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Online Articles P. 1

On Mudra: Conceptual and Psychological Implications

The Study of Subjective Experience and Martial Arts

by Jimmy K. Ramirez

(jimmyk@gcol.net) c. 2003 by J. Ramirez

For a while now, I've been thinking about your article, Mudra in the Martial Arts. In fact, your article spurred me on (ouch!) to order Monograph #3 from the Intn'l Hoplology Society (IHS)--which includes Donn Draeger's presentation, Esoteric Buddhism in Japanese Warriorship.

Thirty or so years ago, at the University of California at Santa Cruz there were two mad geniuses. One a professor and the other a grad student. One asked a question something like, "why is it some people are extraordinarily skilled at some things and other people aren't?"

Why can't lots of musically minded people compose like Mozart did? What is it that Mozart did differently that made such a difference? And so on.

That was the beginning of NLP. NLP is, in essence, the study of the structure of subjective experience--especially the experience of folks who really excell at something (top 2%). When the key structures of excellence are identified, excellence can be taught to others.

In The Users Manual for the Brain [1], there is an entire chapter (35 pages) on a topic called "anchoring." If you have ever had the experience of hearing a song on the radio that immediately reminded you of a specific experience from your past . . . and if you remember that same experience every time you hear that special song, that is an example of anchoring.

You had a memorable experience, during which that special song was playing; and your neurology associates that particular song with that specific experience. Remember Pavlov's doggie? Same kind of thing. And using your sense of hearing to trigger an anchor is only one way to do it. You can also use your visual sense or your kinesthetic sense (touch or feel) . . . or any combination of see-hear-feel.

From your and Mr. Draeger's descriptions, it very much seems to me that mudra are an "anchor." There is a definite association between a specific physical gesture (stance, posture and hand position) and a specific attitude/emotional state or mindset (using IHS terminology).

The swordsman learns to link a specific gesture (i.e. watching and feeling his finger trace a pattern onto the palm of the other hand) to a specific mindset. And if the swordsman chants a mantra along with the tracing, he also feels his throat producing voice and he hears his own voice. Later, when confronted with the possibility of combat, the swordsman chants and makes the gesture(s) to trigger the mindset appropriate for the task at hand. Excellence in action!

[1] Bob G. Bodenhamer, D. Min. & L. Michael Hall, Ph. D. The User's Manual for the Brain--The Complete Manual for Neuro-Linguistic Programming Practitioner Certification--Revised Edition. (c) 1999, Crown House Publishing Limited.