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Be like water

I studied Hapkido for about five+ years and was always fascinated by the metaphysical aspect of the martial arts. The word "Hapkido" is Korean and means, "the way of coordinated power." Everything is circular and you use your ki or chi or lifeforce or strength to combine with your opponent's energy to redirect the force to your advantage. It is pretty cool. One popular martial art maxim is "be like water." I think Bruce lee explains it the best.

Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find a way round or through it. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves.
Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water my friend.

The "be like water" principle is one of relaxation and it is counterintuitive. If you are in a fighting situation, your natural tendency is to tense up. When someone punches, you recoil and tense up. But what I was taught in Hapkido was to relax and step toward the punch. This took lots of practice. I had to fight my own instincts.

In order to coordinate your ki/chi/energy with your opponent's, you need to emit positive, attractive energy. The purest form of positive, attractive energy, it turns out, is love. In order to overtake your opponent, you must love them. Fighting them only causes negative energy to form and makes your body rigid - not like water. Watch water sometime and see that it only moves the amount it needs to in any situation.

To use this in everyday life, you must only fight your instincts, not your opponent. Think "love" your opponent. You can usually start with practicing doing the opposite of what your body tells you it wants to do. If you start to yell, whisper. If you start to tense up, exhale and feel the tension slip from you. When you feel like blaming, take the blame yourself.

That is the practice part. Realize that you are doing it out of love and you will be transformed. Transformed is a great word here. It literally means beyond physical form. You have to go beyond your form or your body and be more spiritual. Your body is full of those instincts that we are avoiding. The spirit is full of love. Love is your best defense against anything, just ask Harry Potter. ;-)
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