The age of the phone?

The last 3 years have seen an explosion in the popularity of smart phones. Whether you want one or not, unless you have lived under a stone, it's impossible to avoid seeing one in action.  

These phones are like mini computers, allowing the user to not only make telephone calls, but also manage communication and information from a variety of sources, including SMS messaging, internet, email and wifi networks. They take and edit photographs, play music and films. The very latest ones now offer face-to-face video calls. 

I believe that these communication devices were inevitable. As humans, we have an instinctive desire to keep in contact with the people we care about. As more and more of our lives is consumed by the demands for work, the smartphone allows us to keep reassuring each other without having to step away from our desks or shops. Conspiracy theorists would no doubt have a field day with this idea. However, it brings me to my first point..

Are we becoming too reliant on this technology for reassurance? Is it a crutch? Undoubtedly, many people will be using their phones as a means of emotional support. It is so reassuring to know that the emergency services, all your friends, and all of the information and all  the services that the internet offers are there for you - instantly. You can get your friends social status and personal information at the touch of a button. A recent survey with teenagers said that they would rather go without anything else than their phones (perhaps this is no surprise to parents of teenagers!). Are we breeding a generation of phone junkies who fall apart when separated from their phones? Perhaps.....

But, I truly believe the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks. There are so many areas of society who have benefitted from the smartphone. Many people fear information overload. I consider this as a challenge to our generations, but future ones will adapt. I see the increasing complexity of our technology as a sign of humanity's collective consciousness improving. The more connections we make, the more knowledge we share and the more issues we discuss will only serve to broaden our understanding of what it is to be human.

Love them or loathe them... smart phones are going to be with us for a while. The challenge will not be whether we can make new technologies, but whether we can resist using them for personal gain at the expense of others - like warfare, unethical selling and spying.

Modern Weapons

One of the joys of learning traditional martial arts is that you get to train with some pretty interesting weapons. There are swords, knives, sabres, spears, whips and all manner of sticks. Personally, I love the Chinese Straight Sword (or Jian). I find it a quick, light, precise weapon that suits my body size and style. I love the movements and postures. The Chen sword form is one of my favourite forms.

But in the real world, how can I possibly carry my sword down the street without attracting lethal retribution from the local rapid response unit? In short - I can't. It is against the law for me to have a sword in public when I am not travelling to and from my place of practice. And what's more - swords are a relic from a bygone era. You are more likely to be confronted by an attacker with a concealed weapon like a knife or a gun. If an assailant has a gun, your sword is going to be pretty useless.

There are a whole plethora of small weapons that can be concealed. One of the most popular is a metal pen that can be used as a weapon:

But to be honest, any hard, blunt object can be jabbed into your assailant's tender spots - sharp handle to a brush - anything. Use your imagination.

Have you seen "The Men Who Stare At Goats"? It is a film about an American military group who were inspired by the new age movement. It is an interesting subtle film - well worth a look. But what has caught the imagination of modern martial artists has been this clip:

This is an actual weapon that was produced - and is still being used by the US troops in Iraq.

This seemingly innocent piece of plastic is used to exert pressure against the vulnerable parts of the body to cause pain. This pain can be used to neutralise an attack and then as an aid to make your assailant compliant.

Although the movie calls them "Predators", they are called "Defenders" in the shops. I have one of these weapons, and I have to say they are brilliant. Although they are ruthlessly efficacious, I don't believe they are a good weapon to carry, because they do not have an innocent use. Even a hand gun can be used to hunt for food (theoretically). There is no innocent use for the Defender. It is purely designed to inflict pain.

Traditional weapons like nunchucks, three-piece staffs and the 10 piece whips were all based on rice flails - things that were in everyday use during simpler times. So consider the applications that the Defender videos show, and try to find everyday things that are close to hand - like pens, keys, hairbrushes, coins, combs, torches (maglites) etc. They could become your best friend in an emergency.

Re-prioritising

As the academic year comes to a close at East Cheshire Community Education, it is time to reflect upon an eventful year. The recession is starting to bite, and this has been reflected in the trials and tribulations faced by myself and many of my students. Three have had children, one has got married, two have changed their jobs and four have moved to another area.

The one thing that becomes clear is that many people have used the recession to take stock of their lives, work out what they truly want and re-prioritise accordingly. Although undeniably stressful, it is also a time where we let go of behaviours, beliefs and aspirations that hold us back.

