Witness Stance and Warrior Stance

This is taken from the newsletter of the National Association of Flight Instructors. I am a member and they are the organization I received my Master CFI from. I put this article here since it is related to what Steve White and I taught at the Professional Development Weekend this past weekend. I talked about the importance of breathing correctly, while Steve related how mental visualization helps performance. This is written for flight instructors but if you substitute "kenpo student" and a technique name for landing practice, you get the relationship.

The Witness Stance and the Warrior's Stance By Rob Mixon
There is information that I use in teaching Psychology of Personal Effectiveness at Miami-Dade College that is applicable to teaching and learning. The classroom textbook is, Essential Elements for Effectiveness: A Step-by-Step Guide to Personal and Professional Success, by Abascal, Brucato, Stephenson, Brucato.
"Richard Alpert, a Harvard Psychologist who studied extensively in India and is renowned for integrating both Eastern and Western techniques, describes our ability to stand apart from ourselves, to view our self from the outside, as assuming the witnessing stance. This shift in perspective provides you with the possibility that you can change the particular situation. Although you cannot always change situations you can always change your reactions towards the stressor."

In other words, according to Alpert, you can view your activities as if through the eyes of another.

As animals our instinctive reaction is fight or flight. A warrior cultivates fearlessness. This does not mean recklessness. By remaining focused, the difference may be between life and death in survival situations. "Fear is the process that necessitates that we step out of the moment and contemplate the past or future. An intense focus in the here and now is the best way to keep fear at bay. The easiest way to maintain this focus is to cultivate the breathing and relaxed posture of the warrior. Warriors do not seek out or create conflict. They’re preference is to walk away. But once engaged in battle, they are fully committed to their chosen course of action."
There you have what’s called the Warrior's Stance, which is the relaxed way to win.
In sports, the visualization of the perfect swing, basket, or whatever, is an example of the witnessing stance. We stand outside our selves and "witnessing" perfection, and thereby actually visualize our success. The warrior's stance is the relaxed, calm, and focused concentration that you see in a great golfer like Tiger Woods.

In flight training, we can have the student view their landing practice, while flying with their flight instructor, by having them visualize their landings as if they were standing outside of the airplane, by the side of the runway. They could then witness—visualize—that perfect landing. This is why some flight students who have "flown" realistic flight computer programs seem to be naturals in their real airplane flight environments. They can visualize that perfect maneuver or landing before it happens.

Throughout the landing traffic pattern, approach and landing, it is important to stay relaxed, focused, and to remember to breath deeply. This will maintain the Warrior's Stance. After all, there is nothing but the present. In the present there are no mistakes; mistakes are only a negative evaluation of what has happened in the past. Students, then, should stay focused, relaxed, and in the present.

Put the two together, and our students are calm and in the present, while visualizing that perfect landing. Now they are only a few feet from making that perfect landing. Properly tuned this way, they’ll actually feel the cushion of air under the airplane.

Yet, this is where most students can no longer visualize their actual height above the ground. They can only remain in the warrior’s stance, with proper breathing, as they observe and focus on the movement of the runway toward the bottom of the airplane.

Yes, I know, the Witness Stance and the Warrior’s Stance don't sound much like needle, ball, and airspeed. But by putting your student’s mind and imagination to use, the results will be the same.

Rob Mixon is an adjunct professor at Miami-Dade College. He has taught in their aviation department and now teaches in the Department of Arts and Sciences. He has over 20,000 hours of flight time and has flown competition aerobatics and air shows. He may be reached on his aviation website www.betterpilot.com.
**************************************
Lee Wedlake has been teaching Kenpo Karate for over 35 years and has written a variety of Kenpo Books about different kenpo katas and kenpo concepts. Mr. Wedlake has worked directly with Ed Parker and is generous with his knowledge and his time. He is available for Kenpo Seminars and camps.