Ancient Shape Shifting

In previous articles we have made reference to the Japanese warrior Musashi. In issue 1 of Train the Trainer we looked at Musashi’s principle of ‘cut to the face’. Using the metaphor of shapes from last edition we can see that Musashi’s approach was classic triangle. His intent was to move straight in and cut to the face for a swift and decisive kill. The key point here is it was his intent that was triangular not his motion or thought.

Musashi believed that if he focussed all his intent unwaveringly upon cutting to the face and immediately killing his opponent then the ‘how’ of his inevitable win would present itself. By holding true to his basic principle Musashi became a circle and blended as required with his opponent / s until eventually he triumphed. There is a famous story of Musashi arriving deliberately late for a duel with a Samurai. His lateness was designed to infuriate the Samurai which resulted in the Samurai rushing in out of pure anger. Musashi manipulated his opponent into behaving like a triangle and so making him predictable in combat. That is the difference between ‘acting’ like a triangle and ‘fostering intent’.

NB: Even more infuriating was the fact that Musashi didn’t bring a sword to the fight but rather carved a wooden oar into a bokken which he used to smash the skull of his opponent.

What this example suggests is that if you are able to foster a mind-set of pure intent then you will arrive at that place of no conscious thought we call Psycosis. You can either free the mind or you can focus the mind. These are two opposing ways of arriving at the same destination. Since Musashi was without fear of death he was able to focus 100% of his being upon killing his enemy. His absence of fear made him into a circle, flowing with circumstance in pursuit of his goal.

Being circular is actually being either a square or triangle as required within the moment without thought. The individual is moving effortlessly through both states in a graceful flow of square, triangle, square and so on. Fortunately for Musashi and us at Brutal most modern warriors or athletes are triangles. That makes them predictable and easily manipulated.

Caddying and Shapes

As an elite sports coach I have spent time with a number of golfers. On occasion I have caddied for my clients to get a closer look at what was going on in the heat of battle. On one occasion I was caddying for a guy with 5 holes to play and a real chance of making the finals in a tournament.

He was losing concentration

I could see his attention starting to waiver as he began contemplating what might be should he continue playing well. I told him to focus his attention on the next shot as if his life depended on it and tell me which blade of grass he was aiming for. Focusing his concentration directly was the triangle. He applied aggression I describe as controlled violence. His refocused mind calmed him and he played a great hole.

Thinking he was on to something, he attempted to become even more focussed on the next hole. His body became rigid with tension. The triangle was too big. I told him to forget the result of this shot, just put the smoothest swing he could on it. He relaxed and played another great hole.

He then breathed deeply and attempted to relax more. The square became too big and carelessness threatened to derail the mission. I told him to refocus but rather than be too narrow with a target, which was creating tension now, I told him to make sure he hit the green but I didn’t care how far he was from the hole. I didn’t allow him to use driver as that often results in the triangle (ego) getting too big. He re-established an aggressive mindset but didn’t try for too much. A well played hole.

By this stage he had been oscillating between triangle and square until finally he began to take each shot as its own rather than looking for an ideal mindset to guarantee an outcome. He had become the circle. He began to do what was required in the moment. Some shots were aggressive, others more relaxed. There was far less talking in between shots. The good news was he made the finals and finished second in the tournament proper.

So even as a coach you can use shapes to represent problems to yourself that you are experiencing with your students. I didn’t explain any of this to my client. He just needed to experience correct frame of mind. My objective was to make him the circle and if I couldn’t do that I would be the yang and bring him back closer to the ideal by not letting the triangle or square get too big.