The ways in which we physically carry ourselves in the world, the traces left by our voices, can reveal some of the architecture of who we are. We are physical bodies, experiences, minds, thoughts, actions, words and stories. Our bodies and voices can name the source of some of our experience. In searching for the true “naming” of what makes a person who they are, I am pulled back into somatic memory and called to reflect on my experiences with martial arts. At a young age I was drawn to the etiquette of martial arts. As well as the mental fortitude and physical conditioning. I was drawn to the ritual. Bowing to the whole room and teacher each time I entered the Dōjō. Shake with two hands, instead of one, to show respect and presence. Combining
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Tony my teacher, had a Texan drawl, and he loved to tell stories. He would sometimes take up half of our class time telling us long tales. He would laugh and pat you on the back. Though these were not regular “pats”. They were hearty nock you off your toes type slams. To this day when some gives me a good “pat” on the back, I refer to it as a “Tony pat”. He was a kind fatherly man who taught me to drive, after my mother divulged how terrified she was with me behind the wheel. He commented it wasn’t a problem, he had taught many teenage boys to drive, he wasn’t worried about me. I was, when I saw at his giant SUV. As we sped down the highway, me gripping the steering wheel in terror. I still recall his calm gentle assurances, his equanimity the result of many years of …show more content…
In shaping myself. Their groundedness which went beyond location. Both of these teachers held a similar calm about them. A wrapping made from knowing their bodies. Poise comprised of the knowledge that no matter the situation they had tools shaped from years of hard study. Instruments that could act in response, before cognition. This is what practice does. A discipline that was and is still challenging for me. The rigor of hours of practice which over time becomes a uniquely somatic knowledge. One that is visible in the way someone carries their body, it can be just as distinctive as an accent. Naming another story about they are and what they know, in the language of the
Tony my teacher, had a Texan drawl, and he loved to tell stories. He would sometimes take up half of our class time telling us long tales. He would laugh and pat you on the back. Though these were not regular “pats”. They were hearty nock you off your toes type slams. To this day when some gives me a good “pat” on the back, I refer to it as a “Tony pat”. He was a kind fatherly man who taught me to drive, after my mother divulged how terrified she was with me behind the wheel. He commented it wasn’t a problem, he had taught many teenage boys to drive, he wasn’t worried about me. I was, when I saw at his giant SUV. As we sped down the highway, me gripping the steering wheel in terror. I still recall his calm gentle assurances, his equanimity the result of many years of …show more content…
In shaping myself. Their groundedness which went beyond location. Both of these teachers held a similar calm about them. A wrapping made from knowing their bodies. Poise comprised of the knowledge that no matter the situation they had tools shaped from years of hard study. Instruments that could act in response, before cognition. This is what practice does. A discipline that was and is still challenging for me. The rigor of hours of practice which over time becomes a uniquely somatic knowledge. One that is visible in the way someone carries their body, it can be just as distinctive as an accent. Naming another story about they are and what they know, in the language of the