t the next additional training, we learned the new kata with interest and diligence. The “speedy guys” never ceased to
impress us with their mastery. With captivating beauty and thunder-like speed, they sparred with each other. Andrew, observing their movements, complained to the Teacher, “How do they move so quickly? It seems like we do same kata, but no matter how hard I try, I still fall behind. They move practically twice as fast as I. Why?”
“It has to do with balance. This is the trick,” answered Sensei.
“But I keep balance as I was taught earlier with my first steps in karate. In my opinion, I follow all the rules; the center of gravity is distributed as it should be. But it doesn’t work like with them.”
“Because you move the center of gravity while they follow the center of gravity.”
“How is that?” Andrew was surprised.
“Well. In ‘hara,’ or as it’s also known, the point of Dan-Tian, which is located three fingers lower than the navel, is the center of gravity. Remember, one time I told you about this. Everybody is taught to rightly hold it, to step, to move, and so forth. You were told that, for example, a standing man doesn’t fall down until his plumbing line from the center of gravity is located inside a platform limited by the edges of his feet. Walking is a series of falls forward, prevented by timely moving of the supporting leg. Running is a series of jumps from one leg to another with a corresponding shift of weight of the body and the center of gravity. Right? Right... In other words, everyone is teaching the general rules of moving the center of gravity. But that is why they lose in speed. Because in order to increase speed and to teach the body to move, one needs to learn, first of all, to move the center of gravity.”
“Can I learn it, or am I hopeless?” Andrew asked with a smile.
“Only the fools and the lazy fellows are hopeless,” Sensei replied with irony. “Otherwise, everybody can learn it. There is an elementary technique to shift your center of gravity. In other words, it’s almost the same as dynamic meditation. At first, you learn the breathing technique. In any arbitrary movements, when your hands move away from you, inhale. When your hands come towards you, exhale; step forward, inhale; step back, exhale. You exhale into the bottom of the belly, into the ‘hara,’ which is similar to how we exhaled through our hands in meditation. In other words, during the exhale, concentrate your attention and completely concentrate on this point of the belly, as if slightly straining it exactly in the area of ‘hara.’ In the end, you begin to control your derived breathing in this way. And the most important thing is to feel this place, to feel in particular your center of gravity.”
“What kind of movements does one need to perform? Is there any sequence?”
“Any, whatever you want, it doesn’t matter. If you want, warm up or polish kata, or simply walk in circles, or make bows, it doesn’t matter. The important work is done by your thought and concentration. This is the first phase: to find your exact center of gravity and to feel it during movement.
“The second phase is aimed at increasing the point of gravity concentrated in the ‘hara.’ In other words, you mentally send Qi to it. At this point, due to the concentration of energy of air, it spreads and becomes round and dense. And now it turns into a small ball, in the shape of whatever you like or imagine. The important thing is that you almost feel it physically, as if something is there, for example, a big, round ball.
“And the third phase is the most important. With the power of your will, you move this center of gravity, and everything follows it. Wherever you are and whatever you do, you constantly perform this dynamic meditation.”
“Just like the Lotus Flower?” Andrew asked.
“Absolutely right. Just like that. Besides, to practice one meditation doesn’t mean to neglect another. No matter how you move, wherever you go, first, you should move not the body, but your center of gravity with your mind. Later, the body should learn to keep up with it. That is all. Everything is simple.”
Andrew reflected and started to move with his breathing.
“Look here,” Sensei drew his attention, “that’s how you move usually. You first bring forward the shoulder, the leg, the head, and so forth. In other words, at first you bring forward a part of the body before the center of gravity. And now look at the guys. See, they start all movements exactly from the point of ‘hara,’ the bottom of the belly first goes forward, while later the body follows it, no matter how they move around, quickly or slowly.”
“Aha, now it’s clear,” Kostya caught up, carefully listening to the Teacher with us. “We couldn’t understand why your unusual walk differs so much from other people’s.”
Sensei shrugged his shoulders and said with a smile, “It’s a habit.”
Our first attempts ended with loud laughter because everyone tried to learn everything at once. But all that we were able to do was to walk like penguins. That’s why Sensei remarked, “Guys, I told you, you at first need to learn to breathe, to feel you center of gravity and later to move it.”
“But how do they accelerate their movements?” asked Andrew, nodding towards the speedy guys. “Do we need to do something special?”
“Actually, no. You can accelerate just with the exhale, in other words, with the power of your thought pushing forward the center of gravity. You move your hand just by thinking about it. It is the same: you should freely move your center of gravity by mentally sending it an order. And when you learn to move your center of gravity at the speed of thought, you will be able to move as quickly as your physical condition will permit. You’ll only need to have time for your body to catch up with your center of gravity.”
“Great!” pronounced Andrew. “Any sprinter competition can be won in this way.”
“That’s for sure. If this technique were known to sportsmen, they would win the gold at world championships,” Sensei answered half in jest.
“Don’t any of them know about this?”
“Unfortunately, not.”
“I have never heard about this and never even read about this,” Kostya confessed honestly, to our surprise. “Why not?”
“Well, this is a very ancient technique for the development of human abilities and is the secret knowledge of superiors of ancient monasteries. They don’t tell even their disciples about it and save it for their own use as a peculiar, secret technique. Though, in reality, there is nothing special about it. It’s not even the art. It’s an ordinary technique easily learned by anybody, although it is more effective among others.”
The entire way home, our company was very proud. We were so happy to find out the secrets known only to masters of ancient monasteries. It was much more than we could have hoped to have learned. I was amazed once again by Sensei’s knowledge of ancient techniques. When guessing who he is, I wrote down in my diary that Sensei was probably a talented orientalist, or he knew those regions very well, or he grew up there. Otherwise, how did he receive this knowledge? Mystery gave rise to yet another mystery. Sensei undoubtedly knew a lot, starting with philosophy and finishing with exact sciences. And all that was on a foundation of some kind of unknown science of the fundamental knowledge about human beings, starting with the micro-universe of the endlessly dividing atom and finishing with the invisible soul, or rather with the mystery of its creation. “Who is he?!” I asked myself once again.