One of the easiest ways of cutting back is to cancel that gym membership, give up your regular exercise or quit a hobby that costs you money. Be careful about doing this. It is easy to label activities that keep your health and sanity as being superfluous and wasteful. It is also tempting to work longer hours in the pursuit of money in case you may lose your job. Denying yourself your health and recreation is storing up problems that will prove more costly in the long term. Short term gains may result in long term burnout.

So when re-prioritising during a recession, stay clear of a mentality based on fear and protectionism. This is not a mandate to keep spending and ignoring the climate. It is about nurturing yourself and growing in a new direction.

Mental viruses

The internet has proved a fantastic tool for the circulation of ideas and concepts. It unites groups of people with common interests and is the perfect forum for discussions and networking.

There is a down side. The internet is also a breeding ground for a phenomena that I call the Mental Virus. A mental virus is like a computer virus. It is a thought or belief that has no possible use to the owner other than the creation of fear and mistrust. It spreads from person to person and is almost impossible to get rid of. An older version of the mental virus is the urban myth.

Urban myths were rife before the internet. Whoever told you about them said that they happened to "a friend of a friend". Generally, there is no proof that they happened, and there is an element of possibility. Here are a few:

• The old woman who dried her wet dog in the microwave and the dog exploded.
• There are alligators in the sewer put there by people buying them as pets and flushing them down the toilet.
• The young woman who stopped to help an old woman whose car had broken down. She offers to give the old woman a lift to a garage, and notices manly hairs on the back of her hand and drives off before the old woman can get in the car. It is only when she stops that she finds that the old lady's handbag contains a large knife or a small axe.

Mental viruses are just like urban myths, but are on a much grander scale. They start with an idea that snowballs into international conspiracies and life and death issues. People do enormous amounts of research that joins together unrelated facts to make a unified whole.

Some other mental viruses are as follows:

• All modern inventions like computers and stealth aircraft are inspired by recovered flying saucers being reverse-engineered by the US government.
• Princess Diana's death was ordered by the royal family.
• Humanity is being secretly enslaved and ruled by seven foot blood-drinking lizards.
• When NASA landed on the moon, they found alien bases and have been covering it up since.
• NASA never landed on the moon. It was all a hoax.
• The nazis landed on the moon during the second world war.

When you first look at the concepts, they appear pretty far-fetched. But the people who perpetuate mental viruses spend a great deal of time researching for phenomena and facts that support their ideas. They then place these facts into a logical order to build up a picture that points to their theory. They also conveniently ignore all evidence that points to a more logical conclusion. But when you de-construct their arguments, they don't bear well under scrutiny. Many of the conclusions are measured incorrectly - like trying to say that someone is 6 ft tall by weighing them.

More dangerous mental viruses can be perpetuated by religious cults and groups. In these cases, mental viruses are the start of extremist behaviour.

So when learning new concepts on the internet, please consider whether you are taking on a mental virus. Consider whether there is significant scientific backing for the facts and concepts. Also, consider how the ideas influence how you feel about yourself and others. Be rational, sceptical and challenge everything. Ask the right questions, and many of these theories fall down like a house of cards.

Making life simple

I recently bought the new Apple iPad for my wife. She has never been a fan of computers. They are too logical and cold for her. Usually, when she writes an email, I have to stand at her shoulder and advise her. You can see the unease that creeps up every time she gets near a keyboard and mouse. I have a computer in our living room, and she won't sit near it.

Now I am guessing that there is a whole chunk of society who feel exactly the same as my wife. To them, computers are confusing, irrational and frightening. This fear is so bad that they make a thousand excuses why they should not use one. I've heard every little argument.

But something really interesting happened when I gave Claire her iPad. She ENJOYED using it. My self-confessed computer hating wife not only smiles when she uses it, but she is now asking me "Will it do this" or "will it do that". She WANTS to use it more. Possibly for the first time, she sees a computer's potential.

Everything wooshes around at the flick of a finger. The whole package is so slick and capable that using it is instinctive. There are no instruction manuals. You don't need one, because it's all common sense. When my four year old daughter was allowed to have a go, she picked it up straight away. My one year old daughter also understood the interface without any prompting.

This is the way computers should be.... clear and simple. Why make them complicated? Why do you need a million different configuration options? It keeps software engineers and computer companies in money, that's why. Most people don't want to be computer engineers. They just want to get on with their lives with the minimum fuss. Apple understand this more than anyone, and in the iPad, they have delivered a computer tool that understands how people work and delivers simple, effective services for them.

The teacher's teacher

For the past two weeks, Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei has been in the UK conducting seminars for a wide range of abilities. The class I attended was the advanced Laojia Yilu. In the picture opposite, he is demonstrating wrist locks to an eager group of students. Special thanks to Master Liming Yue for bringing Chen Zhenglei to our shores once more.

