To me the answer is simple. Meditation helps you pay attention and temper your reactions. Simply put, it helps you respond more neutrally to your environment and all stimuli. To me this is the rationale behind the famed view of a  warrior monk.

​Anyone who trains their mind can theoretically make better decisions and be more rational in a stressful situation. Like anything this takes time and practice to do well and apply in real time. Here's a simple template I use to train my mentality and how I work to implement my meditation into realistic self defense scenarios.

After having seen a certain martial art demo have you heard someone say or have you said this before?

"That will never work... in the 'cage'/ on the 'street'/ in UFC/ against a boxer or mixed martial artist!"

If you have I'd say you're/they're probably right. The problem with that statement is the UFC or 'the cage' isn't the be all end all testing ground for martial art. When it comes to martial effectiveness I'd say 'the cage' or the UFC is one of, if not the best place, to pressure test your technique in a 1 on 1 all inclusive environment.

The more broad problem is that 'martial effectiveness' isn't the only goal in 'traditional' techniques, styles, exercises, or forms.

My purpose in writing this post is to help you refocus how you look at traditional martial arts, and martial art practice in general.

The focus when looking at martial arts, especially traditional ones, should be on asking "Does the art build a certain skill, attribute or does it have some other cultural or social relevance?" Various martial arts focus on different aspects of these. Boxing, JiuJitsu, and Mui Thai even fall into these categories. In particular we're looking at skills such as musculoskeletal development, cardiovascular and other forms of fitness, whole body coordination, efficient strength, posture, and rehabilitation of injuries and many more. After seeking the reasoning we then have to ask ourselves is this something we could find appealing? 

It all boils down to critical thinking. ​In this post we'll offer some references and knowledge to find reasons behind traditional practices and my personal reasons for continued practice of traditional martial arts. After reading this I hope you can make a more well informed opinion of traditional and modern practices. =)

First of all I want to thank my great family for supporting me all this time and reminding me life's never as hard as I make it out to be. =) You contribute to everything I do and I could never thank you enough, or in as many ways which you deserve. THANK YOU!

Second I want to say thanks to everyone who has taught me something and lifted me up professionally and spiritually. The rest of this post will be a homage to the great things you've taught me recently, so that your guidance may help others on their journey.

Third, I'd like to extend a big thank you to everyone who has liked my stuff on Facebook, signed up for the newsletter, attended my classes, subscribed, and/or shared my content. If it wasn't for you Move With Life would still simply be a dream I write about in my journal, and a vision I have in my head as opposed to the reality YOU make it. Thank you for following and allowing me to share my passion and journey with y'all. I hope it's been worth it, much more greatness to come.

​So let's dive into some recent glimpses of enlightenment I have gained from my current mentors, and friends. Felicia Brown, Dave Cial, Rick Panico, Bushi Yamato Damashii, and Rodney J Owen.

Massage has been very important in martial arts for a long time. Not just for injury recovery, but also for prevention, and even many times as a requirement for ranking as a "master" in w/e discipline or system.

Today we'll explore the main reasons I feel one is indispensable from another and how both complement each other almost seamlessly.

Warm up your hands and grab your lineaments today we're diving into how massage and martial arts make a devastating healing couple!

At the core of stress free living is the understanding that true relaxation or truly being stress free is not simply going limp, or giving up. In Tai Chi we say "true relaxation" is balancing circumstance and reaction and/or movement and stillness. Physically this correlates to relaxation not being limp, this principle is the first thing you learn in Tai Chi and Yoga, a concept that similarly forms the foundation of all meditation practices. To truly relax and be without stress we must have principles in place to balance the situation. In other words these principles form a sort of "skeleton" to our practice. In martial, physical and psychological practices this framework is the cornerstone we use to accomplish skill. Regardless of the particular practice the ultimate goal is balanced action w/ relaxation. Structure is the foundation of this relaxation, a way to live alongside of stress while still accomplishing goals.

In this post we'll dive into some foundations we can all use to accomplish stress free productive life!

My personal view is that Meditation is the process by which we shape our mind to rest in the Way and internally create the life we desire to be reflected in the world. Coupling this foundation with action leads the way to our better life.

• What is our better life? This we have to figure out for ourselves
• How can our mind lead the way? By resting
• How can we help the mind rest? By 'fasting the mind' and following the Way.

Therefore training (the mind, and in turn the body) to follow 'The Way' is how we go on the path to our better life, a path of success regardless of the endeavour. We'll start exploring these questions by quoting Chuang Tzu and then elaborating with my personal interpretation...

Before seeking our outlook on meditation I recommend looking into the post I wrote prior to this one on why meditation is important. In short the practice forms a great tool to better health by smoothing out our emotional changes. Read more on that here: Smooth Emotions BETTER HEALTH! ... then come back =)

Why do we salute anyway? What meaning is there in all these movements? What's the purpose? ​Are they practical?