Looking at things from a Tao perspective can be useful in some respects, but on a practical level, it is rather vague! If you want hard facts — the right and wrong ways of doing things — we need to drill down into particulars. As soon as we do, we leave the Tao and enter the realm of Yin and Yang — essentially ‘things’ and ‘non-things’. (In Buddhist thought this is often called Duality or the realm of ‘phenomena’.) In Japanese, Yin and Yang become In and Yo. This concept of two complimentary parts making up the whole is manifested in countless ways, for example Go and Ju (Hard and Soft) from Goju Ryu karate. 

 


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    Ai to Zen

    Over the years I’ve found many of the Chinese and Japanese terms used in the martial arts are loaded with useful ideas and symbolism. Concepts such as Tao, Yin, Yang, Do, Chi, Go and Ju (and many others) have all helped both in my personal training and in teaching. Here are some musings on the subjects along with other concepts and ideas that appear in martial training.

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