By Yosef Susskind, GC 4th Degree
In “Effortless Power” parts one and two, we identified an
ability that has been displayed by the greatest fighters and athletes on
film. They are the true outliers in every physical undertaking, who seem
to have a qualitative advantage over their competitors. Viewed
objectively, one can hardly believe that these outliers practice the same
drills and exercises as their teammates, at the same training camps, with the
same coaches. They perform fine motor movements with an ease and grace
that belies the awesome power they generate. They accomplish this even as
they transgress the rules of “correct” technique. They move with
childlike freedom that grants them spontaneity and creativity, which their
rivals cannot keep astride.
Every physical training regimen promises to grant
effortless power. If these systems were capable of training effortless
power, why don’t they work for everyone on the team? Why is it that only
a handful in each generation reach the pinnacle of natural movement, and their
peers, who train just as hard, remain second tier? Certainly we can
attribute this to talent, but in truth, the fault lies not only with the aptitude
of the individuals, but with a fundamental flaw in their training.
The reason that coaches, trainers, and martial arts
masters are unable to turn the vast majority of people into outliers is because
they have failed to determine the physical principles that
make the outliers who they are. If they were to divine the principles
behind the outlier’s performance, they might then discover a way to make them
teachable.
Guided Chaos, created by Grandmaster John Perkins, offers
a training methodology that delineates the principles at work in the outliers’
feats of greatness. It demystifies the
power of the adept, and makes it accessible to the average practitioner. Deepening one’s understanding of the art’s
principles is part of the mental effort our students make to achieve the proper
mindset—for training, and for the moment of truth. Coupled with a functional understanding and a
righteous mindset, refining one’s mastery of the principles imparts the
neuromuscular coordination that results in effortless execution.
The
crowning achievement of Guided Chaos is not the outliers who choose to train
with us, but the fact that we turn everyday enthusiasts into outliers. Guided Chaos is a methodology that makes
excellence teachable.
Guided Chaos begins with the five foundational
principles. The first four—Balance, Looseness, Sensitivity, and Body
Unity—culminate in the fifth principle: Freedom
of Action. Freedom of Action is the name we give to the defining
attributes of masters and champions. It describes the outliers’ capacity
to execute the most intricate movements with grace and power, to act effortlessly, spontaneously, and most important, creatively.
Students who desire effortless power must understand that
effortless power is just one facet of a greater capacity, a component of
Freedom of Action. Without Freedom of
Action, power is irrelevant. Power
without creativity is a heavyweight who can’t out-position his opponent. It is a 300lb lineman who can only push in
one direction. It is a two-hundred and eighty mile Maginot
Line.
Effortless power grants potency to creative
movement. It is not an end in itself,
but only a means, a prerequisite to moving creatively with devastating
effect. Mistaking power for the end
goal, rather than creativity, is walking down the path of defeat.
Power is a luxury—cunning is a necessity. Every one of us is strong enough to crush a
trachea, lance an eyeball, or hyperextend cervical vertebrae like the joint of
a fried chicken wing. If we can outfox
our opponent and deliver our strikes, our chances of going home remain
high. No matter how powerful we are, if
our opponent outmaneuvers us, our chances are slim. It is better to hit with a 9mm than to miss
with a grand old .45.
Nine times out of ten, when we become fixated on
cultivating power, we do so at the expense of creativity. By recognizing Freedom of Action as our
consummate goal, we contextualize our pursuit of effortless power, and prevent
ourselves from fixating on the wrong things.
This allows us to focus on developing our mastery of the principles, the
principles which not only produce effortless power, but ultimately, produce
outliers.
In the coming article, we will begin to explore how the
five principles build on each other and manifest in effortless power.
Copyright 10/29/17 copyrighted.com Z7QU-PZ8O-A3YC-JWDS
For a comprehensive induction into natural body movement
and effortless, explosive power, come to the COMBATIVE MOVEMENT IMMERSION SEMINAR Nov. 3-5 by visiting the link below: | 
