This essay is dedicated to my mentors Master Klacko, Linh Chau and all people around me helping, teaching and

ing and guiding me in this world.

Tang Soo Tao

Taoism. The word "Taoism" refers to a Chinese philosophy based on the teachings of Lao Tzu (c. 6th-4th century B.C.) and Chuang Tzu (c. 399-295 B.C.). The central theme of Taoism has to do with harmony with the "natural flow" of the universe. Letting nature take its course is believed to be the key to happiness and fulfillment. Taoists therefore say that life should be approached with the goal of "taking no action that is contrary to Nature." Wing-Tsit Chan, A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy

Tao
Throughout its history, the mankind has been finding many ways of self-development. Some people have realized themselves in spiritual ways such as religion and art, spiritual and physical, such as yoga and sport. The special place in this list of ways takes Martial Art. Martial Art and Tang Soo Do in particular is proven to be a great way to learn about yourself, about people, the world around you and your place in this world. The most of Martial Arts carrying in the name the word Tao- Tang Soo Do, Karate-Do, Aiki-Do. The last word Do in the name is another way to pronounce Tao - the way. There are numerous ways to say the word and even more understandings of it. Everyone, who tries to find the ones way of life, understands and interprets it in according with inner self, but interpretations and descriptions of Tao can point only attributes of it and thats why Lao Tzu - a philosopher of ancient China describing Tao in 6th century BC, started his book with these two lines: The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao The name that can be named is not the eternal name

For the long time Tao for me was just another foreign philosophical concept. Later I accepted external and simplistic interpretation of it, when The Way symbolized the path of development like the line on the map. Only recently Tao was given to me in a very plain way, to which I can closely relate my personal experience and values. I believe it is hard to understand Tao because people like to put Tao on pedestal and worship it, surrounding by scientific, mystical or religious rituals and explanation, when Tao is a very simple thing like an air around us which we using in every days life unconsciously. Tao is rather an emotional state and it is hard to describe emotions, unless the person has had experienced that state before. Words can say as much, but the person will not understand the meaning of it until his inner world and development can match those ideas. Therefore in search of Tao the one shouldnt look for the words and interpretations, but rather feeling and meaning of it. Take for example a punch technique, which can be described as fast extension of the hand closed into a fist, but what makes it a punch is a meaning, coordinated work of muscles and joints and most importantly spirit behind of it. Lots of articles were written to teach the one a great punch technique, but only with hard work, time, and good mentors directions, the practitioner who is looking for perfection will understand the guidance of the words when he will feel it inside, or get closer to that level. Tao can be recognized as The Right Way and as a Flow in the same time. We all use Tao everyday in our life without referring to it as a Tao. When we dancing and feel like we are connected with partner, with music and we are going with flow it is a Tao. When we enjoying a beautiful picture it is a Tao. In Martial Art when we practicing technique thousands times and suddenly it clicks in and it Feels Right this is a Tao. When we are in connection with the Tao it feel effortless, easy and how it is supposed to be, and after that we can realize how much unnecessary struggle and effort we trying to put in our everydays life.

Mind
The Master observes the world but trusts his inner vision. He allows things to come and go. His heart is open as the sky. The enlightenment can be seen as an attempt to connect with the Tao. The difficulty is that we can connect to the Tao only with our unconscious mind, or Back Brain, but understand, recognize and analyze this event with front lobe, or Conscious Mind. Back
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Brain cannot connect directly to reality, but only through the Conscious Mind, which process and analyze signals from the receptors; it controls and approves most of the signals from the Back Brain. Our body is a precious instrument which connects our mind to the real world, but our Conscious Mind doesnt know how to use it effectively, how to listen to it and how to control it. When we can achieve this, we will have undistorted view and concepts; we can better understand and may be find our place in this world and harmoniously connect Tao to reality through ourselves. Conscious Mind has embedded-in filters to grade and judge the process. Some of these filters have been given to us from the birth and other filters and concepts we are assume throughout our life. These filters are important tools to establish safety, efficiency and perfection of the action, and suppose to be used for our benefits, but some filters, like acquired fear of failure, or fear of injury can stop the progress. These filters interfere with reality and create distorted signals based on which we build and operate new concepts. By using imagination, we try to break those bad filters that holding us down. When we cant break the board, those filters hold our motion. When we trying to visualize high jump, we actually jump higher, when we picture ourselves doing perfect technique, our technique getting better; when we feel the board is broken, it is broken even before we start to move. The most of the work to find the Way happens on the border between Conscious Mind and Back Brain and it is possible to reach this state through only inner meditation, like Zen practices. The problem with this approach is that you can easily fell to the state of delusions and convince yourself that you are going in the right direction. To avoid wrong path you need to project your inner development outside and check it with reality. For example you can convince yourself that you have perfect technique and power, with which you can break thirty boards easily. The attempt to break real thirty boards will correct your filters and readjust your path, keeping you from chasing the mirages. Zen masters usually practice other external activities such as calligraphy or tea ceremony (chado the way of tea) to keep in touch with reality. It is possible to develop self unconsciously, like children: when they learn moves they dont think about it, just follow the instructor. With this approach the person relying on his feelings to progress, and brain unconsciously will try to adjust the motion and postures trying to match the teachers moves. When this approach is obviously working and can get the person to the good level, the greater level can be achieved using conscious mind, which analyzes motions, names them, creates concepts and organize them. Having concepts will allow a practitioner to understand and control improvement of that particular technique, seek and apply those concepts in other techniques. Those concepts will help to improve practitioner himself and to develop and improve methodologies and methods which he can use teaching others students. Having the concepts is very powerful tool, but concepts are not supposed to be fixed they are just merely helpers to get to the next

