(no subject)
In the spirit of procrastinating on the crushing amount of work I have to do, I thought I'd muse a bit to get the philosophical juices flowing. Why anybody would still be subscribed to this dusty shell of a livejournal is beyond me.
Combat. One of the most basic facets of existence, yet also one of the most perplexing for a philosophical mind. Semantics is everything, so it would be wise to begin by exploring what is meant by the term "combat," and perhaps examine some of the details we come across. A basic definition will suffice for now: combat can be understood as a willful act of violence against which some resistence is made. Or, to use more abstract language, it is the clashing of two wills on the physical plane. Resistence is absolutely necessary; if one party does not resist then the situation cannot properly be called combat, but rather 'brutality'.
Channeling Will. It occurs to me that I should explain my concept of the body as a conduit for the will. The will can be likened to the soul, but in essence it is the focused life energy (ki) of the being. The will is channeled through the being's body in the form of action; without the body the will is impotent. I channel will into my finger in order to lift it from the keyboard, just as I would channel will into my legs were I to stand. Every action requires will to execute; it is the mind's ultimate control over the body. It is also finite: when one runs out of will one collapses in exhaustion. Think of it as the mental force you use to control your physical form. Certain actions (such as walking, standing, etc.) require a very small amount of will to execute, while others (weight lifting, sprinting, general exertion) drain will much quicker. This brings me to the next consideration.
Use of Will. Raise your arm over your head. What could be easier? This simple act requires so tiny an amount of will that merely thinking it is practically enough to execute it. Drop to the floor and perform a pushup, however, and you'll undoubtedly realize that this action requires more focus than raising one's hand. Every action (i.e. every channeling of will) attempts to alter the physical environment in some way; the force with which the environment resists this change dictates the difficulty of the action, and thus how much will is necessary to execute it. For example, a milk jug (an object on the physical plane, and thus one that I can manipulate with my body) will resist being picked up. In accordance with the law of inertia I must apply enough force to overcome that resistence and accelerate the object. The same principle applies to an anvil, only now the resistence is much greater because of the anvil's physical properties (i.e. much heavier than the milk jug). One must channel more will into the act of lifting the anvil than that of lifting the milk jug.
Body and Will. The body is not merely a tool through which the will acts upon the world (though it is this as well); the body is the physical manifestation of will. It grows and adapts (or shrivels and dessicates) in accordance with the actions it performs. A will that has little use for action will manifest a weak and frail body ill formed for the rigors of physical existence and only able to persist within shelter. Combine this with submission to consumption and the body grows fat with wasted energy. These bodies are generally unsuited for manipuations of the physical plane, and thus often seek refuge in the mental or spiritual planes if they do not simply lose themselves in their appetites. These beings will discover that they require a disproportionally large amount of will for physical actions. Take, for example, an extremely overweight individual struggling to make his way up a flight of stairs. The action he is trying to complete is no different from the one undertaken by the lithe individual taking it two steps at a time, but because of the different natures of their physical forms (direct results of their actions, in most cases) each act will require vastly different amounts of will from each individual. One may arrive at the top at practically full strength, but when the other finally reaches the top, panting and puffing, his will is spent and he must rest. The fact that this seemingly easy task is a monumental effort for him points out a very important detail: one uses will not only to control one's body, but also to force it past its limits.
Conscious and Unconscious Will. This subject warrants mention before continuing to the next point. Conscious will is channeled when I put my mind towards completing an action. Picking up a box from the floor or swinging an unfamiliar weapon are examples of acts that require conscious will. In general, the body requires the guidance of the will for actions that involve direct manipulation of an object or that are alien to it. Unconscious will is constantly generated and channeled by the being without requiring focus. Breathing is a prime example, as is practicing with a familiar weapon. These actions have been repeated so many times that their distinct patterns of will channeling have been imprinted into the body, allowing the being to draw upon unconscious will and reserve its conscious will for more strenuous or unexpected actions. I observed this process during my fencing training, as one of the main goals was to train my body to react without direct conscious thought. Not only did this leave my mind free to observe my opponent and devise strategies, but also made my movements much faster. In essence, it teaches one to draw on the physical plane (the body) for energy rather than depending on the mental plane (the will). The fact that this action is both born and executed in the physical realm makes it a much cleaner and more graceful act; the translation from mental to physical necessitated by the utilization of conscious will generally results in uneven and awkward motion. For proof of this simply observe the different ways a novice and an expert swordsman handle their blades.
