You can always find a higher mountain....If you stand on the highest mountain, there is none higher....I am Er'cero, I seek to stand on the highest mountain

I learnt what was required while I was at the monastery, enough to set me forth on my path towards self perfection, physical and spiritual enlightenment. Though much has unfolded since my coming here, thus I will not write about my past, for that matters not. One must look ahead and grasp the future before them.

None the less, I still hold my former master's journal; he is gone now, taken by the very ideology and morals we studied during our time in the Silver Marches. This very book is the greatest of treasures I hold; within it contains a basic philosophy of the martial arts, from this I continue my journey, building and improving from a little idea, to a form which is majestic in its own right.

The original form of the journal is on tattered pages written in an old script but besides these worn pages it seems new pages have been added, they are in a completely different hand writing; one of a quick hand, further exploring the originally written philosophy

Whenever you begin a new undertaking like that of the martial arts, the task may seem so daunting that you may be tempted to give up before attaining skill has been realized. Self doubt is the distressing enemy for every novice – no matter what the activity. So how do we effectively set ourselves on this path of discovery with full confidence and the mindset to persevere? It is simple – be relaxed.

Relaxation

It is your ability to properly relax that will release your body’s natural abilities and free the mind from the shackles of rigidity. By expressing this, it increases your ability to fully protect yourself as well as perform well in all aspects of life.

When faced with a threatening situation, your first thought should be to relax. One reason for this is that when you are relaxed you reduce the risk of being hurt when your opponent strikes you or wrenches your joints. The part of the body that is struck or wrenched can then move with the blows without accepting the full force of the opponent.

However, perhaps the most important reason you should practice relaxation is that it will help you develop explosive power by allowing you to utilize every once of available body mass behind each movement, whilst moving with maximum explosive speed. Fighting with tension in your muscles is like two forces of the same strength meeting ahead on – it slows your attack and retards your power.

Feet and hands work together, and the threat comes to an end

Awareness

Many situations of fighting can be avoided through proper awareness. It goes without saying that avoiding dangerous places and situations where possible gets rid of many unnecessary fighting situations. When in a potentially dangerous situation, awareness and preplanning can go a long way in avoiding problems.

If one should find themselves in a situation were self-defence becomes necessary, one should be aware of his surroundings as they may greatly benefit one in a fighting situation. Things you are holding, sand, dirt, rocks, chairs can all be beneficial in a self-defense encounter.

Awareness of what you can and cannot do is also helpful. Basically a person who is not a trained fighter can learn to get someone away who is grabbing them from a close distance. Of course, if the attacker is still advancing from a distance, it is better to strike the attacker if one has the ability to do so, as they close the gap. However, this often takes skill and timing that may be difficult. Close range, however is a distance that a person can learn to defend in general if they learn a few things.

First, one needs to learn the weapons available to use, e.g. fingers, palms, fists, elbows, knees, head etc. Second, one learns the vital points that are high percentage in attacking. Third, one learns to use the weapons at top efficiency. This involves movement that is non-telegraphic and strikes that have sufficient power to affect the opponent and not just anger him.

Distance and First Response

If an attacker is grabbing you from the front at close range, one has excellent opportunities to defend oneself, because at this range some important vital points are in reach. If possible you strike as the person grabs you rather than afterward. Use a free limb to strike immediately into an uncovered vital area. An attacker cannot attack and cover all vital points at the same time.

While there are potentially many vital points on the human body, we want to learn to use the ones with the highest percentage chance for success. The number one target is the eyes. This is because there are some people who are strong and who can take many strong hits in most locations. The eyes cannot be developed to take a strike. The eyes affect the brain and nervous system. The eyes are the opponent’s tools for seeing.

Number two and three targets are the groin and throat. Whilst these are certainly vital, they are not nearly as dependable as the eyes for being successful. The nose is also useful because it will affect the nervous system and will tend to knock some one back as well as cause the eyes to water.

The effectiveness of hitting many vital points, besides the eyes, depends on ones striking power. As well as increasing power through practice, the effectiveness of a strike can be increased, firstly by hitting the opponent as he moves towards you, thereby doubling the power of the strike, and secondly by hitting with several inches of depth or follow through.

