Principally the DVD interviews a variety of martial arts masters from Chinese and Japanese disciplines and combines these 'words from the wise' with well-shot, professional footage. Personally I found the insight provided by Moriteru Ueshiba (Aikido) to be the most thought-provoking but also of particular interest was seeing how Westerners trained in Chinese WuShu in government-sponsored schools in Beijing. The performances filmed at the Shaolin Temple (Kung Fu) and the Purple Cloud Temple (T'ai Chi) are both amazing and inspiring.
The video clips are not the full versions and what you get on each art on the actual DVD are more extensive.
Kung Fu at the Shaolin Temple
The Empty Mind starts with the first full section on kung fu at the Shaolin Temple. This section introduces Master De Ru, a monk who taught in the US and who therefore speaks (very good) English and Grand Master Shi De Yang, both of whom have a welcome sense of humor. The Shaolin Temple is touted as being the birthplace of East Asian unarmed martial arts as we know them today (covering China, Japan and Korea) as well as being the place where a synthesis of Indian Buddhism and Chinese Taoism took place to produce Ch'an Buddhism, which is better known by its Japanese name of Zen. Master De Ru gives a good overview of the relationship between kung fu and Ch'an / Zen and this section comes the closest to living up to the title of the DVD: The Empty Mind.
Monk De Ru explains in The Empty Mind that emptiness is the origin of both the universe and the person. When we can reconnect to this vast 'nothingness' we understand that we are not separate from anything. The body is a vehicle to help us experience the single energy that permeates all things. Through the study of kung fu, or traditional wushu as Grandmaster De Yang calls it, the mind and body are unified and we understand ourselves as a microcosm of the universe.
In the DVD you can see senior students at the Shaolin Temple perform various techniques, including weapons drills at full speed, weapons practice while blindfolded and the 'Iron Body'. Also very impressive are the very young, but very serious and very talented, kids at the temple.
Tai Chi at Purple Cloud Temple, Wudang Mountain
Tai Chi is based on the effortless of nature. The student follows the path of least resistance, as water streams down from a mountain top. The matter is not forced; rather we yield to physical matter. This is known as wu wei, an important philosophy in both Taoism and Tai Chi. Tai Chi is considered to be a 'soft' or 'internal' martial art when compared to Shaolin kung fu, which is often described as being 'hard' or 'external'.
Priest Yuen and Priest Bing introduce the viewer to the Tai Chi at Purple Cloud Temple, the oldest and most reputable school on Wudang Mountain. The priests - through the narrator - explain that a fundamental belief of Taoism is that when we are born, we are born in balance but we lose this balance as we age through the influence of external factors. All things change, but this balance can be restored through correct training with an emphasis on balance, posture, and flexibility.
Contrary to popular images of Tai Chi being 'easy' practice is in fact demanding. While one muscle is relaxed, this is balanced out by another being in a state of tension, thereby symbolizing the interaction of yin and yang. The same shifts between tension and relaxation are also found in the breathing pattern, which is meditative in nature (while also promoting health). Breathing is itself regarded as being important as when co-ordinated correctly with the movements of the body chi is produced. Chi is described as being an energy that is both within and without. It is developed within through correct posture and breathing. (Click here for some deep breathing exercises that I have developed and use).
The priests at the Purple Cloud Temple explain in The Empty Mind that students arise at 5 am and practice for around 8 hours a day. The skills - and, like the Shaolin monks - the flexibility of the students are amazing. Most of the footage focuses on form practice. Here the flow of movement is mesmerizing and it is relaxing simply to watch the performance.
Wu Shu and Kung Fu in Beijing
China has a turbulent history that culminated in the seizure of power by Mao Tse Tung. Mao was the last in a long line of rulers that oppressed traditional martial arts, the masters and the schools where the arts were taught. Fearful that the masters may have provided a rallying point for disenchanted youths as well as training in combative methods - as had been witnessed in the disastrous Boxer Rebellion - Mao purged the arts and those connected with them. In turn a method of state-sponsored (and approved) wu shu has arisen that has spread throughout China.
