When Bruce Lee spoke about being like water and wu sien, we as martial artists immediately think of the physical application of flowing around your opponent, and being in a state of no thought.
This principle goes much deeper though. Our brains are like embedded control systems. Mathematically and systematically speaking, a system has memory if it depends on and takes into consideration a function of a previous event. This could be something that happened a second ago or even something that happened weeks ago!
For us to truly have an empty mind and be like water we need to approach our sparring and self defense situations with no memory (or at least very short memory). We must not get caught up in a previous technique or exchange else we will be quashed by our sparring partners. We need to focus on the openings being presented to us and the attacks coming toward us in the present.
Playing the game of “coulda woulda shoulda” will lead to defeat in the present.
I can think of a time in a tournament even where being unhappy with my forms has adversely affected my sparring. There’s times where a bad day or week at work or school has affected how I interact with friends or family. When I am able to self regulate myself I can put forms behind me and do well in sparring and in a professional sense, I can create a healthy work life balance/separation.
Sure we are not perfect, and we are human. Heck, having memory and memories is normal. Otherwise we are missing out on our lives, but when we are at the point where we are having old memories affect our ability to create new ones then we are in trouble. Do your ki kong, prayer, or mindfulness so that you can live happily in the present.
Be like water!
