Maori

Walking around leafy Rotorua doing my letter drops promoting my martial arts school I was watching the trees swaying rhythmically in the wind. It dawned on me every moving object has an intrinsic rhythm as it alternates in speed and acceleration. In my mind I pictured my martial arts techniques and the recurrence of action and reaction and realized that without rhythm how stiff, hard and ineffective the techniques would be. Rhythm is what makes us sensitive to the timing, distance and changes in our fighting environment.

Watching as the Maori children milled about on the housing estate, the meaning of Maori suddenly hit me. In its purest meaning Ma is pure, bright or natural and Ori means vibration or energy. Therefore the name of the native people in their own tongue basically means natural energy or rhythm. Once again inspired by the Maori I drew the distinction that by using my own natural rhythm and combining that with movement, footwork and posture I can amplifying my techniques using my own natural rhythm.

I reflect on how I can apply this natural rhythm to the interval training drills, the consecutive explosive attacks and counter attacks and the way they alternate in action and reaction with explosive speed and strength. We all have a natural resting vibration; it is called our resting pulse. Our bodies have a natural core temperature range of 37 C. Similarly the earth’s natural vibration has been changing the last century to compensate for the effects of colonization, technology and the effects of modern industry, farming, fishing and forestry.

I realized that we all have a unique rhythm, a unique energy signature that is 100% our own. Only by being congruent and true to ourselves are we able to facilitate our own survival. I thank my brothers for unwittingly bestowing this spiritual wisdom onto me. I am 100% pure me. As a martial artist my energy radiates outwards and creates my reality and attracts like energy and people of a similar wavelength. By being pure I am able to perceive and read a situation clearly and react accordingly using a deeper awareness and understanding. My conclusion is therefore honour your own uniqueness and style, let your inner self radiate and shine. Be Maori, be natural. Live your own life.