A music and martial intersection

While I haven't spoken too much about it on this blog, I am also a fairly experienced musician.  Prior to opening Han Mi Martial Arts, I taught music full time as a private instructor in Frederick, MD.  I still do it today, but only part time.  Often, people are surprised that I teach music when they know me as a martial arts teacher.  The same goes for music students when they hear about Han Mi.  In my mind, there are many parallels.  I wanted to take a moment and explore a few.

As a musician, I tend to look at things on three levels when playing.  I have to be aware of what my hands (or hands and feet if we're talking drum set) are doing technically.  At the same time, there has to be a mental awareness - key signature, time signature, chord structure for improvisation, and all the other math that goes into it.  Along with those two, I need to be aware of what is happening artistically - what the emotional texture is at the moment.  All three of these things need to exist in order for anything to be played sincerely or correctly.  Without both levels of awareness along with execution, we'll either have silence, disorganization, or overly dry playing. 

For technique, a player has to cultivate the conditioned responses that go into being a capable musician.  Guitarists, Bassists, and percussionists need to practice scales, arpeggios, and general dexterity that is required to play the instrument and a purely physical level.  Drummers learn all their rudiments and sticking techniques along with proper bass drum technique for their feet.  You can understand the technique, but a conditioned response is needed in order to make that technique as common as picking up a cup.  Martial artists are precisely the same way; if I want to defend myself intelligently, I cannot fumble around trying to think my way through a side kick, sword strike, or a block.  The body requires repetition in order to make that technique as easy to execute as it is to say the word "hello" in language.  If the intellect is bogged down trying to think through execution, then you aren't able to engage the situation fully.  In music, it means studdering; in martial arts, it means executing slowly and imprecisely - possibly giving the other person an advantage.  Neither is acceptable.

Intellectually, musicians have to be aware of the non-tangible parts of the music.  If we are talking about pitched instruments, awareness of key signature, chord structure, and melody are vital to be able to improvise or to play a passage intelligently.  Having this understanding allows for written music to be read quickly without hesitation and allows for intelligent improvisation to even be possible.  Drummers need to know which sticking and rudimentary techniques to employ to convey the phrase and keep the rhythmic flow uninterrupted.  Martial arts has the same kinds of considerations; one must be aware of the reach of oneself as well as the opponent.  In grappling, understanding of the weight distribution and the center of gravity make it possible to control the other person's body independent of their will.  In Kendo, being aware of small movements in the body and sword can cue an opponent's intention on the timing and location of an attack - similarly in Taekwondo.  The awareness of angle, leverage, and the patterns in an opponent's movements give a clue as to how to build a tactic for dealing with that person's size, skill, and intention.

The artistic aspects are where I tend to lose people.  In music, the artistic elements are the reason why people play.  Music makes us feel a certain way and we are drawn to it even as beginners.  The beauty, the sadness, and the intensity of music reaches across culture and is obvious for anyone with ears that is open to such an experience.  Martial artists have to be a bit more subtle in their awareness for this to be understood.  Obviously, martial arts exists to enrich and protect the practitioner.  Martial arts are our way to adapt to the world - by helping us to exercise and stay healthy as well as giving us tools to deal with someone that wants to hurt us.  A martial artist considers the attack and the attacker - the intention is paramount.  While we want to succeed, we express that in context.  In competition, we use the appropriate amount of force to win while staying within the rules.  In self-defense, we use the appropriate amount of force without being abusive.  The skill of the attacker or the presence of a weapon influences to harshness of the response.  While some think it appropriate to be as lethal as possible in all situations, they tend to be less aware of the greater forces at work in the world.  A drunk person bar hopping and being obnoxious need not be met with the same force as someone that is sober behaving aggressively with a weapon in a premeditated attack.  While we each have the right to go home at night, we need to balance that with not being hateful.  Martial art is the expression of love we each have for our own lives and of the well-being of our communities.  When a martial artist understands this, then that person treats everyone with kindness - even the people that might not deserve it.  Peace is best, but we have tools to deal with people that don't respect this value and act violently towards others.

So, music and martial arts do have many parallels within them.  While the outward manifestations may be different, the inward processes are surprisingly similar.  Both are expressions of the joy of living.  While one revels in tension, the other seeks to resolve it - but the differences are only in that expression.  It is worth mentioning tangentially that while martial arts strives for peace and balance, it is important to at least mention the need for the mind of a martial artist to be peaceful in order for them to have any hope of rendering peace outwardly.  That, however, can be blogged about another day.