From: iikkap@mits.mdata.fi (Iikka Paavolainen)
Newsgroups: rec.martial-arts,soc.culture.pakistan
Subject: Re: The Old Man Had Timing
Date: 20 Dec 92 09:53:11 GMT
Organization: Microdata Oy, Helsinki, Finland

In article <1992Dec18.104506.803@hls.com> silatman@hls.com writes:
>
>
>               THE OLD MAN HAD TIMING!
>               by Khalid Khan.
>
>   Some people in today's society think that all talk about
>God and prayer should be kept for a time different than
>the times alloted for other things of this worldly life.
>I will address the issue of prayer to God, no matter what
>your religion [Judaism, Christianity or Islam], as we
>practice our favorite styles of Martial Arts or any
>other sports.
>"deep breathing while focussing on the Korean flag"
>or anything else that falls into the realm of Uncertainty.
>I am specifically saying PRAYER TO GOD, the Creator of all
>that is manifest and all that is hidden, the originator
>of all knowledges.
>

Instead of making people try to waste their time gaining powers 'through God',
why don't you encourage them to improve themselves as they see fit. People
nowadays lean too much toward instructors or schools (or in this case, Gods)
for their skills, but don't do much more than lift a finger themselves, and
then they expect to be great martial artists. What the person does himself is
what makes him a great martial artist.


>   From the limited willpower that we humans have we
>can learn a facet of the martial arts, and in our opinion
>master it. Yet, the more you learn this field, the more
>you practice for certain situations, it is never complete.
>There are always situations arising for which you
>have to redesign or learn anew, etc.
>
>   And also, it is all mechanical. We try to improve our
>psychological reality thru external mechanical movements.
>The psychological state, which is dependent on our
>spiritual state, is within the folds of our soul. 
>In a real contest that is not a sport, it is contest
>of two psychological makeups. Add to that the matter
>of destiny.
>
>   From our willpower we may improve the power of
>our technique, and the speed of our technique. Yet, both
>these attributes are worth nil if we do not have
>the timing of our technique right. We have all heard
>of stories where a brash young "master" comes out
>to challenge a 90 year old practitioner. The 90 year old
>man sits calmly drinking his sake tea and admiring
>the beautiful morning. The brash young man charges
>the 90 year old master with all the power and speed
>of his youth, and a split second later...the young man
>is dead. The 90 year old master has moved only slightly,
>not even fast, and in one simple move has cut 
>the young challenger with his sword, and then the old master
>resumes drinking his morning tea. So what is the important
>point here?
>
>   Timing!
>
>   The old man had timing. 
>
>   For power and speed you can work at it yourself.
>But for Timing you need Seeing. This is not just
>physical Seeing from the eyeballs, but a kind of 
>Spiritual Seeing, which is infinitely faster.
>
>   For this second kind of Seeing, you need
>the Grace of God. You need to pray to Him, because
>without that Seeing all your technique,
>all your power, all your speed adds to nothing.
>
>               Salam Alaikum!
>
>                              Khalid Khan
>
>   


--
 __/|_  ,  ,--------------------------------------------------------------,
/o    \/:--| Iikka Paavolainen / iikkap@mits.mdata.fi, in Espoo, Finland  |
\__~__/\:--| "I won't have a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent."    |
   `    `  `--------------------------------------------------------------'