Martial Heart

Martial heart

My passions are split between martial arts and photography. They are both part of me and over time they have become one.

Martial Arts (rather than the art of fighting) has become my art of being and trying to conduct myself. It is about how I use my body and try to use my thoughts in a positive way.

Daily practice guides me, I think it teaches me how to flow through life. My goal is no longer overcoming a superior force or learning how to defend myself. I think of every practice as a way of being/meditating dealing with energy and reacting without fighting force. I try to be aware, to not resist and to react in a natural way.

It has led me down a stoic path of questioning and discovery but trying to accept without resentment. One could say I am aspiring to the path of Wu Wei the act of non-doing.

My natural instinct is to resist and fight energy but I try to be aware and release it. (We say in training ‘loosen/relax, let it go or redirect’).

I try to treat Photography in the same way. I try to listen, feel and become aware. I try to find my image or opportunity and then comes decisive moment of the photo, the magical moment when you catch something that you could never imagine but it’s there because you are subconsciously present and relaxed in a state of flowing with the energy that surrounds you. You are at one with nature and the surroundings and you are then able to see, to feel, to anticipate without knowing or realising – almost as if something is guiding you.

The feeling is martial, it’s that moment when you no longer feel like it is an effort and you are in complete control. You are in the magical zone.

Martial heart it’s like a divine power that only comes from releasing your whole self while enabling and trusting the energy to flow.

I’m working on several projects at the moment and it’s strange how the path to a project appears and you have a project that you feel passionate enough to explore.

You are initially excited by serving the project. Then you are faced with the complexities of executing and and bringing it to life. And then boom! A wall of energy tries to stop you. You release that energy and move forward.

Then boom! Another wall.

Do I shoot analogue or digital? What camera shall I use? What feel do I want to give to my images? Will using a particular camera brand give strength to the platform of my project? These questions fill my head. You release and allow the thoughts and energy to move through you. I don’t fight them and I won’t let them stop me. I listen.

These are the right questions to ask but then how do I get the answers? I find myself fighting and forcing myself to come to a conclusion.

I breathe, hold the thoughts and listen. I ask my martial self for an answer, they are always there.

A reply comes back from a question I asked a photographer that I highly respect. The answers are always obvious – it’s you and the project, the camera the weapon is just a tool. Focus on the positives of the project and use what you have. The moment you accept the answer the project starts to flow again and the pain you feel in your head from making a decision leaves you and you move forward with a new sense of meaning and control.

My conundrum for a couple of projects is film or digital (or both) and do I find a way of making it work with just one camera brand for consistency. My combo so far has been Leica M9 with 50mm and Nikon Fm3a with 105mm

I’ve been thinking Leica R6 with Elmarit 100mm or Leica SL and adaptor.

What I’m starting to realise is what I have should be sufficient and the rest is up to me.

Experimenting. One of my Kung Fu Sisters has kindly given me the opportunity to take a few shots of her Little Tigers Club https://tigercranelondon.wixsite.com/tigercrane/little-tigers and also for introducing me to Nam Yang Martial arts centre in Epsom http://martialartsepsom.co.uk/.

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