Golf Is Like Martial Arts

This is not a Stephen Chow movie but golf is like martial arts. Like martial arts it is a form of exercise, discipline, art, tolerance, endurance, consistency, speed, power, control, mental strength, relaxation, coordination, focus, balance, practice and skill. Those of you who has learned or trained in martial arts before know that you are not allowed to handle weapons until you can reach a certain level of proficiency and when you could you begin with the easier ones just like golfers progressing from novice to one with a PC (Proficiency Cert) and then handicap. You will also have to master the shorter clubs first then the longer ones. From here master the distance shots and then the shorter ones and it is the short game that really makes the difference. Therefore, truly golf mimics martial arts and martial arts mimics life. You apply the same techniques, skills and what comes out of your mind. Look below and see for yourself how martial arts can apply to you golf and your life. Bruce Lee: "Speed and power comes from relaxation and coordination which has everything to do with mind and body balance." In other words, you cannot have speed and power if you are not relax or coordinated. This is completely dependent on the balance of your body and your mind.

After four years of hard training under Ip Man, he understood and felt the principles of gentleness, the art of neutralising the opponent's efforts and minimising expenditure of one's energy. All must be done with calmness and without striving. It sounds simple but is difficult in application. The moment he was engaged in combat, his mind is completely perturbed and unstable. After exchanging blows, all the theory of gentleness was gone. The only thought left was somehow I must beat him and win.

Applying principles of gentleness to neutralise opponent's efforts, to minimise expenditure of one's own energy. Don't waste energy. All must be calm "without striving". Sounds like golf and life doesn't it? Sounds simple but difficult in application - now it's even more like it isn't it? All is forgotten when we enter into combat (mind is perturbed and unstable). After exchanging blows all theories of gentleness was gone. You just wanted to beat the fellow in the office, in golf and whatever but n the heat of the moment all hell break loose. You lose your cool you loose it all.

At this point, Ip Man would come to him and said: "Relax and calm your mind, forget about yourself and the opponent. Let the mind be the reality. Do the counter and movement without any interfering deliberation. Above all, learn the art of detachment. Follow the natural flow of things and don't interfere. Never assert yourself against nature. Never be frontal opposition to any problem but control it by swinging with it". How do I know this? I was there in spirit. Hey, Ip Man and Bruce Lee were talking about golf!

Mind must be relax and calm again. Don't think about the opponent or yourself. No interfering thoughts. Be detached. Follow the natural flow. Do not assert against nature. Never be frontol opposition to problems but you can control by swinging with it. Not like a rock against the wall but like water flowing. Water can gently fill cracks or powerfully smash against rocks like a waterfall. Were Ip Man and Bruce Lee on the golf course? They were not but it was possible. The principles of martial arts were all there. Power when you need it, suppleness where required. Follow the natural flow and not struggle against it. One must be relax and the mind must be calm. No interference with your thoughts.

The Matrix And John Woo

If you have watched The Matrix, Keanu Reeves was Neo whom they called "The One". I have a friend Neo too and I also call him The One. In The Matrix, the fight scenes' choreography was often in slow motion where everything just hung in there. Then Neo (Keanu not my friend), could come in to chop and kick asses. Most of John Woo's movies are like that. The guy could make a scene of spitting saliva exciting. If you look at it carefully, this is quite true even if dramatised. If real exponent of martial arts can sense tension before a fight breaks out but he remains very calm. It is this calmness that allows you to see things that others do not see. Ronaldinho or Lionel Messi, great soccer talents of our time have been blessed with physical skills to do those wonderful things on the soccer pitch but it is really their minds that allow them to see things in slow motion even though all around them are frenzied. Watch the clip at the end of this article on "Aikido" where all around are frenzied but you are calm. You are the eye of the storm.

Eye Of A Storm

The eye of a storm is a small opening in the centre of a storm where the sky remains clear and the weather calm. This is the eye of the hurricane or storm. An eye begin to form in the middle of a storm when wind speed hits 80 miles per hour. Air from above sinks down. If you were to stand directly in the middle - the eye of a storm the weather is fine and calm and you feel that it is slightly breezy. You could possibly see blue skies or stars above but all around you are in turmoil moving around in circular motion and it is violent. Learn and strive to be like you are in the eye of a storm. You are the axis and the problems in life revolves around you. Even if all around you are shaking violently and are in turmoil, you remain calm. Then you will avert disaster and be "The One". The exception could be those who are completely blur to know what is going on and sometimes they survive because they simply did not try to be too clever.

Tiger

If so, Tiger Woods is one of most highly skilled practitioners around. When we watch sports on TV, we get to see all the spectacular execution and breathtaking moments be it soccer, golf or anything else. However, sometimes it is so delightful to know that sportsmen are very human and they do occasionally make those same mistakes like us. It was even more delightful to catch them since these moments are very rare like highly rated professionl golfers hitting their balls into the water. It is not sadistic. Recently, Tiger duffed a shot and the picture of the shot was captured on camera as it flew straight crashing into the camera. Tiger's caddie has been known to remover cameras from over enthusiastic spectators who clicked when he was taking a shot. When this happens, it is the spectators' fault but this time it was Tiger's fault. However, it didn't stop Tiger giving the eye to the camera man like he would devour him.

Carrots
Sometimes they would dangle carrots for you in amateur competitions with hole-in-one prizes like a car. A Mercedes-Benz or Lexus. This one here is a Ford Mondeo - a fabulous car that I like. Not everybody who gives you carrot is your friend. Sometimes, there is a big stick behind. Hence, the carrot or the stick.

Of course I didn't win it as you will be barred from other competitions as you would have been deemed to have won cash or kind becoming some kind of earnings. As I love to participate in competitions I have decided not to win it. The truth is that it is almost impossible to do it. Maybe you will have to mishit, let it hit a tree and bounce around to go in. They would usually place the hole in the most inauspicious corners you could find - at the front or right behind. Dream on...

Competition lunch is always chicken rice and noodles. Why must it be so? Because it is cheap and easy? They are just like petrol prices. All golf and country clubs just knew to prepare this same food like petrol companies knowing exactly when to increase prices.

Taking your position and getting ready.

The number 7 with an "A" means you are the 7th flight but second group to tee.

Superstition Is An Art

Once I attended the President's Charity competition. Everything was going as planned with beautiful weather. Just after lunch as the competition was about to begin, dark clouds hovered above and lightning and rain came. After a few hours they decided to cancel the tournament but they kindly rescheduled as a postponement. At the next schedule, I saw this "chilli & bawang" stuck on the ground at the tee box. Some countries get the witch doctor to dance to create rain. This one here the chilli and bawang which means chilli and onions is the bomoh's treatment to prevent rain probably according to some myth or urban legend. I saw this again recently. If you are golfing and pray that there will be no rain please pray for no rain and lightning only at the golf course. Otherwise the world will be facing a drought. If it were true and everybody went around sticking chilli and bawang, you will be on a major drought.

Look at this giant brollies. The movements and strokes of the swing is like martial arts.

New Laguna

This is how the new Laguna National will look like. It is no longer the friendlier, flatter Classic course. You can see the big bunkers, dunes and undulation.

Much more challenging including the the green fee perhaps costing you more than $200 per game. For every game you are going to play there, you can get a new golf club.

Even the buggy tracks will be crooked.

This is the current Masters Course.

Golf has hard and soft. Power and grace, just like martial arts and just as in life. Knowing when to be and what to use is key. Watch the following clip on Aikido at its best. It is real. Soft and yet powerful. Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROXaswf5OWo