By Shifu Andrew Miles
The following video highlight several key points in mantis boxing and sheds light on fight psychology as it relates to Chinese Medicine.
1. Relax and don't posture before the fight.
2. Good base, perfect 50/50 stance for fighting
3. No emotions/no fear
4. Connect the waist and legs, hit from the ground up.
5. Sink low and strike continuously.
6. Follow through and then overkill.
7. Use a figure 8 motion in the strike. At the end of the strike he recoils as he ducks in a figure 8 which leads him around his opponent for a viscous follow through.
8. Fight psychology, fear and humanity.
Fight psychology and the Hun -Po 魂魄
The 3 Hun relate to ones higher or altruistic nature and resides in the liver. The seven Po relate to ones more base animal/electric aspect of the human body。After the abuse Tommy makes a groan which is typical of the 魄 Po and lung pathologies. Tommy is expressing the hungry ghost. This is one of the names of the seven po. Although it is difficult to watch the brutality it is important for diagnosis and understanding the true nature of humanity. To truly understand medicine it is important to not only look at the body when it is dead, but to see exactly how it comes out of balance and dies. Many patients present with this groaning tone of voice. Before an altercation or during diagnosis you can pick of these vocal inflections. It tells you that their death instincts have taken over. You can already assume to a certain degree that they suffer from an immunological or lung pathology. This can tell you about their psychological state and the state of their endocrine system.
From the beginning you can tell that Tommy's yi zhi 意志 or intention/willpower is weak. His hun魂 is away or damaged so he lacks humanity. His 意intention can not direct his killer instinct so he floats like a ghost in sadness and fear. He brags about hurting stabbing someone in the neck in order to soothe his own fear and hides his eyes behind sunglasses. Miguel, by contrast is very humble in the beginning and tries to hold back a smile. This shows that his heart is clear. If his confidence was false and coming from a place of ego he would freeze after getting a hand in his face. In order to fight we must consider the other person and not dwell upon our own pain. Miguel fights with 神shen spirit and 意志 intention/willpower. This is what allowed him to bend his knees, advance and use natural leg springing power to win.
During the bout Tommy's fear manifests as he leans back. He is also relatively stiff in the legs which is a manifestation of fear. Miguel by contrast is going forward and down. Those who study the four directions can determine a lot about the internal organ balance through this. Miguel is crouched between heaven and earth and uses the earth power in his strike. His internal balance makes a hook enough to drop the opponent and create an opening for destruction. He is fighting the way an animal hunts. After the fight you can see him at ease and joking. If he were in a state of rage his voice and psychological state would be very different. He remained focused and relaxed in the present moment. He is someone at ease with his animal nature and directs it with a healthy degree of humanity.
Although he unleashed a fierce white tiger白虎, it is checked by the azure dragon青龙 of higher consciousness. His ancestors might have called it the jaguar "ocelotl" and the feathered serpent "Quetzalcoatl". In the Aztec language of Nahuatl "Ocelocoatl" is a boys name and it means jaguar-serpent demonstrating the ideal of balancing these forces within the human conciousness. Both the Chinese and Aztecs viewed the green serpent as rising from Earth to Heaven and the Jaguar/Tiger as having a descending and deadly energy.
Miguel is someone who has a warrior foundation and is likely to be a very good person because he has the courage and internal balance to be upright. At the end he checks on Tommy to make sure he is alright. Were his power dependent on others he would posture and show dominance to try to take the other person's power. This shows that he is more connected to Heaven and Earth and is self assured.
Most people defeat themselves before their challenge begins. Through combat we can learn about ourselves. When we know how to release the beliefs and fears that hold us back we can regain our ability to survive and thrive. In the space of this savage violence we can learn a great deal about humanity and healing.
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