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THE SECRET SCIENCE OF COMBAT STRATEGY

Balboa Press

Chapter One

As a beginner you naturally started trying to mimic the technical aspects of your chosen martial art by copying the form and structure of the physical techniques. For years you may have operated only at this superficial periphery of your discipline: its outward appearance. This is understandable because most teachers are capable only of demonstrating the outer shell of their art; they have not yet attained a level where they can begin to transmit its heart.

Therefore, for you to become a true martial artist, you need to be led much deeper—right into your art's essence, directly into its heart. From there, you can naturally allow the outward appearance of the art form to reveal itself to you. Each person must accomplish this for himself or herself. You can only be shown the entrance to the door. From that point on, your sustained effort is required to pass through and see for yourself what's on the other side.

For you to be able to pass through that door you must begin to allow yourself to feel, to experience, and then to simply witness events as they unfold moment by moment. Your reality will no longer be diluted by what you think has happened, should happen, is happening, or will happen based on any number of filters and distortions that your mind has built up over a lifetime of adverse experience and conditioning.

At this point in your training, you will then be ready to move beyond form. You will begin to understand not so much based on what you have been taught but based on what you are able to intuit. It is like glimpsing someone familiar on the other side of a large, crowded room only to realise that you are looking at yourself in a distant mirror; you are still the same person, but everything is different because your interpretation of what your senses are telling you has changed. Your understanding of reality is different. You now see into the heart of things, past their surface appearance, past their form into the commonality of all things. You may even feel a little embarrassed that you did not recognise this reality, in all its simple elegance, sooner, because it was there all along, hidden in plain sight.

"Just as you see yourself in a mirror, form and reflection look at each other. You are not the reflection, yet the reflection is you." —Tosan

Because your stable, centred internal state can no longer be unsettled by information that you now understand does not reflect reality, you are free to remain present, with no distraction of mind that might disconnect you from your positive, purposeful actions. Although respectful of other people's beliefs, you personally do not pay much heed to intellectual interpretations, religious discussions, or theosophical debates, nor do you give any credence to any esoteric belief systems, philosophies, or teachings. Simply and quietly, without ego or distraction, fuelled by curiosity and wonder, with your faculties of reason and discernment fully engaged, you simply continue to train as before, without distraction.

This kind of egoless, centred training prepares you as much for death as it does for life because, as the present moment expands to become your natural state of being, you gradually lose all fear of death. Irrational fear, like dogged belief systems, coexists with ignorance and a lack of true understanding. Darkness is simply the absence of light, and no darkness can possibly exist in the light of your newfound understanding. With all illusion dissolved, you now make choices and take actions to free yourself from fear, guilt, obligation, or shame. This hard-fought freedom is a major milestone on your personal journey to merge completely with the very heart of your art form. The effort required to accomplish this level of awareness is considerable. The reward for such effort is life in abundance.

"Does your path have a heart? If it doesn't, it is of no use." —Carlos Castaneda, Teachings of Don Juan

Why Do You Need a Strategy?

In sport combat, the ultimate objective is to win each contest. Luck, good technical ability, and individual effort may be major factors in any victory, but to string together a succession of significant accomplishments over a lifetime requires a strategy and strong allies.

In life, the ultimate objective is not only to survive but also to live joyfully for many years. Either way, to keep accomplishing your goals, you must effectively build a strong support base of people who are also getting their objectives met by helping you.

"True victory is self-victory." —Morihei Ueshiba

True combat strategy requires that you first and foremost know yourself and then all the external factors that may have a bearing on your desired outcome. Skilful introspection must therefore always precede a careful study of the external factors that may influence success or defeat. Correct insight must not be based only on accurate intelligence gathering but must also encompass a detailed knowledge of all the mental, emotional, psychological, and subconscious factors that may have an influence on your desired outcome.

Long-term, effective actions are always based in reality, not guesswork. Your approach, therefore, cannot be haphazard; it must be based in science. A scientific approach naturally implies a continuous, never-ending cycle of study, application, experimentation, and rethinking. Just like science, strategy requires imagination and also that you allow room for spontaneous improvisation and insight. If your strategy lacks these essential ingredients then even though you may have some success, your actions will not survive the test of time because you will become ineffective when confronted with evolving circumstance. In this way, the application of creative imagination and spontaneous improvisation elevates the science of strategy to an art form.

The secret combat strategies articulated in this book are grounded in fundamental principles and are, therefore, universally applicable and equally effective irrespective of the specific fighting method or techniques employed. They also are by their nature universally applicable to armed as well as to unarmed interactions. In addition, these strategies are equally applicable to sport combat as well as to real life-and-death encounters because, unlike techniques, strategies, and principles, they are not restricted by rules. Like techniques, however, principles and strategies need to be correctly understood and applied repeatedly until they become second nature.

