Caveat: This post is mine and mine alone. I the author of this blog assure you, the reader, that any of the opinions expressed here are my own and are a result of the way in which my meandering mind interprets a particular situation and or concept. The views expressed here are solely those of the author in his private capacity and do not in any way represent the views of other martial arts and/or conflict/violence professionals or authors of source materials. It should be quite obvious that the sources I used herein have not approved, endorsed, embraced, friended, liked, tweeted or authorized this post. (Everything I think and write is true, within the limits of my knowledge and understanding.)
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| This symbol is neat, it has a symbolic view of a moon like eclipse of the sun, etc. that appears unified as one whole, yin-n-yang! |
The concept is inherited from the Ancient Chinese who wrote the book, “The I-Ching.” This concept permeates everything in the Universe. It is an ancient explanation of all things or what they refer to as the “myriad things of the Universe.” How does this apply to martial arts or more importantly how does this apply to self-defense martial arts? The Japanese terms are, “in-yo.”
First, the principle and concept of the reciprocal and complementary nature that is yin-yang indicates that one must achieve a complete, as humanly possible, understanding of the knowledge that makes self-defense and martial arts a reality. If one aspect or side is incomplete or missing its effect on the other side, in this case the application of self-defense in conflict and violence, results in less than optimal results where the proponent can end up dead or greatly injured let alone the ramifications of those after-affects resulting from self-defense.
Look at power generation in the body, if the balance of hard-n-soft as applied through the sub-principle of dynamic tension and relaxation along with sequential tension and sequential relaxation one cannot generate the energy necessary to flow and apply it to a target.
Look at the self-defense aspect of avoidance, if one does not know or understand the art of conflict communications, etc. then how can they avoid and de-escalate. If we are unable to recognize changes, i.e., be they dangerous and bad vs. not dangerous and good, then how can we enact avoidance by simply leaving that situation and environment? This is yin-yang for self-defense martial arts.
In self-defense the yin-yang is also about the self and how it reacts and controls the monkey’s socio-emotional effects when stressed. It is about the positive aspects of that monkey that promote efficiency of the human and lizard brains under stress, conflict and the physical. It is the yin side of the monkey we tap into in a conflict while the yang side of the monkey, i.e. the socio-emotional monkey, that we need to suppress, to keep locked up tight and to control as possible under the flood, etc.
It is the yin side of self-defense that speaks to the various types of awareness to include the full spectrum of what self-defense entails along with knowledge of violence and force.
It is the yin and yang requirements we must learn and understand that says, yin is that side that keeps within the confines of self-defense while yang is what takes us outside the safety and security of those same lines that hold self-defense within the acceptable confines of the societal and legal requirements, etc.
Yin-yang are those concepts that mark the line of life’s conflicts to beneficial and detrimental since conflict is also a intricate part of life’s communications between human, animals and the fishes.
Yin-yang are those inter-connected pathways that remain fluid and chaotic in their nature to achieve rhythm and cadence that permeates all things in the universe. It is the philosophical as inter-connected to the physical world. It is the spiritual vs. the action of the physical.
It should be noted that this overall view of the inner principle that is philosophical provides for the over all yin-yang of nature. Much like the I Ching's trigrams composed of the four two-line set of lines that are used to create both hexagrams and trigrams composed from the singular great tai chi into the two lines, one broken and one complete being yin-yang whereby nature further divides into the four (set of two lines) lines or stages that are greater (old) yang, lesser (young) yang, greater (old) yin and lesser (young) yin. The four are represented by the combination of the singular lines.
This further represents how the flux or flow of life waxes and wanes between the greater and lesser of either yin or yang as appropriate. The four are dependent upon one another to create the one wholehearted holistic aspects of life and nature. This is the basis of all disciplines with emphasis on martial arts.
Using the principles as our foundation you can see that there are equal yin and equal yang representations as shown above designations of principle categories with a equal number of yin-yang associations within each category of principles. This, I believe, is how martial arts were created and developed over the history of martial arts.
Even our Okinawan styles and/or systems are all born from a single marital entity that is Indian to Chinese to all others. The history goes so far back that the only connection that is known today is the Indian influences on the Chinese martial arts.
To achieve true master of any martial art the practitioner should strive to keep an equilibrium or balance of all yin-yang aspects. To lessen or remove any one aspect puts the entire system out of balance and like a great weight will result in the fall of that system, especially when needed the most.
Yin (In) [陰] Yang (Yo) [陽]
Yin is a force of nature - receptive. Yang is a force of nature - creative. Fundamentally the book of changes is about balance through opposites and acceptance of change.
The tai-chi is preceded by the wuji (mukyoku in jp.) [無極]. Wuji separates into tai-chi or yin and yang. These two symbols become four, the four become bagua and bagua describe all things of creation.
