Many martial artist discuss their training with family and friends. They tell and retell their stories from the dojo or dojang with a child-like enthusiasm. This is a good thing and helps create the comraderie we associate with being martial artists. However, when speaking of training time, so often it is relegated to only about the actual time spent in the dojo/dojang.

As Warriors it is imperative to know how to train 24/7. Alertness and awareness is one of the weapons a warrior needs to keep sharp and ready for action and allows you to train throughout your waking state…and at times, even into your dream states. Being mindful of your actions, thoughts, feelings and breathing is a very important part of being a warrior. It allows you to train outside the dojo/dojang.

Since awareness training is so integral to the martial arts, it can easily be part of your everyday life. Whether you are at work, school, or play you can be mindful of your and other people’s activities.

When you go into a restaurant, especially one you eat at frequently, it is easy to let your guard down and go into an autopilot mode with your awareness. Keep it sharp by noticing who is in the restaurant, who is working, where you are going to sit…and be aware of your own breathing, your own thoughts, your own emotions. Awareness keeps you sharp…and healthy.

Mindfulness exercises, whether out in a noisy public place or in a quiet room with soft music, is very healthy for you as well. It releases endorphins and gives you a greater sense of control about the world. Mindfulness keeps your stress levels down and enhances your immune system response. As I posted earlier, Zazen actually enhances your ability to manage physical pain by reshaping your brain and how it perceives pain.

Here is a quick mindfulness technique that works well. It is called ‘Labeling’.  Whatever you are doing in the present moment, simply label it. For instance, when you are washing the dishes, you can say, “washing a plate”…or when opening a car door, “opening car door”…or when mowing the yard, “left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot” as you focus on your walking. Be aware of your internal state as well. Note your breathing from time to time and say, “breathing slow and low”. This helps calm you by centering your energy and quieting the ‘monkey mind’.

Every waking moment and its activity is an opportunity to practice your Warrior’s awareness. Don’t miss out on it. If you do you are actually missing out on life and an enhanced state of well-being and health. Be Well.

A Modern Compilation of Chinese Medicine Ideas

I made a new friend a few weeks ago on Facebook who presented me with a link to 100 Chinese and Buddhist Health Rules – A Modern Compilation of Chinese Medicine Ideas. His name is Richard Vencu and the link is http://yijinjing.ro/health-rules/

As Martial Artists I think you will find this absolutely fascinating and useful. I couldn’t stop reading. Some are very basic such as getting adequate rest and nutrition, but others will fascinate you. Richard gave me permission to use his link as he helped in the translation of these health rules.

Here is the intro to the 100 Chinese and Buddhist Health Rules-A Modern Compilation of Chinese Medicine Ideas with the first Three Rules:

“Based on our experience and practice of YiJinJing we can confirm the validity of the rules:

In this post(s) we translated a Chinese text we got from our Shaolin YiJinJing school in China. The text which is a list was compiled by a very competent Chinese medicine doctor in Beijing and since then it was circulating within China between different doctors emails and websites.

Based on our experience and practice of YiJinJing we can confirm the validity of the rules and also we can confirm the fact that following them gives the power for anyone to overcome disease and improve life quality. Some of the rules cannot be applied alone, for instance to cure the blood sometimes we need medicine and we also need a good doctor to check us and prescribe the right medicine. But even in this case applying the rules can help the process and prepare the body for a quicker recovery.

We advise you to read few posts every day and meditate some time about them, how they would apply on yourself, what seems to give a sense of urgency and what should be taken care for the long run. After you finish reading all of them please read them once again. We hope those gems of knowledge will help you improve your life quality and, why not, longevity.

No. 1 – Sleep

Sleep is the first element of nourishing life. Your preferred time to sleep is between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m., becausethis time in the course of the day matches the season of winter. If things are not contained in the winter,they cannot grow in the summer, which means that on the next day your spirit will be low.

No. 2 – Medication

All the various medications used to cure diseases work on the surface and don’t penetrate to the root, no matter whether they are Chinese herbs or Western drugs. Because all the different diseases arise from basicmistakes in living and are the result of such mistakes, as long as you do not remove the cause of the mistakes,their result cannot be eliminated at the root.
Now, the root of health is the mind-and-heart and all life factors and experiences originate from there. If themind-and-heart is pure, the body is pure. So, if you get sick, don’t look for a cause outside, but rely on the innatepowers of your own body and self to recover. This reality applies equally to human beings and animals; ifanimals can recover from diseases relying on their own powers, so can people.

No. 3 – Correct Behavior

The right understanding is to stay far away from expensive drugs and dangerous surgery in helping patients to get rid of their diseases. Based on this, you tend to make the right decisions and follow the right patterns of behavior. This will also allow you to ward off the arising of numerous diseases.”
I hope you check out the next 97…and be well.
Dr. Dave
 

Sooner or later you are going to get them. Yes, muscle cramps. The life of a martial artist is vigorous and with the rigors of training eventually you will experience cramping. Typically you will face the middle of the night calf cramp or perhaps a hamstring cramp, especially if you are dehydrated, overheated or overtired.

Yes, they hurt, but fortunately they typically aren’t serious, but in rare cases can be a sign of a more serious illness such as early signs of cardiovascular disease. Most cramps can be prevented by making sure you take in plenty of water and engage in good warm-ups and stretching. Make sure to stretch after the workout as well.

If you have frequent severe leg cramps that wake you up at night and interferes with your sleep or if you have frequent leg cramps during or after your workout, best to visit your medical doctor and get checked out.

