The Elements

Stances and States

In the Martial Science, stances are very important. Different postures are associated with different mind sets or feelings. The same is true in our life.

Every stance is an attitude. If you want to have a specific feeling, you change your stance. Remember--stances are nothing more than physiological changes. Change your physiology and you change your mental attitude along with it. Thus, we can use stances to determine our states. What state of mind do you want?

Elementary Elements

The four most popular stances are those that relate to the elements. These stances are important because they teach us the basic responses with a variety of attitudes. The mental strategy and states concerning the four elements are:

ELEMENT MENTAL ATTITUDE STATE OF MIND STANCE Earth Strength and Control Neutral Combat Water Adaptability and Flow Defensive Defensive Fire Aggression and Speed Offensive Fighting Wind Compassion and Sensitivity Passive Open

Each stance allows us a different attitude. This is important in communication as well as in self-defense. Most people fit into one of the elements at any given moment in time. If you wish to build rapport, then it is wise to adapt the same or similar element in use. If you want to compare this with the three modalities, then wind would most likely be the kinisthetic person; fire would be the visual; and water would be the auditory. It is best to use these elemental states when the person in question is in that particular element, "in his element," so to speak. If someone is reaching out for someone to listen, then it is wise to adapt the element of wind. If someone is screaming and shouting, then you can adapt the element of fire. If someone is being stubborn, you can adapt the element of earth. If someone is leashing out for self-protection, then you can adapt the element of water.

Once you have entered into the same element as another person, it is possible for you to lead them into another element. First you pace, then you lead. Remember, people will respect you when you enter their element. If you try to motivate a person in the earth element with an attitude of fire, they may get upset with you. You first must have rapport and one of the easiest ways to do this is to get into that person's element.

In combat this might be a little different. Most likely you will need to adapt the physiology of fire if you have no time to negotiate. If you see an upcoming attack following a verbal assault, it would be wise to use this verbal moment for getting into that person's element. In kickboxing, a fighter can quickly change from one element to the next to keep his opponent from being able to adapt and learn his strategy. This is fighting from the void or all of the elements.

Next is the elemental age.

When we are children, we start off with lots of energy and we can be very aggressive. This is the fire stage. We then get a little older and begin to learn a little about life. We take some risks, but we also pull back. This is the water stage. When we become adults, we often become reserved, take fewer risks, and attempt to stabilize our lifestyle. This is the earth stage. As we become grandparents and senior citizens, we begin to be more sensitive to our surroundings, we tend to care and listen more. This is the wind stage. Of course we all have moments where we pass through different elements. But overall, there can be some logical classifications. Using this information, which element should one be in when speaking to the kids? Which type of element should one be when speaking to the elderly? Do you run up to an elderly person, shaking out your arms, screaming about your new sword collection? No, just as you don't crawl up to a child and whisper how much fun it would be to go to the bridge tournament.

 These elements are also used when determining a proper attitude for self-defense techniques. If you are facing a dangerous opponent, then you would use a fire technique to stop your attacker. However, if this person was simply drunk and not quite aware of the mistakes he was making, you might use a wind element to evade his assault and leave him out of harms way. The element you choose depends on the level of intensity and the type of situation at hand. As you can see, there are many variations and applications for the elements in combat and in life.

When you practice your stances, you start off in one and then adapt from that position into the next. It should be a smooth transition. The goal is to be able to go from one stance to the another with fluidity. When you can do this, you become more flexible with your surroundings and when change is necessary it doesn't take you off guard and knock you to the ground. You simply adapt and go with the flow.

Make sure that when you go from stance to stance, you are also practicing your mental attitude and state of mind. By doing this, you will anchor (mentally program) that response to the change in physiology.  This is called "Mind Control."

Sensei Tew
 
RTMS Head Instructor