Push the Limits. Forcing the body to surpass its own limits is the most will-intensive action possible, drawing on a large amount of conscious will to temporarily overwhelm the resistence of the body. The closer one gets to the body's limit the more will is required to execute actions. It usually leaves the being exhausted and incapacitated for some time afterwards (not to mention the possible physical damage that could ensue from overworking an improperly trained body). Teaching oneself how to draw upon such powerful will is undoubtedly a positive training exercise, but in real situations one generally wants to avoid such a last ditch effort. There are several methods to accomplishing this. The first, as mentioned above, is to develop the ability to draw on unconscious will. This is generally only possible through extensive repetition of specific actions. The other is to supplement one's willpower with physical strength. The ceiling where the body collapses is the point where massive conscious will must be channeled to keep it going; increasing one's strength (taken here to mean fitness in general) raises that ceiling. Strength is often developed in tandem with learning to harness one's unconscious will (the repetition molds the body into a form more suited to the task) but can also be developed on its own through repetitively overcoming physical resistence (weightlifting, for example).
Stay on Your Feet. The key to prolonged action is the proper rationing of will, and proper rationing can only be achieved through training. Training yourself to use will to surpass physical limits increases your total amount of will, allowing you to draw on more raw energy for your actions. Impressing certain actions into your body's memory (the more the better, but not all actions are worth spending this much time on) allows you to draw on unconscious will to conserve your more precious and adaptable conscious will, and will make your actions more potent in the physical realm by avoiding the mental-to-physical translation process. Finally, developing your general fitness will allow you to rely on brute physicality in situations where unconcious will channeling is impossible, saving you conscious will by raising the physical ceiling. In short: train. Train seriously, and train hard. Discipline is everything.
Ah, I suppose that's enough of a break for now. Papers must be written. Perhaps I'll continue this later.
Combat. One of the most basic facets of existence, yet also one of the most perplexing for a philosophical mind. Semantics is everything, so it would be wise to begin by exploring what is meant by the term "combat," and perhaps examine some of the details we come across. A basic definition will suffice for now: combat can be understood as a willful act of violence against which some resistence is made. Or, to use more abstract language, it is the clashing of two wills on the physical plane. Resistence is absolutely necessary; if one party does not resist then the situation cannot properly be called combat, but rather 'brutality'.
Channeling Will. It occurs to me that I should explain my concept of the body as a conduit for the will. The will can be likened to the soul, but in essence it is the focused life energy (ki) of the being. The will is channeled through the being's body in the form of action; without the body the will is impotent. I channel will into my finger in order to lift it from the keyboard, just as I would channel will into my legs were I to stand. Every action requires will to execute; it is the mind's ultimate control over the body. It is also finite: when one runs out of will one collapses in exhaustion. Think of it as the mental force you use to control your physical form. Certain actions (such as walking, standing, etc.) require a very small amount of will to execute, while others (weight lifting, sprinting, general exertion) drain will much quicker. This brings me to the next consideration.
Use of Will. Raise your arm over your head. What could be easier? This simple act requires so tiny an amount of will that merely thinking it is practically enough to execute it. Drop to the floor and perform a pushup, however, and you'll undoubtedly realize that this action requires more focus than raising one's hand. Every action (i.e. every channeling of will) attempts to alter the physical environment in some way; the force with which the environment resists this change dictates the difficulty of the action, and thus how much will is necessary to execute it. For example, a milk jug (an object on the physical plane, and thus one that I can manipulate with my body) will resist being picked up. In accordance with the law of inertia I must apply enough force to overcome that resistence and accelerate the object. The same principle applies to an anvil, only now the resistence is much greater because of the anvil's physical properties (i.e. much heavier than the milk jug). One must channel more will into the act of lifting the anvil than that of lifting the milk jug.