level and meant to be temporary support for the current stage. We have to open our mind to get to the next level - we need to overcome the static concepts which we already learned and which became roadblocks in our development holding us from moving forward and into the right direction. In other words: every time you doing something do it better or do it differently. It is painful and hard process to break familiar concepts and step out of comfort zone, but once you make it, youll get one step closer to the real Tao and have a little less distortion in your views and operations. Another practical side of the process is when our Conscious Mind approves nervous signals from the Back Brain before process it to your muscles. Experiment on the correlation between electrical activity of the brain and movement (lifting a finger for example), reveals that the electrical activity precedes the movement by 200 milliseconds. It is proposed that the process of initiating a voluntary action occurs in a Back Brain, but that just before the action is taken, consciousness is recruited to approve or veto the action. In the 200 milliseconds before a finger is lifted, consciousness determines whether it moves or not. In state of Empty Mind we are moving our Conscious Mind from the way of the process to be less Controller and more an Observer. In that continues process when we consciously readjust our filters and concepts of Conscious Mind and teach back brain to get close and close to the real Tao.

Progress and Life

Legend says that Martial Arts was brought to Shaolin by Bodhidharma in 6th century AD and was given as an additional tool for self development. Practicing Martial Art as the part of self development will allow practitioner look deeper into oneself, into the purpose of practicing and will set him to search for beauty and harmony of the one. Combat application and incredible amazing things, like breaking the boards, crazy kicks and ability to take down any opponents comes rather as compliments to your development like flowers along the road. If practitioner goes with Tao, those great things will happen to him, but he would not seek for those things purposely. When student sees Martial Art mostly as an ultimate weapon, it will limit him to accept the external side of it, and student would not be able to progress and realize the whole concept of Martial Art and his own true power. In true masters we can see the calmness, humility, harmony, beauty and unbelievable power behind of them. We can admire the skills of a great Martial Artist, who puts a warrior at front of spirituality, but it wouldnt make him a true master, neither brings him happiness. Instead this will set up such practitioner on the path of proving himself, his abilities, and his superiority to everyone else, constantly draining him down and eventually losing to the better artist. If we will look at Martial Art as at self-development system, we can see the structure embedded into development of the student. When we start studying Martial Art we

following the instructor unconsciously and operate with big bulky concepts given to us that are easy to understand. By the level of red belt we start to create own concepts and more consciously analyze our practice. By the time a student reaches black belt rank, he is required to teach other students and through that process he can better formulate his own concepts at his current stage of development, scrutinize and review his techniques and his approach for training. Through that process the student will better understand himself and the world around him, will force his mind to open and to constantly have contact with reality. The student will have better feel of the right things inside and outside of him in regular life. With better understanding of the flow, the person can reach the real goals without efforts which will bring him the happiness and harmony. There are lots of examples of people that are strangling and stretching trying to reach their targets and when they finally get there they realize that the achieved goals doesnt bring them happiness, and they continue chasing other mirages trying to find it there. With Tao, the practitioner feels what is right and what is wrong, when to react, how much force to apply and where, would it be sparring, conversation, business meeting or choosing the career path. Tang Soo Tao can help you find your way to feel and to do what it is right, to enjoy and appreciate the life, to the harmony, happiness and fulfillment.

Oleg Khodko 1st Dan, Cambridge Tang Soo Do April 2008