Tree Metaphor

Like a tree, to survive harsh and unforgiving situations, you need to be flexible yet remain stable, grounded, deep-rooted, centred, and strong. Ultimately, your goal is to grow in all aspects of your life and contribute to the world in meaningful ways that align your actions to your true purpose. This is a very important and practical aspect of training in bud and yoga.

• To start, you need to surround yourself with talented, positive, and supportive people. Immersing yourself into a nurturing environment (i.e., ensuring the tree is planted in good soil) is essential to developing to your full potential.

• The effectiveness of the countless number of techniques (the leaves of the tree) that you can perform from the numerous armed and unarmed combat methods (the tree branches) depends on the effectiveness of the strategies (the tree trunk) and the fundamental principles (the tree roots) that underpin every combat method or system you employ.

• The many leaves of the tree continue to spontaneously change and adapt as the many branches of the tree sway and adapt as appropriate to the many unique, unpredictable, volatile, and ever-changing circumstances you face.

• It doesn't matter how many times the wind changes direction or how hard it rains, the trunk of the tree, supported by the tree's roots, remains stable to sustain the creative process of the branches and the leaves.

• If the tree remains stable, strong, and centred, then it will continue to rejuvenate, naturally produce seeds or fruit (positive, practical, measurable outcomes; results), realise its full potential, and fulfil its life's purpose.

• In time, the life-affirming, spiritual, and esoteric forces of nature will naturally give rise to new life.

The MyeDojo

The Japanese term dojo literally translates as "way-place" or a place where you follow a path or way to illumination/clarity. It is where you go for personal transformation. As such a dojo is a place where everyone is committed to being part of a community that is dedicated to helping each other with their personal endeavour to merge completely with the very heart of their chosen art form.

Within this global community, made possible with the advent of the Internet, you are presented with a unique opportunity to join a virtual dojo—without walls and without limitations. World Aikido-Yoga (WAY) is pioneering the development of a unique MyeDojo, which offers online access to live classes, workshops, and seminars grouped within five distinct certification levels, which are subsequently archived for unlimited future reference by MyeDojo members.

The course of instruction offered within the online MyeDojo training sessions walks you through, step by step, a series of practical exercises and drills that will help you to master not only the combat strategies outlined in this book, but also give you the full spectrum of instruction from basic combat techniques all the way through to the most advanced theory and practical application of both combat and yoga techniques, strategies, and principles available anywhere.

As with any traditional dojo, based on a comprehensive training and accreditation process, you will gain the proficiency required for advancement through each of the five major certification levels. This will enable you to practice solo or with others in the comfort of your own home or dojo using the structured real-time, online classes as well as the extensive and ever-growing online video archive reference library.

True martial-arts practice is multifaceted in order to enhance every aspect of your life. The lessons learnt within the five major certification levels of MyeDojo, therefore, enable you to interpret the secret wisdom contained within Budo and Yoga and translate this ancient knowledge into practical application in everyday, real-life situations when it counts the most—under pressure.

The Five MyeDojo Curriculum Levels

Level 1: Combat Methods and Techniques

[The "branches" and "leaves" depicted in the tree metaphor.] This level of training gives you access to a comprehensive curriculum of very sophisticated martial-arts forms and techniques. These consist of numerous empty-hand and grappling techniques as well as a full array of traditional weapons instruction. The level of instruction you will receive in the MyeDojo has previously only been available to people who have had the opportunity to receive in-depth one-on-one training with an advanced instructor who was able to impart a deeper understanding of martial-arts techniques.

Level 2: Combat Strategies

[The "trunk" depicted in the tree metaphor.]

This level of training gives you access to an in-depth study of the theory and practical application of the secret science of combat strategy. This covers empty-hand, grappling as well as traditional weapons practice. The level of instruction you will receive in the MyeDojo has previously only been available to people who have had the opportunity to receive in-depth one-on-one training with an advanced instructor who was able to impart a deeper understanding of martial arts combat strategies.

Level 3: Combat Principles

[The "roots" depicted in the tree metaphor.] This level of training gives you access to a detailed explanation and an in-depth study of the fundamental principles that underpin the practice and application of martial strategies, methods, and techniques. This covers empty-hand and grappling as well as traditional weapons practice. The level of instruction you will receive in the MyeDojo has previously only been available to people who have had the opportunity to receive in-depth one-on-one training with an advanced instructor who was able to impart a deeper understanding of martial-arts principles.

