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MUGA
"To be Nobody to everybody you must first be somebody to yourself."
Michael Foley
In our little dragon's class, one of the first lessons Dr. Foley teaches is the "safety stance". In this drill, Dr. Foley has our little martial artists stand with their arms in front of them, fists clenched and elbows bent so that their forearms extend vertically in front of their faces. In this protective posture, their head is protected from a frontal attack. They are also taught how to stand in a good stance and to move in order to keep Dr. Foley in front of them. Once they have learned the basics of the safety stance, then Dr. Foley has the little martial artists sing "Happy Birthday!!" as he attempts to hit them in the head repeatedly with a padded bat. Very quickly the students learn that if they hold their arms up in the right position and move quickly to keep Dr. Foley in front of them, they are completely safe. It is easy to see how relaxed they are singing loudly with big smiles on their faces. This initial introduction to an effective fighting stance is a very valuable exercise to teach young martial artists, but the value of this lesson is intended to be much deeper than just self- defense. The philosophical corollaries to this exercise are the concepts of mindfulness and "Muga" or no ego. Using this object lesson, Dr. Foley is teaching his students to feel safe and comfortable with who they are and to not feel like they have to defend themselves against every perceived threat or conflict they encounter in their lives. When we are mindful of this lesson, we will be able to use more constructive means of resolving conflict rather than constantly defending our egos and meeting conflict or aggression with defensiveness and fear.
This concept is further illustrated by the Zen story of the diligent martial arts student who after work several times per week would walk a great distance to the home of this sensei. The master was a great teacher and the student looked forward to each and every training session. One day when the student showed up at the master's dojang he knocked on the door but nobody answered. He could hear some activity within the dojang so he knocked on the door again. The master said, "Who's there?" To which the student replied, "Master, it is your student, John. I am here to train." The master yelled, "Go away." John didn't understand but left and walked home as his sensei had instructed. The next day he returned to the master's home and again knocked on the door. Again, the master yelled, "Who's there?" To which the student humbly said, "Master, it is John your loyal student." To which the master muttered, "Go away." John left and on his way home his head was spinning. He didn't understand why is sensei had apparently given up on him? He didn't understand what he had done wrong? He was concerned that there might be something wrong with the master. After he walked most of the way home he decided to return to the dojang. When he arrived he knocked on the door and again the master yelled, "Who's there?" This time John answered simply, "No one." To which the master opened the door and greeted him cheerfully, "Come in. Glad to see you today."
This Zen story truly illustrates the concept of muga. Through this interaction the master taught his student the importance of setting aside your ego. This simple concept is simple to understand and difficult to practice. Dr. Foley teaches us that, "To be Nobody to everybody you must first be Sombody to youself." This is the essence of the application of the concept of muga and the purpose and goal of martial arts training. Just as with the object lesson with the little dragons, we must first be confident and develop a strong sense of self love before we can control our defensive posturing and strivings of the ego.
Admittedly, this life lesson is much easier said than done; but this concept is one of the most important lessons that we can learn and its application is truly the essence of the martial artist. I would ask you to reflect back on your life and think about situations in which you have defended your ego, only to discover that doing so resulted in more conflict. You will quickly discover how a change in your thought process or actions may have brought about a more peaceful, less stressful outcome. It is human nature that the more successful we become in life, the greater our tendency will be to defend our ego, which makes the practice of muga even more important and one that we can continually learn and grow from. I would challenge each of you to practice being more mindful of defending your ego, because mastering this concept will certainly result in a more happy and peaceful life. KAIZEN!!!!
Steven M. Erickson
© Copyright 2009-11 Steven M. Erickson, MD
All rights reserved. Ki Inspiring Thoughts.
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