There
is Only One You
Ground zero for all who
enter Gun Fu is familiarization with your essential
nature.
During his years of
teaching, Master Archibeque stressed the inherent worth
of individuality. This applied to students as
individuals, and also as members of the group. He
forever intoned his favorite mantra "There is only one
you, you re special!". By this, he meant you were
important for who and what you are, and need not feel
lacking or deficient in any way. He knew in our society
with the universe of social norms and pressures, lies
the ubiquitous drive to compare yourself to others.
Along with that drive is the implied conclusion you all
too frequently come up short.
Gun Fu starts, not from
outside, not from the teachings of Master Archibeque or
his Black Belts, but rather from a seed within you.
Imbedded within that seed, your essential nature exists
in its full potential. Archie understood the
significance of each person’s essential nature and
emphasized you must always know what that nature is, in
order to be true to it. This meant even to the point of
building your martial art around that essential nature,
rather than copying others, or abandoning yourself and
drifting into the unknown.
We have stated elsewhere
(in the Gun Fu philosophy section) that Gun Fu requires
a solid moral foundation, and complete commitment to the
highest principles. Though a Christian of fundamental
persuasion, Archie’s perspective was strongly influenced
by Oriental philosophies. This was also the case with
his successor (me!), who spent years exploring Oriental
philosophies and arts, culminating in vows of poverty,
humility, and service as he matured in the art of Gun Fu
(Yeah...I know...humility???....matured???, the poverty
part I m sure you were OK with).
Both teachers understood
reality to consist essentially of the self, and its
broad relationship to the world about us, including
other entities, goings on, and the material of
existence. Both further understood the significance of
still another sphere, the weight of collective thought
interwoven with the thread of time, which effectively
colors everything we do, sinking our essential nature
into so dark a recess, that nothing short of a miracle
(or a sudden burst of enlightenment) allows one’s
rediscovery of self in the short span of a single
lifetime.
This bombardment of
thought represents the culmination of human existence
and reaction to experience, and it flows about us,
saturating our existence so thoroughly it is no less or
different than a genetic pool equivalent, driving our
perceptions (and associated conclusions) of all we
encounter.
In recent years, this was
profoundly articulated by Joseph Campbell, particularly
in his video series with Bill Moyers. Campbell
recognized the importance of the mythological threads in
our everyday lives, so much so he concluded we were
driven by those threads, and took nurture in their
lessons and messages. More specifically, he felt
mythology preserved what constituted the symbolic core
of our essential and collective humanity, a core which
has withstood the challenges of time, and which have the
potential to restore us to our true humanity.
It may be fact that
mythology is the antidote to our collective pathology,
functioning as a counterweight and perhaps antidote to
the onslaught of assertive thought, grafted to time,
permeating our existence.
Not unlike Campbell,
Archie understood that within each person, during the
flow of his or her lifetime, a potential hero stood to
emerge.
Other modern philosophers
have articulated parallel themes. From the lessons of
Zen, to Krishnamurti (as in both J. and UG), all
emphasize the common belief that beneath (Should we say
outside?) the thoughts and insecurity of greed and fear
is the capacity to directly experience reality. This
“natural state" is within the life potential experience
of each person.
Frankly, neither Master
Archibeque nor I were encouraging anyone to become
philosophers, or monks. Chuck Norris, a devout
Christian, was once interviewed on the influence of Zen
in his life. He responded that Zen was a significant
factor in his life, one which affirmed and formed part
of his essential nature, and remained with him in
everything that he did, particularly, in his
Christianity.
Stated simply, there is
only one you, you're the best at who you are, you are
complete as you are! Don't sell yourself short! Bring
who you are out to the world where it can shine! That’s
your starting point, your raw material as you enter a
personal study of Gun Fu.
Granted, there are
differences from one person to the next. One person is
strong, another not so strong; one person is fast,
another slow; one is intelligent, another, flat. Some
are perceived as beautiful, others as plain; some with
talent, others not.
I remember in a
conversation with my late friend, Fred. At that stage in
his life, Fred had been Chief Executive Officer and
President of a major credit union, one which he had
nurtured from its infancy, to the point where it was a
major player on the scene. We were at a picnic, throwing
horseshoes. Fred had heard I played guitar, and in an
uncharacteristic, but very enthusiastic encounter,
exclaimed he had always wanted to be a musician. I
responded that his life direction apparently turned out
quite differently, and questioned how he chose the world
of finance and credit unions. Fred responded simply, “I
didn't have the talent." I looked over to Fred, and
wasn’t sure I had a clear read on his meaning. I sensed,
momentarily, a shadow of disappointment that he had not
followed his dream. I was somewhat saddened by the
inference that his life, which had been eminently
successful, was somehow the flip side of an absence of
musical talent.
