How do you know whether a person wants to harm you or not? When does the game turn from a game into a fight? Where do people’s true intentions lie?

How could you ever know?

Sensing intention has been around in the martial arts for centuries. Although it seems sometimes a little too abstract or far fetched for the average martial artist, it is definately a medium to explore if it is indeed possible.

Many times have I been in a roda and felt the hairs stand up on top of my arms. The look in one’s eye, the fake smile that someone wears, the feeling that lingers in the air…

By no means am I an expert on this subject, nor do I pretend to claim that I possess ‘super human powers’. I am just merely exploring the subject to help contribute to it.

THE FIVE SENSES

From my understanding, the five senses are what we primarily use to gauge situations and react accordingly. Thoughts and emotions are secondary. This ‘sixth sense’, sensing the intentions of others, seems to be overwhelmed and blocked out by the over-stimulation of your other senses, thoughts and emotions. It’s like with our bodies, sometimes we work too much on the bigger muscle groups. This can sometimes cause us problems because our smaller muscles become weak and eventually do not work properly.

By using the five senses and by directing our thoughts emotions and focus to opening this sense, I truly believe that you can become better aware of the way others may feel towards you and a better general sense of your environment.

If you get a chance, have a look into Gestalt psychotherapy. It explores heightening awareness and helping understand how to ‘be in the moment’.

Remember, the only thing that holds you back is your mind.

Training The Mind

here is a little left right brain test to help you explore the capabilities of your mind, and the way you percieve things.

In this picture below, is the dancer turning clockwise or anti-clockwise?

Can you make her spin either way?

Look closely, it is important that you believe you can, you must convince your mind and yourself that you can do it.

Apparently, if you naturally see her spin clockwise, then you use more of the right side of the brain and vice versa.

LEFT BRAIN FUNCTIONS
uses logic
detail oriented
facts rule
words and language
present and past
math and science
can comprehend
knowing
acknowledges
order/pattern perception
knows object name
reality based
forms strategies
practical
safe

RIGHT BRAIN FUNCTIONS
uses feeling
“big picture” oriented
imagination rules
symbols and images
present and future
philosophy & religion
can “get it” (i.e. meaning)
believes
appreciates
spatial perception
knows object function
fantasy based
presents possibilities
impetuous
risk taking

Now that your brain is sufficiently warmed up, I recently ran a trainathon, which involved teaching capoeira for 13 hours straight.

Intention exercise 1

Within our trainathon we covered a few experimental exercises on intention and feeling intention. One of the exercises we split the group into partners, and one person would hold a coin in one hand, whilst the partner tries to snatch the coin out of their hand. Just like a reflex game, the person holding the coin had to close their hand before the other person could get the coin. Next we made the person holding the coin do it with their eyes shut. Next, we held a coin in each hand, closed our eyes and tried to feel which hand the person would go for and at what time.

If you ever have the time and partner to do this with, I would love to hear how you go.

The important thing that helps me, is to try and relax and clear your mind from everything that is not that moment in time.

Intention Exercise 2

The next exercise was having two people face the other way kneeling down, eyes shut, with a soft stick in one hand. Two other people would sneak up behind them and try to have to touch the person on the back and run off. The person kneeling has to try and sense when the person is about to touch them and touch the person with the stick beforehand.

You will see in a video below some demonstrations of the exercises we performed. There were many more hits and misses, but I only put in a couple for your enjoyment. In the soft stick exercise we also had the music up really loud so that the people could not rely on hearing.

We related these intention exercises on general distancing and knowing if a person is about to kick you or not.
We did this by having each person ginga, and one person throw out a bencao. When they threw the bencao out they could choose to try and hit the other person or try and think about only kicking close to them but not touching them. The other person would have to decide whether or not to react to the kick by getting out the way or just staying in ginga.

When I know other people’s intent, I feel like I have more ability to control my actions and reactions to others. If I am sensitive to the people around me and my environment, I feel more connected to who I am.

These were only a couple of examples of exercises we ran through, We definately had a lot of fun and if you play with these ideas, I am sure you will too. If you know of any other exercises or have any comments or suggestions on exercises to help train feeling intent, please don’t hesitate to ask.

Axe and Salve!

Chan.

a couple of days ago I was having a conversation with a guy who is one of the graduated students of mestre bamba.  We were conversing about many things ranging from the politics of capoeira to famous capoeiristas.  One of the things that struck me in the conversation was a small story he told me, as an example about a class I had with mestre bamba and what he was trying to tell everyone about their life missions. One day in an immense forest where all of the native wildlife lived, a fire struck the trees.  The fire grew so big their was no possible way it was to be put out.  All of the animals of the forest started to panic and run this way and that, not knowing what to do or how to get out.  A small sparrow flew to a lake within the forest and with its tiny beak picked up a little bit of water.  It flew to the fire and dropped it onto the blaze and went back to the lake to do it again.  All of the animals stopped in confusion and asked this sparrow what the hell he thought he was doing, their was no way this small bit of water could stop the fire.  The sparrow responded, that his aim was not to stop the immense fire, and all that he was doing was his part.

