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Author: White Dragon Warrior Society

  • Dragons in Martial Arts

    Dragons have long been part of many Asian cultures. Unlike the Western view of Dragons, where they are creatures to be feared and killed, Eastern Dragons are revered. They are often described as being wise to an almost clever state. Eastern Dragons are often described as having a smile on their face and a look filled with wisdom. They live for centuries at a time and the symbol of good luck. Eastern Dragons also tend not to have wings, rather they move through the air using their mystical powers.

    Dragons appear in many of the Chinese forms of Martial Arts. Some school will teach the traditional Dragon Dance. This dance normally involves several people moving in unison to control a large fabric dragon. As they twist and weave the dancers must stay coordinated to avoid tangling the long fabric. Some of these dragons can be several meters long.

    Another common dance, which is often associated with many dragon forms, is the lion dance. It involves a two-person team, one being the head of the lion and the other the tail. As a drummer beat a special rhythm, the lion will perform great feats of acrobatics that almost represents the playfulness of the creature they are trying to imitate. One of the culminations of this dance is to “consume”, or use a knife to cut up, a head of lettuce.

    In some systems, dragons are viewed as the most powerful creature because of their mythical state. Because no one has actually ever seen an dragon, it is believed they can hide by transforming into many form. Their movements take on a circular motion mimicing the weaving of the long dragon body through the clouds.

  • Wandering Eyes

    Wandering Eyes

    One of the main mistakes that I often see from new Tai Chi students is what we call in our school the “wandering eye”. It’s easy to spot if you’re watching the student perform but one of the harder habits to train out of someone.

    Wandering eye is simply where the student is performing a form but their eyes are darting everywhere. As cliché as it sounds, the eyes are truly the doorway to the soul and a wandering eye means that the mind is not focused and thus not centered and absorbing the good energies being generated.

    In external Martial Arts, it’s much easier to find focus. The practioner has a target to strike and thus a place to send their energies. The mind is focused on these external targets and thus the eyes tend to focus on observing the movements of the opponent and projecting the attack.

    In internal Martial Arts, such as Tai Chi, the practioner must focus internally. There isn’t necessary the same projection of external threat. Furthermore, the object of the internal arts is to draw the energy in, not send it out. So, projecting outward to a target will actually send the energy away from the body and disrupt what is trying to be accomplished through Tai Chi.

    What happens is that the student’s thoughts wander. Did I remember this or that? Should he/she be doing that over there? Wonder what’s for dinner? … etc. And when the mind wanders, so does the soul and thus the eyes.

    There are a few ways to train out of the wandering eye. First off, you must become aware this is happening. Awareness is the key to correcting any situation but it’s often not enough. One can’t simply “hold down” your eyes and make them focus inwardly.

    I generally instruct people to start practicing more meditation. The object of meditation is to focus the mind inwardly and prepare the body. The more meditation one does, the easier it becomes to find that point of focus and enter it.

    Another method to use is to visualize where the energy is moving in the body. Every movement in Tai Chi sends the energy to different parts of the body. If one can visualize it being drawn in from the feet and then circulating through the body with each movement, to focus naturally moves inward and to the energy.

    If you don’t improve right away, don’t fret. It takes time and practice, as in anything in Martial Arts, to grow and perfect. The more you practice with awareness, the better you will become. And soon, you’ll not suffer from the “wandering eye.”