Body and Will. The body is not merely a tool through which the will acts upon the world (though it is this as well); the body is the physical manifestation of will. It grows and adapts (or shrivels and dessicates) in accordance with the actions it performs. A will that has little use for action will manifest a weak and frail body ill formed for the rigors of physical existence and only able to persist within shelter. Combine this with submission to consumption and the body grows fat with wasted energy. These bodies are generally unsuited for manipuations of the physical plane, and thus often seek refuge in the mental or spiritual planes if they do not simply lose themselves in their appetites. These beings will discover that they require a disproportionally large amount of will for physical actions. Take, for example, an extremely overweight individual struggling to make his way up a flight of stairs. The action he is trying to complete is no different from the one undertaken by the lithe individual taking it two steps at a time, but because of the different natures of their physical forms (direct results of their actions, in most cases) each act will require vastly different amounts of will from each individual. One may arrive at the top at practically full strength, but when the other finally reaches the top, panting and puffing, his will is spent and he must rest. The fact that this seemingly easy task is a monumental effort for him points out a very important detail: one uses will not only to control one's body, but also to force it past its limits.
Conscious and Unconscious Will. This subject warrants mention before continuing to the next point. Conscious will is channeled when I put my mind towards completing an action. Picking up a box from the floor or swinging an unfamiliar weapon are examples of acts that require conscious will. In general, the body requires the guidance of the will for actions that involve direct manipulation of an object or that are alien to it. Unconscious will is constantly generated and channeled by the being without requiring focus. Breathing is a prime example, as is practicing with a familiar weapon. These actions have been repeated so many times that their distinct patterns of will channeling have been imprinted into the body, allowing the being to draw upon unconscious will and reserve its conscious will for more strenuous or unexpected actions. I observed this process during my fencing training, as one of the main goals was to train my body to react without direct conscious thought. Not only did this leave my mind free to observe my opponent and devise strategies, but also made my movements much faster. In essence, it teaches one to draw on the physical plane (the body) for energy rather than depending on the mental plane (the will). The fact that this action is both born and executed in the physical realm makes it a much cleaner and more graceful act; the translation from mental to physical necessitated by the utilization of conscious will generally results in uneven and awkward motion. For proof of this simply observe the different ways a novice and an expert swordsman handle their blades.
Push the Limits. Forcing the body to surpass its own limits is the most will-intensive action possible, drawing on a large amount of conscious will to temporarily overwhelm the resistence of the body. The closer one gets to the body's limit the more will is required to execute actions. It usually leaves the being exhausted and incapacitated for some time afterwards (not to mention the possible physical damage that could ensue from overworking an improperly trained body). Teaching oneself how to draw upon such powerful will is undoubtedly a positive training exercise, but in real situations one generally wants to avoid such a last ditch effort. There are several methods to accomplishing this. The first, as mentioned above, is to develop the ability to draw on unconscious will. This is generally only possible through extensive repetition of specific actions. The other is to supplement one's willpower with physical strength. The ceiling where the body collapses is the point where massive conscious will must be channeled to keep it going; increasing one's strength (taken here to mean fitness in general) raises that ceiling. Strength is often developed in tandem with learning to harness one's unconscious will (the repetition molds the body into a form more suited to the task) but can also be developed on its own through repetitively overcoming physical resistence (weightlifting, for example).
Stay on Your Feet. The key to prolonged action is the proper rationing of will, and proper rationing can only be achieved through training. Training yourself to use will to surpass physical limits increases your total amount of will, allowing you to draw on more raw energy for your actions. Impressing certain actions into your body's memory (the more the better, but not all actions are worth spending this much time on) allows you to draw on unconscious will to conserve your more precious and adaptable conscious will, and will make your actions more potent in the physical realm by avoiding the mental-to-physical translation process. Finally, developing your general fitness will allow you to rely on brute physicality in situations where unconcious will channeling is impossible, saving you conscious will by raising the physical ceiling. In short: train. Train seriously, and train hard. Discipline is everything.
Ah, I suppose that's enough of a break for now. Papers must be written. Perhaps I'll continue this later.