TLDR:
I recently re-started practicing the Tai Chi I learned 2 decades ago while I was in massage school, and even though I was enjoying my practice, I hungered for something more.
Through searching (and synchronicity), I found deeper ways to go into many aspects of martial arts, which is the answer for my longing for something deeper. I also found reinforcement in this choice in the show Cobra Kai (go figure).
I am exploring the Self-Mastery Program of Shaolin Temple Europe and if that sounds interesting to you, I encourage you to do the same. It is a year long program.
Longing for Tai Chi
For years, I was frustrated by not being able to remember all of the movements to the Tai Chi sequence I had learned when I was in massage school.
It was required learning to graduate because I went to a school that strongly acknowledged the energetic aspect of massage as being equally or more powerful than the physical aspects of massage.
But after I left California, I did not license in any other states (it was not so easy back then) and so my massage and healing work and the practices that came with it went to the wayside.
I missed it, though, especially in the times that I most needed more centering and more vital energy (chi).
Good healers haver good self discipline in their own lives, but due to the chaotic and darker environments I have inhabited for the last decade, the idea of self-care and staying in balance seemed completely out of reach to me. I have been surviving, and that is really all I can ask of myself right now.
But recently, I requested the forgotten Tai Chi sequence from my school.
They had always been a bit cagey about giving information after graduation, but that was the school’s ugly phase with bad management after I graduated.
Most recently, the school switched hands into the caring and management of some awesome former graduates.
They gave me some great resources and I, after 5 years of longing to return to theTai Chi I had learned so long ago, finally got to reconnect with the form.
I Was Johnny. I Was Danny.
While I was enjoying my newly found practice again, an interesting and synchronistic thing occurred.
I was watching the local news when Ralph Macchio was talking about his new autobiography.
He mentioned the show Cobra Kai was connected with the 1980s Karate Kid movies, which I did not realize.
While I liked The Karate Kid movies, they were not some huge thing to me when I was a child.
Still, I had not known realized that Cobra Kai was a continuation of that world, and… well… since I love 80s nostalgia, and he described the show as family oriented, I decided to watch it with my family.
No huge revelation yet.
I am going to start by saying the show is just really good.
I thought it would be really cheesy, and despite little bit of camp (which I actually adore), overall it can be enjoyed for purely the entertainment value.
What I found especially interesting was that the depth of this show actually struck me profoundly as I got deeper into the series.
I like to draw wisdom and analogies about life from pop culture, so it had me drawing ties to my life and life in general.
Most notably, the theme of Balance really jumps out at me.
In my darker aspects and deepest moments of struggle, I can see the darker aspects in myself that match Johnny’s and Danny’s.
Even the 80’s movies protagonist had an out of balance darker side, especially at the beginning of the series.
At the same time, the character Johnny was one I could relate to even more, living in the nostalgia of the 80s (oops, I do love that era) and because his life was somewhat dark, raging about that in ways that were not constructive and counter productive.
Mostly, both of these characters needed balance and as they soften toward each others’ philosophies on Karate and on life and try out what the other was teaching, their lives became more fulfilling and successful.
Balance and Grounding Through Physical Discipline
In previous posts I have spoken about the need to ground one’s energy, especially if one has the tendency to live more in the upper chakras, as most indigo adults and psychic individuals do.
And in society, the emphasis of THINKing and sitting at a computer rather that DOing things in the physical world is how everyone seems to be oriented these days.
I have no doubt that my strong urge to relearn Tai Chi was connected with my desire to get more into my body and to ground myself, after excessive thinking and use of digital tools to do everything.
So as I was challenging myself to relearn and expand what I could do in the Tai Chi form, I felt somewhat aligned to what was happening in the storyline of Cobra Kai.
It was very inspirational to me, not just because all of the characters were focused and disciplined on getting physically better and stronger, but also because of what that meant for their character in all aspects of their lives.
It led me to thinking about how I could go deeper into the practice of martial arts in a way that lines up with the form of Tai Chi that I had learned in massage school.
Because back when I was in massage school, I was not necessarily interested in learning what I now know is called the “hard form” of Tai Chi… The fighting form…
But years later I think that ONLY learning the soft form has also made me soft and a bit out of balance.
The practical use of Tai Chi was martial arts training for self-defense is not really part of my muscle memory, and I feel completely lacking in the hardness required to defend oneself.
This felt out of balance to me.
But even regarding the way the way we move and how it effects us psychologically, I feel that the soft flow of Tai Chi has me walking in this world in a soft flow, but sometimes hard, strong, decisive action is necessary and neglecting the hard movements in martial arts makes me walk in this world without the strength to make decisive, fast action.
For example, years ago, I had a friend that was really into Kung Fu who said he constantly hit is forearms with bamboo to strengthen them in fighting situations, which sounded absolutely absurd as a massage therapist, to create all of that damaged tissue on purpose, but now I see why one who has made learning a ‘hard’ martial art the focus of his world would do this.
He was selectively hardening parts of himself, like his forearms.
So I started to research how I could use the form that I know and love, and to expand my abilities into growing my physical hardness and also strengthen my character through focusing on these aspects in a physical way.
I was seeking a new learning for transformation.
I was searching the Internet to find the hard version of the Tai Chi I had learned years ago.
