system, don't do it for me. This is basic humility, and an essential ingredient for enlightenment. Again, we are all special, but never because we "think" we are special. Humility means letting go of the thought of being special, and surrendering to humility and our innate specialness. "Wrong' Practice - A Word of Caution: It is important to mention that there is a dark side to enlightenment, or what I will refer to as "Dark Power." This battle between the light and dark is represented in mythology throughout human cultural history from the story of Adam and Eve, to modern day dramas such as Star Wars, the Matrix, and the Lord of the Rings. It is important to not confuse "Dark Power" with "Enlightenment." Anyone who practices martial arts or any discipline for many years will increase their power and insight, and have the ability to influence others. One may be an outstanding martial artist, having studied his or her art with much diligence. He or she may have even attained recognition and fame. Yet, if she sees this power as her own, and is without proper guidance and discrimination, there is the likelihood that she will develop a cancer of the mind, or Ju Hwa Ip Ma. She likely will see herself as superior and special. She may have a headlamp, but without humility and "right practice," what she sees is a dead-end, ego-serving, and dangerous path. She is not enlightened. These are the conditions that result in cult leaders and other forms of powerful deviants. It must be understood that cult leaders generally have light and they are a force to be reckoned with. They use their light or power to exercise control and keep those who follow them dependent and confused. Many people, upon discovering a good thing want to keep it for themselves - often to gain a perceived advantage over other. Ultimately, their leadership is used for their own egos. Consequently, their followers' potential will be limited, poisoned by the Dark Power. This is why "right practice" and humility are critically important. Not only is enlightenment a path for one's self, but having this headlamp is also a responsibility. Followers will always be attracted to those with headlamps, and many are unable to differentiate between those leaders who are Enlightened and those who merely have Dark Power. The difference is that Enlightened leaders will teach to give their followers independence; Dark Power leaders will seek to keep their followers dependent and confused. The way I see it, an individual must establish themselves as fully independent in order to cultivate degrees of enlightenment. My teaching method is designed to support all people to express themselves independently and to pursue their individual paths. I offer the place and a teaching method to cultivate "right practice." Although I encourage committed practice, the rest is up to the individual. My mother did not force me continue studying martial arts; she merely believed in me and encouraged me. I hope to do the same for my students. My Path to Nam: My first glimpse of nam came too me after approximately ten years of consistent martial arts' practice. It came unexpectedly. In 1953, I first studied Chang Mu Kwan under a 2nd Dan instructor by the name of Yu Ki Joon. Yu Ki Joon was a mean Korean marine who carried a big stick and commanded respect through intimidation. He was the first person who taught me Basic Form number 1. Some of what he taught me ultimately became the basis for my first glimpse of enlightenment as a martial artist. On turns, for example, he taught me to move my foot first, and then to follow with the upper-body turn and block. All the martial artists in Korea turned this way back in the 1950's and 1960's. I turned this way for over 10 years, never questioning this approach to turning. Much later in my practice, when I was a 4th Dan, I read a book titled, "Practical Karate" by Nakayama Masatoshi, a well-known master of Shotokan Karate. I read a statement in this book that at all karate movement must be "one-unit motion." This was a bold statement, "all karate movement must be one-unit motion." Karate is not a style, it is a word that encompasses all martial art styles; and according to Nakayama, all styles must incorporate one-unit motion. When I read this statement, my headlamp was turned on and I saw a little bit of light in what had been a dark cave. Through study, I discovered my first martial arts principle. This principle began a process for me in which I questioned every aspect of my martial arts' practice. I no longer accepted anything I had learned. I questioned and looked for deeper truths or principles. This, for me, began my path of "right practice." I began a diligent and focused effort to discover other martial art "principles," and moreover, principles of life. This was my study in discrimination. I did this because I saw that practicing martial arts without an understanding of basic principles was causing injury and other physical and mental problems to most students. Many quit after some years of practice because of injury; derailing their path to nam. I started and have subsequently built the Chayon Ryu martial arts system as a third stage martial arts practice; based upon the principles that I have accumulated since that moment when I read that statement in Mr. Nakayama's book. My hope is that this discrimination and these principles will serve future martial artists in two ways: First, by giving students the ability to practice in alignment with fundamental principles, thereby avoiding injury and allowing any student to enjoy martial arts practice for as long as they desire. Second, I hope to give my students an advantage on the path to nam by teaching the fundamental principles or "right practice." Conclusion: For me, enlightenment is simply bringing light to what was previously dark and unexamined. We all have these moments or epiphanies, and they come to us after many years of consistent study of anything. Some study music or painting, some study the art of parenting or good citizenry. My path is martial art and I am happy to share my discoveries with anyone who is serious and interested. As a martial arts' teacher today, I firmly believe that all teachers in my system should attend regular instructor's clinics. This is why I established a permanent location to teach martial arts. I want my teachers to teach their students the most correct martial arts' movements as I understand them. This is not to say that my students, and my students' students will not have their own moments of enlightenment and take my understanding of martial arts' principles to even greater levels. In fact, I want my students to do this. Yet, at the same time, I do not want my students to have to reinvent the wheel and make again, the discoveries that I made ten, twenty, thirty and forty years into my practice. My hope is that my discoveries will help my students jump-start and accelerate their path to nam, shine brightness on their paths, and open the way for us all to live joy-filled, inspired, creative and powerful lives.
"These are the conditions that result in cult leaders and other forms of powerful deviants. It must be understood that cult leaders generally have light and they are a force to be reckoned with. They use their light or power to exercise control and keep those who follow them dependent and confused. Many people, upon discovering a good thing want to keep it for themselves - often to gain a perceived advantage over other. Ultimately, their leadership is used for their own egos. Consequently, their followers' potential will be limited, poisoned by the Dark Power. This is why "right practice" and humility are critically important. Not only is enlightenment a path for one's self, but having this headlamp is also a responsibility. Followers will always be attracted to those with headlamps, and many are unable to differentiate between those leaders who are Enlightened and those who merely have Dark Power. The difference is that Enlightened leaders will teach to give their followers independence; Dark Power leaders will seek to keep their followers dependent and confused." The choice of words is hopelessly poor and misguided, verging on occultist bullcrap and pseudo asian religious thought, but the advice on cults and cult behaviour is sound, after you dig through the unnecessarily complicated vocabulary. That said, George Lucas called, he wants his royalties pronto.
Yoda's Wisdom On elightnement: Yoda said: "Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter." I just kinda felt that this goes with the first post in here, where the author of the piece also said that he believed that we are already enlightened. And remember that Yoda is from a long time ago so his wisdom may be the most ancient of all wisdom. LOL
