The Eyes must see all sides while the ears must listen in all directions.
A person's unbalance is the same as a weight and the body must have the ability to change direction at any time.
The manner of inhaling and exhaling is either soft or hard.
Strike when the opportunity presents itself, timing critical.
A person's heart is the same as heaven and earth so the energy within circulates similar to the sun and moon.
Reorder/Reformed to fit the six lines of the hexagram in relation to the I Ching:
The Eyes must see all sides while the ears must listen in all directions.
The manner of inhaling and exhaling is either soft or hard.
A person's unbalance is the same as a weight.
The body should be able to change direction at any time.
The time to strike is when the opportunity presents itself.
A person's heart is the same as heaven and earth so the energy within circulates similar to the sun and moon.
I tend to wonder about things. I wondered why the ken-po goku-i were numbered and placed in that order only to realize that it comes from its interpretation to English so those who studied the kanji version as to its order of characters then "assumed" that it should be in that order and like most military types gave them the numbers.
After all, there are no numbers or numbering associated with the Chinese characters. Then you need to think about that order of characters. Does anyone have access to the originals to see if they are ordered then there is how they are written and ordered depending on the time frame of history as well as the customs, courtesies, etc. of the person and people who wrote it, just like the study of the I Ching which is thousands of years old.
I decided that the order then may provide some insight if you connected it, for this discussion, as if it were actually meant to connect us to the ancient classic of the I Ching, debatable and contestable, which uses the hexagram. The hexagram has six lines and the first line is at the bottom which is the opposite of how we laid it out and numbered it. I have provided a re-order/re-write as I perceive it "might" be in relation to the six lines of the hexagram:
Line 6: A person's heart is the same as heaven and earth so the energy within circulates similar to the sun and moon.
[wholehearted practice; spirit-mind-body; energy flow and maximizing through tension control; ]
Line 5: The time to strike is when the opportunity presents itself.
[positive relaxation; power; speed; posture; balance; alignment; momentum; timing of centerline primary gate; vital area's; peripheral tells; ]
Line 4: The body should be able to change direction at any time.
[posture; stance; transitions; triangle mechanics; body reciprocity; ]
Line 3: A person's unbalance is the same as a weight.
[centerline; vertical to horizontal axis; triangular body mechanics; ]
Line 2: The manner of inhaling and exhaling is either soft or hard.
[hard-to-soft:soft-do-hard maxim; inhaling and exhaling deeply and diaphragmatically; ]
Line 1: The Eyes must see all sides while the ears must listen in all directions.
[see what violence is before it becomes violence; see the opportunity to avoid violence; see the other's intent and see how to deescalate; see the attackers gate and see how to take advantage; see the "tells" in our peripheral vision; visualize the imagery to practice reality based scenarios; ability to see the need to change; ]
In today's general belief of the ken-po goku-i line six, which is combined of the first two lines of today's English translation, are the first two lines which are given, in English, the higher place since it is believed to allude to some spiritual aspect of our practice. This may or may not be true so it is open for debate and/or discussion.
The reason I feel Line 1 has the "eyes and ears" as the beginning is because humans rely on a combination of the two to achieve knowledge, understanding, and mindful awareness. All three of these are required at a most fundamental level to achieve proficiency in life be it the application of martial technique or a spiritual application to ourselves and human kind.
Line 2 deals with not spitting or drinking but to me as inhaling and exhaling. One might say, how can inhaling and exhaling be yin and yang or soft and hard? Well, when we breathe in we take in energy which is yang and when we breathe out we expel bodily impurities which can be soft or yin. The body expands, yang, then contracts, yin. Also you can look at it in application of technique for to take in air, inhale, provides a point where the body releases its overall tension but when you exhale your body will then at one point, that point of impact, tighten to transfer all energy and power to the target, etc. A simplistic explanation but one that will convey the idea behind this step.
Line 3 and 4 are those positions of balance or equilibrium and the two lines tend to explain simplistically that balance of the body to a point of positive relaxation so it can move quickly and efficiently, i.e. if we remain as tension free as possible with out just turning to jelly on the floor the less tension the less energy is used thus when the tension comes in that one instant the maximum of energy from the entire body is triggered and transferred, if correctly applied, to the target.
I put the reference to striking below that of the spiritual part because one and the other are required for anyone to apply martial technique with character and the moral correctness/conformity necessary to wield any power responsibly.
We can actually use a bit of leeway to achieve dual meaning for both the intent of the author and our own perspective/intent. The order now according to the lines can be bottom to top as expected by translation of Chinese thought, as much as can be understood by us as neophytes, and then the order from top to bottom which, mostly, forms to the original/numbered English translation.
I have come to believe that it is such a fluid and dynamic tome that when used with such as the I Ching that it can be connected to our modern thinking once we achieve some level of the author's intent so it will blend nicely with our modern martial practice. One reason I am becoming aware and outspoken as to some of the dogmatic doctrines that govern some systems.
I also firmly believe that removing the numbers and allowing it to flow in order and manner of the individual is best. I started to study it in its original English/Military driven form until I began to feel its form was limited/limiting and now have re-ordered it to a fluid style that can change at will to correctly fit/apply to practice which I also feel must be fluid enough to allow efficiency and practice to remain steady to the martial principles that govern all martial systems.
p.s. Yes, I know this also "numbers" the lines but it does associate them to the hexagram and outside this comparison the lines should be one paragraph and in any order that will support learning the system and its principles. All the martial principles can be explained and connected by this short terse keystone to the ancient classics of change/life.
An exercise in the possibilities:
1. A persons spirit is born of the mind and heart.
2. Ki circulates much like the cycles of the sun and moon.
3. Hard and Soft is a matter of inhaling or exhaling.
4. Adaptation is a matter of sensing intent.
5. Mobility is a matter of balance.
6. Strike quickly when intent is determined.
7. Awareness depends on actively seeing.
8. Awareness depends on actively listening.
It suddenly occurred to me why the ken-po goku-i is such a short and terse tome relating to the changes as provided by the I Ching. As I attempt to gather and understand; as I attempt to extrapolate all that is possible inference to my system of practice I find that it is so far reaching, so simplistically complex that it defies at every turn to achieve some definition or explanation of its meaning other than it works individually and separately from any other one individual it reaches heights that any attempt to put into some box lessens the lessons. Therefore these attempts are more a learning process to achieve a whole or wholehearted approach to the practice of my system and thus life itself.
Wholehearted, the one feature of the system of Isshinryu, the ken-po goku-i, and the other ancient classic called the "book of changes."
Line 1: This line is represented by a dragon flying low.
Line 2: The second line is symbolized by a dragon arising in the field.
Line 4: The fourth line symbolizes a dragon getting ready to leap out of the abyss and fly into the sky.
Line 5: This line says the dragon is already fling - a man of great virtue is ready to be a leader.
Line 6: This line says the haughty dragon reaches its limit.
Line 7: This line says that the ancient Chinese believed that, although dragons were the strongest and most powerful creatures, they never fought for leadership.
The rhythm of life energy is influenced by the rhythm of Heaven and Earth while those of human beings are influenced by the sun and moon.
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