This led me to researching the Shaolin Temple in Europe.
Going Deeper Into The Form
The Internet search for “Tai Chi for fighting” or “Tai Chi for self defense” was overwhelming at first.
It was hard to find forms of Tai Chi that were meant for fighting that were NOT part of MMA and cage fighting.
Shaolin Temple in China does not accept women, and I decided that even if they had online material, I did not want to take that route.
But the Shaolin Temple in Europe did not seem to have that rule.
And they had a lot of material online that gave me a better idea of their teachings and philosophy, which I clicked with immediately.
The first thing I did was sign up for their newsletter, which offered me a free workbook on the 14 Virtues of Shaolin (Shaolin Wude).
Maybe it was because I was already thinking about these things in a cursory way from watching Cobra Kai, but the workbook actually hit me much harder than I expected.
It made me hunger to expand in the areas I was keenly aware I was lacking.
I would like to note here that even though Indigos have extraordinary abilities, we also have limitations that come with being human.
Filling in those human shortcomings is appropriate for all people, even Indigos.
I can see where I am very strong in some of the virtues and very weak in others.
And while I believe in playing to ones strengths is best, working on the areas of personality that are not as strong will enhance the strengthes (strengthen the strengths) and lead a better life.
I want to become a better person. I want a more balanced life.
The Wude eBook was marketing material that really worked on me.
It drew me in deeper to the teachings of Europe’s Shaolin Temple.
After the Wude, I started their “workout” program that they also offered their email-list members for free. This one is physical. I am still working through it.
Honestly, it is quite challenging.
I could work on it for a lifetime and still feel like there is room to improve and that’s what I love about it.
It is expanding on the knowledge I already have from Tai Chi, but I can see how it will make me better in physical ways if I stick to it.
A lot of the strengthening in the Shaolin program is leg work, which is in line with what I wrote about weeks ago with grounding one’s energy through the roots, which I learned from James Seriph.
Shaolin Europe also has a fantastic YouTube channel. You can get a strong idea of their teachings with the free material they put out.
I have had many shifts just in the last month with the material they have online.
But if you are interested in going deeper with the material, there is always the Shaolin-Online Self-Mastery Program.
Self-Mastery of Body, Mind and Spirit
I am hearing the call to “become better”, yet the message is very non-specific.
I can’t even say specifically how or in what way.
But as the world transforms in ways we cannot know but can all sense, I feel that I have to be ready in my greater self for these excellent but challenging transformations.
I am wondering if you, Indigo, are hearing that call as well.
It’s a normal thing at the beginning of the year to wonder what the next 12 months will bring.
I am writing this to share with you the way I have decided to grow myself to step up and commit to the Shaolin Self-Mastery course.
And I believe this call is tied in to a lot of what is happening in the world right now (Cray) and in my own personal life (also Cray).
This may not be the right path for you, but what my gut is saying is that right now really IS the dawning of the Age of Aquarius, and we all have to decide if we are going to grow into a person that can handle the ground of our lives shifting under our feet in massive ways.
And things are going to change really fast.
Who do we want to guide those huge shifts? How can be better at keeping our BALANCE. (There is that theme again.)
We want to be self-guided. We want the wisdom, strength of character, critical thinking and ethics to allow us to guide ourselves well and maybe even guide others with kindness and wisdom, as well.
That seems to be what Shaolin Europe wants to bring out in their students.
In balance, indigos are able to be fantastic and altruistic leaders.
We intuitively know was is good and beneficial most of the time, and the right path to take.
Many of us are empathic, and while this can be a challenging trait to have, it also means that it is really unnatural and hard on our own inner-being to put pain and suffering into the world, as many of our current leaders do, because we, as empaths, feel it reverberate back to us.
Put succinctly, we can put that lower energy out there, but we suffer along with that which is suffering if we do that.
And stress, worry and lack of confidence in our abilities will bring out in everybody. Being indigo does not mean we are immune to that.
If anything, it means that we are more powerful in the ups and downs of being human.
Who else has shattered glass by simply touching it when really upset?
if this is you, then you get it.
Energetically sensitive beings are also energetically powerful beings.
It is important to get a handle on that.
Many of us are more oriented toward healing rather than fighting.
For me, that is why I learned the practice of Tai Chi to heal rather than to hurt.
But, like in Cobra Kai, a little of that ‘Eagle Fang’ energy might actually be exactly what I need to make the leap into going deeper and becoming better at the weaknesses that hold me back and prevent me from offering my gifts as strongly as I could.
If you have not seen the Cobra Kai series yet, just know that the previous sentence means that I am seeking some hardness in practice and improvement of my weaker Wude virtues.
I mention this to you because I believe that strengthening oneself inwardly and outwardly is the path to becoming a better leader in one’s own life and maybe for the benefit of our community and world.
You must find what works for you, but I wanted to share the path that drawing me forth personally.
I believe I can find what I seek with the Shaolin Europe Training.
I hope what I have written helps you to expand in a way that allows you to live a more fulfilling life and offer your gifts in a powerful and altruistic way.
I hope this for me, too.
~ Peace ~
Indigo Leslie
P.S.: Shaolin teachings and Karate are different forms. Karate is the focus in Cobra Kai, but I went in the direction of the Shaolin teachings because that is this the foundation from which my early teachings come from.