This time Chen Juan (CZL's eldest daughter) ably assisted in the classes and provided additional tuition and support to the students. It is good to see the Chen lineage coming through strongly in this excellent, spirited Tai Chi player.

While training is of paramount importance to me, these classes are also a great opportunity to catch up on old friends and make new contacts. After the first day, it was clear that the large majority (if not all) of the students in Master Chen's class were Tai Chi teachers in their own right.

This made me think about where do teachers go to continue learning about their art? It is important to keep your skills relevant and improving, so how do you know that you are learning with the correct teacher?

Many traditional martial arts place great importance on lineage. Lineage is the way you connect yourself to the inventor of your art and their direct inheritors. For example, my lineage is that I was taught by Master Liming Yue, who was in turn taught by Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei and up through the Chen Family history to Chen Wang Ting who invented Tai Chi. Your measurement of success is how few the degrees of separation between yourself and direct lineage (in this case, the Chen family). While lineage is one way of assessing a teacher's knowledge, it is not always a guarantee of quality.

There are other ways of proving worth. One way is through competitions. You can perform your movements and have them judged by a panel of officials. This kind of marking is subject to interpretation, and external appearance is no guarantee of martial skill. Cage fighting and Mixed Martial Arts tournaments are becoming more and more popular as a way of proving self defence skills. Other martial arts have simulated combat competitions (Judo, Tae Kwondo, Tai Chi push hands etc.) But many of the most effective traditional martial arts techniques are banned in modern tournaments. So while tournaments are a good barometer for isolated requirements, they are not necessarily a guarantee of a teacher's fighting skill. Also, they are not a guarantee that the teacher can teach. There have been many naturally gifted fighters who have surrounded themselves with students who have learned very little.

Here are some questions you should ask yourself after attending a martial arts class for the first time:

1. Did the lessons make sense?
2. Were things demonstrated slowly and clearly?
3. Are you happy with what you have learned?
4. Was your health and safety considered?
5. Did your skill and understanding of the martial art improve (or did you just learn how good at martial arts your teacher is)?

If you can answer yes to all these questions, you are in a good class. Finally, have a good look around at other students. How good are the more experienced students? This is a guide to your future.

At the end of the day, it is about trust. Who do you trust to correct your technique? I personally know I have made the right decision to learn from Master Liming Yue and Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei. The content of their classes is outstanding, they give clear instructions, they have everyone's safety in mind, and taking a look around their classes - I see so many other teachers there, so I know I have made the right decision.

Tai Chi and Meditation

@KarlRichard (His website here) asked me the following question:

"Can you explain how meditation and Taiji work together as one? Not an easy task, no doubt... Coming from a Buddhist perspective!?"

Many Chinese martial arts (including Tai Chi) were influenced by the Shaolin monks' training, which was taught to them by Indian Buddhist monk - Bodhidharma. He was disturbed by the monks poor physical health, and showed them "tendon changing" exercises (Yi Jin Jing), which were later adapted into the self-defence forms and skills we recognise today as Shaolin Chuan (Shaolin Boxing).

Bodhidharma was responsible for introducing meditation techniques to the Shaolin and he is associated with the idea that spiritual, intellectual and physical excellence are an indivisible whole necessary for enlightenment. It is this ethos that has cascaded through to many of the modern Chinese martial arts today - including Taijiquan.

To delve a little deeper and understand Tai Chi as a meditation, we have to understand the concepts of Wuji and Taiji (Tai Chi).

Wuji is the fundamental principle of stillness. It is a quality that is - in essence - empty and non-polar.

Taiji is extreme opposites (or supremely polar) and represents the interplay between yin and yang. (incidentally, it is this concept that was mis-translated for many generations as "the Grand Ultimate", which fuelled the fires of mysticism and bad teaching that is being corrected by better modern understanding). It is dynamic and polar, and represents the substantial and yielding qualities that are required for self defence.

Now - to attain Taiji (dynamic, polar) gongfu (skill), you must first attain wuji (stillness and emptiness). Meditation is merely focused consciousness. When practicing Tai Chi, the consciousness, movement and breathing are co-ordinated and can be interpreted as a holistic meditation. There are also meditative postures like Zhan Zhuang.

For further reading on Tai Chi and consciousness, try here:

http://richardnorthwood.blogspot.com/2008/02/my-thoughts-on-martial-arts.html

http://richardnorthwood.blogspot.com/2009/12/importance-of-focus.html