Emptiness of Mind in Boxing

pic from Flickr

Boxing has become central to Yang and me. We spent the majority of our summer preparing for this year’s boxing events by improving our conditioning, diet, etc. When you spend so much time in boxing, you start realizing a certain Taoist mentality in boxing. A good example of what I mean is right in the moment of sparring, when I am punching and moving, slipping and pivoting… I’ll call it “Emptiness of the mind,” not merely muscle memory, because if muscle memory is unconscious movement due to my conditioning, then emptiness of the mind is the experience of such due to the spirit of the sport.

Towards the end of our summer, Yang and I sparred more often, culminating in an exhibition-type round for our last sparring session just before the start of this school year. Needless to say, the round was exhausting, but more importantly, there were no “mental” breaks, no thinking “I’ll throw a straight to bait” or “I’ll try blocking the jab.” There was really a sense of going with the flow (or way), but not in the conventional way which connotes a lack of willingness to go in one’s own direction, rather in the sense that Zhaungzi illustrates with his story about Cook Ding: the guidedness found in the way of things.

---

It’s been more or less 3 months since my brother and I have posted a blog post. The decision to post on Taopracticed during the school year was made on almost on a whim but it makes sense given that goals change year-to-year and time off can benefit everyone. As for the blog’s plans this year, we aim to focus on Confucius and his philosophy, and attempt to see the relevance of Confucianism in Taoism.