Services - Martial Arts
The martial arts of the East have long given inspiration to people seeking not only skills for survival in hostile worlds but beyond this, a way of being in the world that ultimately promotes harmony, balance and inner development.
Ranging from the beautiful fluidity of Tai Chi to the brutal destructiveness of Thai boxing, the martial arts share, in general, a common set of principles. Some of these core principles are: mindfulness, spirit, balance, timing, speed, power, focus, resilience, adaptability and flow.
These principles, and the philosophy which underpins them, have also inspired those from the world of business seeking a competitive advantage in the ‘battlefields’ and ‘jungles’ of modern business. Texts such as The Art of War by Sun Tzu and The Book of Five Rings by the famous samurai Miyamoto Musashi have become widely popular as many try to understand the philosophy and tactics of these masters and apply these skills and wisdom to day to day interactions.
Peter’s involvement in Martial Arts involves over thirty years of studying and teaching Karate including training in Japan under several world renowned Masters based in Okinawa. He uses this background to create powerful learning processes using Martial arts exercises and movements with a particular focus on the principles of adaptability, flow and focus. These activities are used to augment development programs with something very engaging, different and memorable.
One set of exercises which has proven to be very popular involves movements based around the shapes of triangles, squares and circles. Triangle representing focussed energy, square for holding ground, unyielding and the circle for flow and adaptability. These exercises are fun and engaging and very effective at highlighting some simple yet powerful metaphors for how leaders can adapt their behaviours and style for greater levels of effectiveness.
The idea of being ‘Centred’ is common to sportspeople - it is the zone entered when the mind and body come to a unified focus. This zone experience is not just for elite sportspeople but can be achieved by following some simple breathing exercises . The value of these exercises is that it helps individuals quickly and effectively come to a state of inner calm that creates a foundation for high performance - particularly effective in the areas to do with presentation and public speaking.