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!