tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75125141881583556.post5697541729450652014..comments2011-03-21T13:51:02.399-05:00Comments on Mind and Body Together: Breaking a FallThomas Vinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16652892070104329897noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75125141881583556.post-14611163628507964992011-02-15T09:10:40.913-06:002011-02-15T09:10:40.913-06:00There's a scene in the movie Parenthood that I...There's a scene in the movie Parenthood that I love. The older somewhat senile grandmother is talking and she says something like this - "People go to the fair, some like the ferris wheel and some ride the roller coaster...but the ferris wheel just goes round and round, boring. I love the roller coaster, the twists and turns, the fear and the fun." Not an exact quote but something like that. I think the analogy was lost on Steve Martin but not me. I like the roller coaster too.<br /><br />Facing and conquering a fear is a roller coaster to me. I asked to be thrown that day. Master Ali kindly threw down a second mat and I didn't really land as well as I'd hoped but I did it. And I'm glad.<br /><br />I could wish I was younger but I am so grateful for being healthy enough to even be IN a martial arts class. And maybe I ain't no hard body anymore, but I can learn to fall with presence, and I can learn to be thrown without fear. And you are right Tomas, I 'spect that will translate into many areas of my life.cherrynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75125141881583556.post-31918127315206597562011-02-15T08:43:48.149-06:002011-02-15T08:43:48.149-06:00Good insight: that explains the challenge of my pr...Good insight: that explains the challenge of my practice in these techniques. I tend to sink into the ground and lock up. Master John called me "the immovable object". An effective tactic, but not at all times.<br /><br />We must learn to be hard and soft as the situation calls for. <br /><br />God I love martial arts!Thomas Vinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16652892070104329897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75125141881583556.post-29615430844516644542011-02-14T23:22:30.149-06:002011-02-14T23:22:30.149-06:00For me, it all comes down to staying loose. On the...For me, it all comes down to staying loose. On the mat or in life. Fear makes us tight, stiff; so of course we're much more likely to shatter and break than to roll and flow. <br /><br />I think it goes beyond losing the support when the opponent or manages to get us off our feet. it's also that we panic, thinking we must always be solidly rooted in order to be in control. think surfing. the wave will go where the wave will go. but if we stay loose, and keep our mind and body balanced, we can have a goodly amount of influence over the direction of our own travel.drberylnoreply@blogger.com