This segment of The Empty Mind examines the state of martial arts in Beijing, the capital of China. The documentary first takes a look behind the doors of the Capital College, where China produces its Olympic gymnasts, where modern wu shu is taught and practiced.
Sifu Zhao Ping, a former national champion, teaches a foreign student class at the Capital College. Gaining a glimpse of this training was extremely interesting for me as it is so different from more traditional forms of development that promote physical and mental conditioning as well as aesthetic skill. However, the Capital College makes only a brief appearance.
The Empty Mind next moves onto informal kung fu training in the parks of Beijing. One of the most amazing images presented here is of Master Zhang Sheng Li practicing with a broadsword...and no one cares! I can't imagine anyone getting away with this in a Western country or here in Japan.
The second thing that amazed me is how, one by one, top masters casually turned up to participate in the practice from all kinds of different styles. We can therefore see a variety of different Tai Chi styles demonstrated.
The third thing to amaze me - as The Empty Mind shifts to Shanghai - is the commitment the older generation shows to their health and fitness by utilizing training equipment provided for them in the parks. While much of the exercises will be recognizable, one that remains curiously Chinese is chi gung, which is a method of developing one's chi, or 'life energy'. One guy there, at the age of 82, is anything but his age. He is vibrant, alert and clearly in (very) good health.
This section of The Empty Mindis, shall we say, quietly interesting. It lacks the dynamism and history of the sections on Shaolin and Wudang but is captivating as it manages to capture the role kung fu plays in the lives of the average Chinese person.
Kyudo - The Way of the Bow
Almost the entire sequence found on the DVD can be viewed in the YouTube clip above. Preceding the main part is a video of a traditional (and very colorful!) procession at a Shinto shrine. This is not connected directly to kyudo and only sets the scene for the religious elements seen in the clip above.
The Empty Mind maintains its excellent access to the top people of the respective martial arts covered and here presents the highest ranking members of the All Nippon Kyudo Federation. Attention is drawn to the Shinto and Zen Buddhist aspects of the art and it was this art that first drew the attention of Westerners to the similar purposes of Zen and the Japanese ways through the publication of Herrigel's Zen and the Art of Archery.
The aim promulgated by kyudo masters and discussed in The Empty Mind is that the art is less about hitting the target and more about hitting your self. It is a way of penetrating into your own psyche (I would argue into an experience of increasing right brain hemisphere dominance). Note as well when watching the video the emphasis that is placed on posture and correct breathing. These facilitate the meditative process.
Japan Karate Association
For this section of The Empty Mind there is no YouTube clip available. The DVD visits the JKA Headquarters in Tokyo and looks in on a famous Instructor's Training session. Masahiko Tanaka is (kind of) the focus of this segment but - disappointingly - he is not interviewed and we see only very little technique from him. The other instructors are of course all top notch and the DVD shows them performing basics, sparring drills and Bassai Dai in a group. This segment gave me the impression that it was more a way to introduce karate to the viewer and I would have liked to have seen more on the JKA.
Master Hirokazu Kanazawa
One of the highlights for me was this interview with Kanazawa sensei. Filmed when the master was 72 we get to see the great man in action and listen to his words of wisdom on the Way.
Kanazawa Sensei talks about the pursuit of success and the need to remain humble in the pursuit of it. Here he talks about mushin (the empty mind), defining it as a state of total control and concentration. This is the same mind that is needed to find success in your life. He also talks about using our 'spiritual energy' or ki to drive us forward spiritually.
(I would add that research into the way mushin is understood and used is of great interest to me and I again note - for regular readers who are following my thoughts - that Kanazawa sensei is here using a definition of the term that contradicts its literal meaning. He is talking about intense concentration and total control. This is at variance with the notion that mushin means no conscious mind or the empty mind and it is, I would argue, zanshin that is being described here).