Level 4: Personal Growth

[How tall does a tree grow? As tall as it can!] This level of training gives you access to a comprehensive and ever evolving set of personal growth tools, strategies, and principles that will facilitate your personal growth and support the attainment of your life goals. The level of instruction you will receive in the MyeDojo has previously only been available to people who have had the opportunity to receive in-depth one-on-one training with an advanced instructor who was able, or even willing, to impart to you a deeper understanding of the more practical, noncombat aspects of your training as they apply to your life purpose based on your aptitude and dedication.

Level 5: Expanding Awareness

[Beyond the self ...] This level of training gives you access to an in-depth study of the more esoteric/spiritual aspects of Budo and Yoga that will breathe new life and vitality into your martial-arts practice. This encompasses empty-hand as well as traditional weapons practice. The level of instruction you will receive in the MyeDojo has previously only been available to people who have had the opportunity to receive in-depth one-on-one training with an advanced instructor who was able, or even willing, to impart a deeper understanding of the more esoteric/spiritual aspects of martial arts based on your aptitude and dedication.

The Five Levels of Progression

Imagine apportioning the contents of one large bucket called "Combat Mastery" into five smaller buckets:

* The first bucket you label "Combat Methods and Techniques"

* The second "Combat Strategies"

* The third "Combat Principles"

* The fourth "Personal Growth"

* The fifth "Expanding Awareness"

Now visualise each bucket positioned down a staircase to allow each successively lower bucket to catch the overflow from the previous bucket, which is positioned higher up the staircase. The objective is for you to sufficiently fill each bucket so that every subsequent bucket down the line is successively filled from the overflow of the previous bucket. However, there is the catch; you can only fill the system from the top bucket. If you stop filling the top bucket then the flow to each successive bucket down the line will eventually slow to a stop, making the whole system progressively more and more susceptible to stagnation and contamination.

The analogy is that because you can only fill the system from the top bucket, the basis of all your continuing knowledge and growth must be based on disciplined daily practice and refinement of technique in whatever martial combat method(s) you choose. Progressive mastery of techniques within a variety of combat methods (bucket 1) therefore allows you to apply more skilful application of strategy (bucket 2), which in turn enables you to better understand and apply the fundamental principles (bucket 3) that underpin all the combat methods and techniques. As the process of learning pegs new knowledge to previous understanding, you will naturally start to relate the lessons you learn in the MyeDojo to your everyday life experiences in a continuous cycle of personal growth (bucket 4). This lays the foundation for expanding awareness (bucket 5), resulting in a gradual blossoming of your wisdom and esoteric/spiritual insight.

If you do not approach your training in the above sequential manner and instead try to fill the buckets in the wrong order, then, at best, you will have an incomplete approach, and at worst, you will be faced with a potentially ineffective system that is susceptible to dogma and stagnation. Regardless of whether your objective is combat mastery, personal development, or spiritual growth, if your practice is based solely on a theoretical, mental, or faith-based approach, and not on disciplined daily physical practice that reinforces a personal journey of self-discovery, then you are essentially wasting your time because you need all of the successive buckets overflowing in sequence in order for you to attain any level of real mastery that can survive real-life pressure.

More importantly, your mind/body experience resulting from physical practice will enable the overflow of gratitude, compassion, and love from the last bucket to fill your heart. Eventually, your heart will also naturally start to overflow. This is the source of all true self-full contribution. Fear and love cannot live in the same heart at the same time, so as all your fear is displaced with love, the resulting overflow of love from your heart will result in the emergence of a truly courageous and authentic spirit that is ready, willing, and able to contribute to the world in ways that are congruent with your life purpose. The overflow of the last bucket in the sequential chain is therefore a key milestone along your martial-arts journey.

However, regardless of your chosen martial discipline, your journey must start with your body—from the daily study and practice of the techniques related to your chosen martial method(s)/system(s) (bucket 1). The eventual overflow of unconditional, boundless love and compassion from your heart, and your ensuing self-full contribution, will accelerate your inevitable journey along your chosen martial path back to the Absolute.

The Combat Strategies

As stated in the opening paragraph of this book, you are about to be introduced to the secret science of combat strategy—elevated to an art form.

What you are about to learn are not tricks, or specific things that, if you do them in the right sequence and in the correct manner will magically deliver you the victory you so strongly desire. In fact this very desire of yours will drive your goal of successful combat strategy ever further from your grasp in direct proportion to your strong desire!

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from THE SECRET SCIENCE OF COMBAT STRATEGY by Jules Aib Copyright © 2012 by Jules Aib. Excerpted by permission of Balboa Press. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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