The first response whilst being grabbed is the most important thing to practice. While an attacker is putting his hands on, your first response should be to explode the available hand into the eyes with good depth. The movement should be explosive so there is no time for the attacker to prevent the strike. Finally, general good body balance, achieved through good footwork, is required in order to defend oneself when one is moving across the floor.

Of course there are no guarantees in self-defense, but awareness, understanding of distance, non-telegraphic striking, vital points, hitting with power, and balance through good footwork will increase the chances of success in a self-defense encounter.

This shabby and slightly ripped page of the journal seems to hold the fighting techniques, stances as well as forms

Directly at the top of the page is a scuffy simple drawing of a figure,with a red dotted line going directly down the centre of it.

Think of a line going right down the front of your body, like the simple drawing below. This is the centre line.

The line joins dot-to-dot along the sensitive parts of the body e.g. nose, mouth, chin, throat, central respiratory area, solar plexus, bladder and the groan. If any of these areas where to receive a strike, such as your solar plexus you are stunned as well as out of breathe, more importantly if the nose was to also take a strike, the watering of the eyes would mean the impairment of vision for a sort period of time. In other words the centre line is vulnerable to direct strikes. A hit that lands to the side can be rolled to dissipate a percentage of the force. Where as strikes onto the centre line cannot be rolled, therefore receive full force. So it is essential the centre line remains protected.

Here again another simple figure is drawn, emphasizing a defensive form in order to protect the centre line.

The basic way to protect the centre line is to put a deflective wedge in front of centre line to split incoming hits away from it.

A sharp wedge deflects strikes better than a blunt wedge – keep elbows somewhat pointing downwards, NOT out wide.

As the journal’s pages turn, it is obvious they are not in the correct order, the worn pages give the impression of a book that once whole, was in ruins, and then to have its pages recovered and replaced again, but never in their original form.

Strive to remain calm in the midst of motion. Loosen up the muscles and relax the mind

The Order offers a teaching curriculum in the art of the martial arts. The “Principles of Energy Mastery” and the theory of the “Self Defense Boxing Encounter” provide the theoretical foundation to our teaching approach

The purpose of our study self defense boxing energy mastery. The term self defense boxing refers to a method of lethal combat governed by a particular philosophy and set of principles. It is not a martial art style in itself, rather any style adhering to the principles of energy mastery falls into the category of self defense boxing.

The cornerstone of Chinese boxing is the study of energy use and control. It seeks to generate power and control incoming force without depending on physical size or strength. The pursuit of self defense boxing mastery therefore requires knowledge of its underlying principles, as stated below.

Principles of Energy Mastery

Rooting – Sinking and relaxing the body mass to increase stability. Yielding – Never opposing force.

Sticking – Using forward pressure to close the gap between you and your opponent and to control your opponent once contact is made. Sticking expedites the climax of the encounter.

Centredness – Mastery of your own complete balance and the conquering of your opponent’s balance. Six-nine theory – The ability to change energy and tactics at any moment in combat. One never over extends and never commits himself/herself to an all-or-nothing gambit.

Unitary theory – Development of maximum power and speed, not by reliance on the muscles, but by training every part of the body to work in unison, and by learning to draw fully on the body’s internal resources.

Projection – Turning energy within the body (Ki) into a force directed at a point outside the body.

Line and angle – Study of angles of the body and lines of attack to promote efficiency in defence and economy in the projection of energy. With an appreciation of line and angle you can fend off attacks with subtle movements. You eliminate wasted motions that delay seizing the offensive and create openings for further attacks.

Body state – A special development of the muscles that allows energy to circulate freely and project powerfully. This entails a pervasiveness of energy throughout the entire bogy, rather than the segmenting of energy into isolated parts of the body.

Mind-hit – Mastery of the mental dimension of combat. This is a broad category that includes methods of disrupting an opponent’s mental focus.

These principles blend together to produce a peerless mastery of energy. They are thus referred to as the “Principles of Energy Mastery”