He had a dream, a
youthful aspiration to music, which was quite different
than what blossomed as a tremendous talent in an area
which, though not as glamorous, proved to benefit
thousands of others. All flowed from his personal stamp
of integrity and leadership which brought success to the
credit union over a span of decades. I turned to Fred
and responded, You were true to your nature. Not many
musicians could have done what you did for the members
of this credit union Fred ."
Again, there is only one
you. You are the best you that can be. Anyone else
trying to be you will fall far short from you who
already are. You fill a singular spot in the universe.
Within the context of creation, you're no more, or less
important than the President, the Pope, or Bill Gates.
Despite the fact you are eternally bombarded with
messages from your family, friends, media, and even from
within your own self that you are deficit, that you need
to change, that you need to improve, that others have
something you don't, but should, or that you deserve
more, that you should in some way be good to yourself
(as in buying some ridiculously expensive toy)...you
must understand, at the end of the day, there is only
you, and your acceptance and nurturing of who you are.
Even more importantly,
Archie understood that each person had certain
inclinations . These often acted as veneers, nearly
insurmountable, blocking efforts to arrive at awareness
of self. For example, when you go into a bookstore, what
you normally find is a collection of worthwhile or
interesting books which reinforce or re-affirm what
already exists within yourself. Something about the
title or the cover art reinforces who you think you are
and attracts you to the book (mostly because you already
agree with what you expect to find within). In effect,
you're looking for readings that reward your beliefs,
and validate a projection of who you think you are.
All of this is a detour,
which unfortunately saddles atop your essential nature.
We are always disinclined to see to the core of who and
what we are. If we have great speed, our martial art
will be one of speed. If we have great power, our
martial art will manifest power. Those with limberness,
will spend their time being limber, and manifesting that
limberness. If we have endurance, there will be great
satisfaction in wearing all of our friends and
associates out.
But, what else is there?
In encouraging you to be
who you are, Archie discouraged the inclination to favor
a single major talent. Who you are is much larger and
multi-faceted than you might at first expect. He
insisted you look beyond the surface, dive deep into the
true you and confront the entirety. This is the battle
you are training for in your study of Gun Fu. He taught
there existed a constellation of talents within each
person, and over reliance on any singular trait stymied
the potential for maximum growth over time. He held
himself and his instructors accountable for a
three-dimensional perspective on each student, requiring
his teachers not to produce clones, but rather
autonomous human beings.
There was the instance
when I once expressed concerns to Archie regarding a
brown belt student I thought was never going to make
Black belt. That was because he simply could not learn
the required kata. Archie looked to me, and responded
that I was failing the student. He reprimanded that just
because I could do kata, and because I had the capacity
to remember multitudes of forms, did not mean that every
student I taught could or should do the same. To require
what was impossible to a student, without considering
alternative potentials of equivalent merit, was a
failure of my Gun Fu. I was judging the student by my
strengths, and not recognizing he had talent of his own,
which was at least as worthy as my talent, but I had not
yet allowed myself to perceive it. Archie felt my
failure was a failure to allow myself to be fully aware,
and attuned to my own essential nature. What stood
before me, in the form of struggling student, was
someone who possessed inherent value in different
locales than I had chosen to visit or appreciate. In
short, he was not me, and I was failing to see who he
was.
This was the lesson which
resulted in Ironcrane tailoring its art to the
respective student, and the student’s individual
leanings. For Archie, Gun Fu was about revealing
yourself to you. Many students emulate teachers. Only a
few are careful to develop a personal philosophy which
selects from the world’s endless gifts in an intelligent
and pragmatic fashion. It is not about building temples.
The Gun Fu Black Belt, for that reason, is something
special to behold. That’s because its shading is
different on each person.
I ask only that you take
this with you. In the course of your training
always strive to:
1. De construct your
nature down to its very core; then nurture the seed you
find!
2. Never allow yourself
to be driven or played by fear, greed, religion,
patriotism, or any other appeal to insecurity. The words
of UG Krishnamurti ring true, “The only true freedom is
freedom from fear."
3. Work to flow through
life, like water. With mind that is like an empty
mirror, no dust can alight. Remember that Gun Fu becomes
who you are, not the other way around.
4. Understand that what
starts out as martial art becomes how you live. Once
struggle is eliminated, and there is no fear, or greed,
you re-affirm control of your own destiny, with a clear
awareness of the course to take in deciding whether to
experience life in fullness and confidence, or
with pain and insecurity. Ultimately there are no
other choices deserving of your potential.
Again, at the end of the
day, there is only you, one you. Go to that person,
he/she calls you, you can't refuse. When you get there,
you ll see there was really nothing to lose.
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