Role of Meditation in Learning Tae Kwon Do

Master Esrar conducts a meditation session to conclude training. His instructions by way introduction to new members is as follows. “During meditation relax and close your eyes then reflect on what you have learnt today. Bring to mind everything you have experienced today and visualise yourself performing each exercise perfectly in turn. We’ll be doing this for 1 minute whereupon I’ll be calling on you to open your eyes”. The idea being that by calling to mind all you have experienced you will be able to increase the amount you learn – a rapid review of the training essentially. Two hours of training re-experienced in 1 minute!

This is a tall ask for anyone, most of all to an individual who is not versed in the art of meditation. The key is to be able to relax. How do you relax after a rigorous two-hour training session? Is it really possible to instantly switch off your mind by just making the intention to do so? If it was then how do you formulate the intention and how do you know when your mind is sufficiently relaxed?

Despite knowing a thing or two about meditation I struggle to maintain focus during this period at the end of class. The key to controlling the mind is meditation but to meditate effectively it is important to relax. A case of “which comes first the chicken or the egg” scenario! If you can’t relax you can’t meditate effectively.

I found that the best way to enter a meditative state is to progressively relax the mind and body first. The training is high intensity, being both physically and mentally demanding. Progressive relaxation allows for a break from the stress caused by the constant demands placed on the mind and body by the training. Warm up exercises, stretching exercises, kicking techniques and punching techniques all need to be learnt. Throughout the session the mind is occupied attempting to execute and perfect each technique presented to it. This causes stress and stress is not conducive to learning!

A thirty-second progressive mind/body relaxation is sufficient to let go of the stress and pull together all the information presented to it during the meditation which follows.  The meditation process can be enhanced further if the trainer can provide a reminder of what has been practiced on the day and in the sequence it had been practiced.

Taekwondo Training - The Pain Barrier

Master Esrar mentioned a few times that as individuals we were capable of executing any technique he asked of us. The mind he said was the barrier, our bodies were capable of anything we want to put them through. Today, I had first hand experience of the mind getting in the way of my progress.

I had shown the picture of Hun Ho being assisted with performing a split and shared with him the goal that I’d like to be as flexible as him. Motivation for me was two fold, first it was my aspiration to be able do what this young Korean TKD blackbelt was able to do and secondly I had made a promise to my colleagues at work to demonstrate this particular exercise by June 2011. The consequences would be extremely painful if I would fail to achieve this goal.

Following warm up, Master Esrar instructed us to perform a series of stretching exercises. We were performing these exercises in pairs. As I set down and drew in my feet in with my hands, he came over and pressed hard on my knees. My mind and vocals screamed pain. “Breathe out” said as he pressed harder. I felt resistance and so did Master Esrar. He again instructed me to breathe out and pressed harder as he goaded me to relax further. Pain was blocking my progress. Try as I may to relax the pain was winning. Master Esrar kept me at it through the pain. For a split second he wasn’t my favourite person anymore…just for a split second!

Thinking I got over the worst of it, engaged with my partner in assisted stand up splits, master Esrar came over again. At full stretch, so I thought, he pushed my leg out a further 6 inches. Sharp pain radiated through my legs and registered in my vocals as a sharp aaah. Again master Esrar was there to instruct. “Breathe out and hold, 10,9,…1”. Just as I thought I was past this one he pushed my leg out by a further 6 inches. The pain was unbearable. He forced me to stay there and again said “breathe out and hold”. I barely held on for another 10 seconds. As he let go and moved to another ‘victim’ I drew in my legs with help of partner. Pain lessened but was enough to be still in my awareness.

Controlling my mind was the key, but how? I put the question to master Esrar at the end of the session. He did not know how, however, what he was definitely sure of was the mind mastery was the key.

This question, how can I control my mind to overcome the obvious pain I had felt had continued to occupy my mind for several days after.

As a self appointed master of mind dynamics, how can I not know the answer to this question? Pain was a signal to the body that something was wrong. I had the choice to leave it well alone or do something about it. Instinct and innate reflex shouted to push Master Esrar aside and give in. Mind said Master Esrar is there to help you, find another way to deal with it. With Master Esrar’s assistance, I let the pain be. In the end the pain let me be too. Was the key to controlling the mind then simply a case of making a choice? Acknowledging the feedback from my body, and then letting it go! I had made the choice against instinct and was sore but not hurt. Could this really be the answer? I don’t know. May be it is then again maybe it is not!

Session 8 at Hadri Tae Kwon Do, Walthamstow

Another session of enthralling Tae kwon do training! Arriving late, partly because of Usman’s incessant delays, partly because of own tiredness after yesterday’s marathon essay writing endeavour. Of course Shakila’s insistence on escorting Nakeeeba back from mosque also played it’s part. However, Usman and I were here now. Briskly getting changed into our respective TKD uniforms we proceeded towards our already in session class. Bowing in respect to Master Esrar, we were motioned to move to the back to join the class.

No two successive weeks of exercise were ever the same. Master Esrar expertly took us through exercise after exercise, demonstrating then monitoring our progress.  Where he spotted issues with execution of his instruction he would either swoop in himself or allow one his ever growing team of black-belts to swoop in and assist. Help was always at hand. What was required was to follow his instructions and to put in some effort. Any technical hitches were promptly put right.