We all hesitate at first, not knowing exactly how to take it and then we all dive in, the beat of the berimbau buzzing at our feet.  We all begin to play as if we had fire at our feet, tearing around the roda, fighting our nerves trying to think trying to conserve energy whilst playing as best we could.  i dove in trying to rememver that this was our day, trying to remember how to shine.  I cut in two, three, four times, each time getting progressively harder, my legs starting to feel like led, my breath getting heavier and heavier.  i got chapa one, two, three times in a row.  A big no no in the world of capoeira.  I could see that the guy was out to prove his worth, not comfortable with his own image, I was not going to get dragged down the same hole.  I took the kicks (which were quite light anyway) and smilled at him accepting what had just happened and moved on.  I was not going to lose my head, lose my concentration.  I couldnt afford to. 

Listen to the Mestre within

I listened to bamba in my head and kept my focus on the game.  After cutting in again and playing three guys in a row Mestre bamba stopped the roda and called me over to play three capoeiristas as the final test in the troca de cordas.  He called rubens, dinho, and orelha for me to play.  I took a deep breath, this was it, this is what dreams were made of.  I thought about my past batizados and how I approached the decisive moments in each one respectively.  My legs were feeling heavy and I could already feel my body shutting down.  I entered into the roda with all the strength I had.  I had worked out that topazio liked to play at a distance in the initial stages of the game and will judge, your timing, the certain types of reactions you have to the movements they are doing before they move in for the kill.  Only if you are caught in a tight spot will they advance a second time in the same instance. Usually they would go in hit and draw back to wait for the reaction. 

Focus your Capoeira

Rudsons focus on the game was unmatched, his fakes into attacks that missed were almost like small trials on his behalf to see how I would retaliate.  But I didnt, I stood my ground and tried to play my game.  He started to try and get me to fall over through vingativas and then tried to enter with some jujitsu holds.  As I was backing away from a knee, I popped my head up and went back into ginga.  I instantly felt a huge wack against the side of my face.  I stumbled backwards trying to regain my posture.  He had given me a martelo with such beautiful timing and precision.  I had no idea on how it got through and what had just happened.  My right side of my face went numb and I could taste the blood in my mouth.  The first fear that came to mind was my nose was going to bleed.  if it did I wouldnt be able to live up to my potential.  Everyone crowded around me whilst bamba checked I was alright.  i nodded, shaken more than anything from the whole ordeal.  I went back in to the roda still shocked from the kick, not really knowing if I was okay or not.  But I knew I had to keep going.  I had to prove to myself I could achieve anything I put my mind to. 

Capoeira nao pode cair

We enter once again, we move around the roda like lighting, each giving nothing away.  I could feel him softening because of the kick he gave me.  I didnt want that to happen.  I had taken a hard hit, and I was prepared to take more, as many as it would take to find out who I really was and where I really stood in the capoeira world.  He went in for a fake meia lua de frente and even though our distance was too far, I ripped in with a turing chapa that hit, but was cushioned a bit by his foresight.  He acknowledged the kick and we kept ginga until I was called over to play with mestre orelha.  i was worn out and still dazed, wondering if i was concussed or if it was just the adrenalin, mestre bamba rushed me to the bathroom quickly and threw some water over me, washed off the blood and threw a bit of ice on my neck.  Dalva was shouting to stop me from playing, bamba was shouting back no, no, he is capoeira, he can pay, he can do it.  Mestre bambas confidence in me gave me confidence in myself.  I knew that I could go on, I was going to be alright.  No matter how tired I was, thirsty, In pain, the faith that bamba had in me is what drove me.  His faith triggered my perception to change, my thoughts and attitude to change, which gave me the strength to keep going.  I was doing this for myself, for all of the years of pain and training, for me to find my next level and stand proud amongst those who too have gone through blood and tears to reach the stars I have reached.  I went back in, this time I was fighting my endurance, my awareness, my body. It was as if everything was starting to shut off and I had to within myself, frantically keep turning everything back on.  I kept playing my game a little more restricted, not pulling off so many kicks, not giving away anything, my mind fixed on my opponents every move.  And with that dinho shook my hand, babma yelled iee! and it was over.  I could hardly beleive I had done it, I had survived!  Bamba talked to everyone about how his treatment to brazilians and foregners are one and the same, because if it wasnt he would be teaching the foregners a false capoeira.  He also said that he would like to acknowledge how hard it really is for a foregner to come all the way to brasil and learn something completely different to ones own culture and reach a standard as I had in the world of capoeira.  Mestre Dinho and Rudson agreed and like a magician, bamba pulled out a bright red cordao from thin air and with a huge smile and tears in both our eyes he wrapped jmy cordao around my waist.  As we hugged I felt an overwhelming energy vibrate through my body and knew the world was never going to be the same again.