If your cramps are occasional then follow some this advice:

Cramps can be a sign of electrolyte imbalances so make sure you are eating or taking in enough calcium and magnesium. These two minerals help regulate muscular contractions by keeping you more relaxed and help prevents cramping.
Make sure your diet is full of dark green leafy vegetables such as broccoli and kale. Calcium-fortified orange juice is also an option.
Another reason for cramping could be your potassium levels are low, so eating foods rich in potassium such as bananas, oranges, prune juice and potatoes with the skin (best go organic with this one) is recommended.
Take a multi-vitamin-mineral supplement with calcium, magnesium and potassium.
Massaging the effected areas is also helpful in alleviating the cramping.
Long hot baths after a strenuous workout…if you have a whirlpool, go for it.
Manage your stress load as well. Stress plays a major role in most physical problems.

Hope this helps.
Be Well…if any questions, email me at blackbelthealing@gmail.com

Here is an interesting study illustrating the power of the mind in conquering pain. I have had many friends send it to me so figured I would share it here.

Living without pain may not require potent drugs, according to a new study published in the medical journal Pain — all you need is a cushion, a quiet corner and maybe a mantra.
Previous research has found that people who practice Zen meditation are less sensitive to pain. For the new study, researchers at the University of Montreal aimed to figure out why. They exposed 13 Zen masters and 13 comparable non-practitioners to equal degrees of painful heat while measuring their brain activity in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner.

The meditators reported feeling less pain than the control group did. What's more, the Zen group reported feelings of pain at levels below what their neurological output from the fMRI indicated. In other words, their brains were receiving pain signals, but they weren't translating them to actual feelings of pain.

While the pain centers in the meditators' brains lit up, the areas of the brain responsible for higher-order processes like cognition, emotion and memory were understimulated. "Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we demonstrated that although the meditators were aware of the pain, this sensation wasn't processed in the part of their brains responsible for appraisal, reasoning or memory formation. We think that they feel the sensations, but cut the process short, refraining from interpretation or labeling of the stimuli as painful," said lead author Pierre Rainville, a researcher at the University of Montreal, in a statement.

Indeed, ancient texts used in Zen practice address the distinction between the sensation of pain and the experience of it. The researchers write: An ancient Eastern text describes two temporally distinct aspects of pain perception; the direct experience of the sensation and habitual, negative, mentation which follows. It was suggested that the so-called 'second dart' of pain could be removed via meditative training, obliterating the suffering associated with noxious stimulation. Remarkably, the first claim parallels modern science which has demonstrated that cognitive and affective factors can greatly influence painful experience.

Also called zazen, Zen meditation is self-focused, and meant to help practitioners view the self as merely an extension of the rest of the world. The Pain study is the second bit of good news this week regarding such mindfulness techniques. A separate paper in the Archives of General Psychiatry found that when patients who had recovered from depression used mindfulness-based cognitive therapy — in which patients learn to become aware of their thinking patterns when they feel depressed, and change negative mental responses like rumination to more positive ones like constructive reflection — they were able to prevent relapse nearly as effectively as those using antidepressant drugs.

The studies add to the evidence that mindfulness techniques like meditation can be learned, and that they may help in the management of a variety of conditions. "The results suggest that Zen meditators may have a training-related ability to disengage some higher-order brain processes, while still experiencing the stimulus," said Rainville. "Such an ability could have widespread and profound implications for pain and emotion regulation and cognitive control."


Read more: http://healthland.time.com/2010/12/09/mind-over-matter-can-zen-meditation-help-you-forget-about-pain/#ixzz1HvaWpz6g

Be sure to visit  www.blackbelthealing.com for more information on conquering pain like a Samurai!
 

A martial artist went to his doctor complaining of painful headaches. After concluding his test, the doctor said, “There is only one solution, but it’s extreme: castration.” The patient gulped and said he could never resort to that, and he walked out of the doctor’s office.

As the weeks went on, his headaches got so painful that he couldn’t take it any longer. He finally went back to his doctor and agreed to the castration.

The operation was a big success, and the martial artistt felt so good he couldn’t believe it. His headaches were finally gone! He felt like a new man. He was so excited about his new life that he went to a tailor and bought a whole new set of clothes, including suits, shirts, socks, even underwear.

In jotting down all the appropriate information, the tailor finally asked, “What size underwear do you wear?”

“Forty,” replied the martial artist..

“Oh no,” said the tailor. “You’re a 44. If you wear underwear that tight, you’ll get terrible headaches!”


As Martial Artist’s we need a sense of humor. Without it we would be hurting way too much. If you were to ask anyone on the street if a sense of humor is important you would get a big fat, “Yes!”  As you are most likely aware, humor is the world’s best medicine. It releases endorphins, reduces stress, strengthens your immune system, reduces pain and it is just plain fun to have a great laugh.

One of the signs, at least in my opinion, of a good martial artist is the ability to laugh at him or herself. Think about some of the most embarrassing moments you have ever had in the dojo or dojang. Funny, right. And you had to laugh at yourself…at least I do.

One of my most embarrassing and ‘had to laugh’ moments was when I was a brown belt. One of my teacher’s black belts was giving a Karate demonstration in a town about an hour from where we trained. He asked if I could come along and help. I said, “Sure.”

Now, this was back in the day when training equipment, like jocks and protective cups, didn’t always fit together so neatly…and weren’t designed for martial artists. Well, during the free-sparring demonstration, I got kicked in the groin. I was okay, but then all of sudden I could feel something was not right.

My protective cup had gotten knocked out of place and was taking a nice slow slide down my right pant leg. As I shook my right leg, my cup made an appearance and clunked on the floor. The crowd erupted in laughter!

All I could do was take a bow, pick up the cup, turn and replace it in its place. I couldn’t help but laugh as well. So, remember to laugh during your training. Take your training seriously, but yourself lightly. It will carry you far in the Martial Arts. Laughter is the best medicine.