Master Esrar instilled so much self-belief in us that everything he presented as a challenge seemed to possible to achieve. His words were: “everyone here can kick above the height of their own head, if anything prevents you then it would be your mind”.

Yes indeed it was the mind! Words of a mentor rang in my mind like alarm bells in a church on Sunday. “All problems are problems of imagination and all solutions were solutions of imagination”. Another mentor put it like this “what the mind of man can conceive and believe, he can achieve”. So any problems any of us could encounter would only exist in our imagination. As our imagination is in our control at any given moment in time we can overcome our problems by imagining the solution equally as easily. So the obstacle in our paths would be the obstacles we put there. If we put them there then we can remove them as well.

We paired up and a hand held pad was given to us. The objective;  to practice a variety of different kicking techniques. The pad would be the target held by one us whilst the other would kick it ten times with the right leg then ten times with the left with the two sets of ten kicks. Completed, the other partner would hold the pad allowing the first partner to perform his or her kicks. Low section kick, high section kick, chopping kick, pushing kick all were practised in turn.

Master Esrar had remembered the point I had made to him about the benefits of pad holding and explained that whilst holding the pad we should be actively involving our mind to think about counter-measures to the incoming kicks as holding the pad provided us the opportunity to observe the kick being delivered.  Master stroke! Every endeavour instruct us was serving to teach us something about the art we were learning.

The finale – light sparring, we were separate into age categories and called to take centre stage and engage in a one-one combat with a partner. The objective to  put into play all we have learned so far and see if we can score points against our opponents. Body armour adorned we stood to attention facing our opponents. First bowing in respect to our opponent we were signalled to adopt fighting stance and then commence battle. Sharply at the end of a period of a minute the bout was stopped. We changed partners and engaged in battle again. Everyone had the opportunity to partake in at least two bouts. I was fortunate to face 4 different partners, one of whom was a blackbelt. From him I took the biggest beating however, it was from him I also took the biggest lessons as well. Whilst I toiled and strategised to find some way past his defence, he just watched and countered remarkably easily. He seemed to have so much time. My frantic movements to hit him were easily side stepped and dealt with. The only comfort in this encounter was I too one day will engage with an opponent and be able to counter and side step just like Amjad had done to me today. Remarkably, he had done it without hurting me.

It is my belief that any martial arts encounter, be it competitive or be it in a training session both the victor and the defeated are winners. Each gains something, the victor delivers a lesson and the defeated learns a lesson. Both are winners!

The session was bought to a customary end, with a minute of meditation and then master Esrar addressed us. He told us that he was proud to be our instructor, the effort he had seen from us truly commendable. He was teaching other classes, but the Tuesday evening class was the one he always looked forward to. He said it was 7 days to go to the next one, he couldn’t wait for Tuesday come around again. So it was with a sense achievement we parted ways again, eagerly looking forward to the next session.

My Frst Experience of Martial Arts Training

Usman’s now customary delays meant we arrived late for my first session of Tae kwon do. Uncertain of what was expected of me I followed the boys into a side room to deposit my trainers, socks and keys, then followed them out to the hall and waited on the side for instructions. The session was in progress, however, very quickly Master Esrar called time out and came over to me and invited me to join in advising me to take it easy and have fun.

As part of the warm up exercises he got us to bounce, perform press-ups, and sit ups. The sit-ups got progressively harder. Starting with basic sit-ups, we performed sit-up stands and then sit-up up stand and jumps. He demanded 10 reps for each exercise, but around rep 4 or 5 of the sit up stands I was exhausted but adamant on completion.

Crossing to the right and bullet kicking and then crossing to the left to bullet kick again took it’s toll on me around about the 4^th rep, however I soldiered on to completion.

After the brief break that followed I feared better with the on the spot sprint and frog jumps. The press-ups however, did prove a little challenging – muscles required were not yet up to the task.

The stretching exercises were little easier on my body. Looking around at my class mates I wasn’t the only one letting out a sigh of relief.

A 20-minute break was announced and the scene was set for demonstration and execution of TKD techniques.

The horse riding stance was first on the agenda. Esrar demonstrated exactly what horse riding stance was and how assume it correctly. He then showed us how to punch and perform inner, outer and high section blocks from this stance. The class and I followed his lead and performed the exercise to the best our abilities. Both master Esrar and Master Ensar walked around checking our execution and assisting where help was needed. My technique was corrected a number of times!

Next we were required to perform a series of kicks. Master Esrar demonstrated the front, turning, chopping hook, and front hook kick in turn. Alternating left and right leg we were guided through the execution of each of the kicks and assisted where necessary.

Newbie’s were asked to sit out the poomsae exercises and observe. The class was broken into 3 groups; red belts and above, green belt to red belt and below green belt. Each was assigned a set of exercises to perform (poomsae). Master Esrar and master Ensar walked around and scrutinised the execution and helped correct when necessary.

In the final phase of the session we were permitted to choose a kicking technique and perform it in turn with a partner. We were advised to maintain guard after each kick and to cultivate the habit snapping our leg to properly perform each kick.

Master Esrar congratulated us for a job well done and proceeded to instruct us to meditate bringing to mind everything we have done today and its contribution towards a particular goal for this session and indeed for the art of TKD.

Finally he gave a brief overview of things to come over next few months and set us homework to help us to perfect our kicking techniques before dismissing us.

Thank you Master Esrar and Master Ensar for a wonderful first session!