The limitless (wu-chi/wuji/mukyoku) produces the delimited, and htis is the absolute (tai chi). The Tai-chi produces two forms, named yin and yang. The two forms produce the four phenomena, named lesser yang, great yang, lesser yin, great yin. The four phenomena act on the eight trigrams (bagua), eight eights are sixty-four hexagrams.
The two spheres refer to heaven and earth, or yin and yang. The four elements are metal, wood, water and fire, which are omnipresent. The eight diagrams symbolize the eight natural phenomena: sky, earth, thunder, wind, water, fire, mountain and lake. The picture represented the ancient Chinese early knowledge of the Universe.
The basic idea of the yin-n-yang consists of two natural, complementary and contradictory forces of any phenomena in the universe, the principle of opposite polarity and duality.
Summer is old-yang; autumn is young-yang; winter is old-yin; sprint is young yin. Full moon is old yang; moon's decline first quarter is yong-yang; when the moon is full, it is old-yin; moon in last quarter is young-yin.
In divination as pertains to the I Ching, the inner aspect (a person) is combined with the outer aspect (a situation). Each hexagram represents a process, a change happening at the present moment.
The Yin and Yang of Aggression
First, aggression is like all things of the Universe, it has its yin and yang sides. The yang side is its capability to take over your entire life and then take you for the ride that leaves you in a very dangerous state where anything bad can and often does occur. Second, is the yin side. The yin side is where you as a martial artists takes their aggression, when it is running, and works it to their advantage. Often the yang side is coupled heavily with fear and anger. Not a good mix.
You have to have a controlled aggression when using martial arts to protect and defend against violent acts. You have to have a control that allows you to keep the anger and fear out of the equation so the aggressive behavior works in your favor. You have to gain control so that when you reach a certain point you can reign in your aggression keeping within the strict and fluid boundaries that is self-defense. Not an easy thing.
Learning the tipping point is important in martial systems. It takes practice, practice, practice and also takes a level of self-perception and self-analysis that gets past such things as ego, pride and beliefs.
Often we hear of how we need to use our anger to achieve success in a violent encounter but I feel that is a limited explanation of what is needed. I see anger as always being a uncontrollable part of the human condition where aggression has the yin and yang aspects where you gain the advantage by use of the yin part keeping the yang in its cage. Practice, practice, practice.
Anger is not conducive to control in a violent encounter but aggression that is logical can make use of the bodies natural defensive chemical dumps allowing for appropriate actions that could, would and should result if avoidance, de-escalation and damage control.
The military and other such professional organizations help to achieve controllable aggressive behaviors. Just the kind of thing that one needs not only as a professional but more importantly as a person on the street who has to defend and protect against violent encounters.
How does yin and yang work, a different perspective.
A complex question I go into with trepidation. I will try to explain it as simplistically as I can with the limited knowledge I have at this moment. Yin-yang is dualistic monism or a theory of dynamic relativity. When we judge something as either yin or yang we are not saying it is pure yin or pure yang but rather one or the other relative to the other.
The theory of nature is that it exists in a constant state of flux or change. It changes constantly in quality, quantity, and/or structure as to its yin-yang elements. It is an endless ebb and flow of movement of nature's processes.
Whether you are breaking something down into its atomistic parts, its particulars or whether you are considering the "whole" of something or its holistic nature you find no neutrality. Think of breathing in and out where one is either yin or yang with aspects of lesser intensity or context being yin with a bit of yang then yang with a bit of yin. When judging an entity as either yin or yang, you never do so "absolutely."
We can observe and detect a dominate yin or yang tendency, i.e. one is yin or yang relative to the other. The yin-yang symbol is an excellent representation of this yin-yang process.
To gain more insight to the true meaning of how yin-yang fit into our view of nature or the universe read the bibliography.
Yin-Yang and 3
I have written on the frequency and importance of the number 3. In many places, beliefs and customs you find three to appear either surreptitiously or obviously. Then I post on the yin-yang that is often referred to as a symbol of duality. I would also say that this symbol is also representative of the importance given to the number 3 - as in numerology in Chinese culture.
You have yin, you have yang, you have both representing the "one" or the "whole" of the two. Then you have the black side, the white side and then you will find in most renderings a circle surrounding the entire yin-yang, the symbol of the enso, i.e. the Zen circle.
The enso surrounding the yin-yang symbol, as a part of the whole, is also representative of "infinity," and "the mirror" or the third jewel of Japanese culture and belief. It is also, by itself, indicative of the void.
So, see, the numerology is represented and representative of all things including the yin-yang. Now you have to ask yourself why is three important to the martial arts such as karate.
Heart, mind and spirit - the unification of the "three" to make a person a whole or wholehearted practitioner leading to other more as to wisdom, serenity and health.
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