Sunday 20 March 2011

On Practice and Choice

I am sitting on the train heading back home to London after spending the weekend with my family up North. I'm thinking a lot about what Kru said on Thursday during class...he said that we practice the kickboxing moves alone and with a partner so that when it comes to a real life application of those skills (i.e. defending oneself from attack), then we know what to do because we have practiced the moves so many times that it becomes second nature to block and punch etc.

This is also the reason why I practice the core rites of the Feri Tradition on a (almost) daily basis. I align my soul, make myself kala, meditate and pray to the Beings so that when I am in true need of those states of being, they should come quickly and naturally. That's not to say that we practice just in case we need them one day...constant purification and alignment have a cumulative effect on one's soul.

Kru also described the power of choice. He said that if we wish to be effective practitioners of muay Thai, then we need to choose how to live our lives outside of the sit. He said we choose not to drink alcohol at the weekend and we choose to eat well, as well as running a few times a week. So too, with Feri,we choose to bring ourselves into alignment. We choose to say daily prayers. We do not do anything from a state of obligation, for that gives away personal power.

We decide what life we wish to live, and this is true of kickboxing as well as Feri, and we strive for that as best we can.

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