What is FLOW?

Bruce Lee said…

Water can erode slowly, like a river, or it can devastate cities like a tsunami, but what else does water do that we can learn from. There is more than just it’s devastating properties that Bruce Lee was talking about. In combat, most people focus on “Crashing”. It is the easiest to understand. The easiest to emulate. It is aggressive, powerful and direct. It can be highly effective, if tempered with the slightest centered control. Without that control, the “crash” can become unfocused forward aggression, leaving you off balance and susceptible to counterattack.

This aggressive, animalistic nature has been effective for a very long time. If you can be aggressive enough, you can mentally shut down a lesser fighter. Intimidating them to the point of giving up, mentally, and therefore, physically as well. But as martial artists we want to transcend our base animal natures. We want to step out of that “Fight or Flight” reactionary state. We want to be able to choose our path, not have it chosen for us based on the actions of our opponent. We want to “flow”!

Before you start to say this is traditional martial art “mumbo-jumbo” that just doesn’t work, take a moment and look at how Connor Mcgregor from UFC or Alistair Overeem from his K-1 days fights. They are calculated, controlled, thoughtful, aware counter-fighters. Waiting for the best opportunity to attack, the best opportunity to crash. Up until that point they move with their opponents, watching their every movement. Understanding their “flow” and matching it. Once they understand the physical flow of their opponent, they seem to slip every punch and kick, landing hard strikes as they do. This is one type of flow. Physical flow.

Physical flow is the ability to lose yourself. Or better put, to lose your “self”. It is the fighter’s ability to completely forget about themselves and focus on their opponent or opponents. As I mentioned in previous articles, if you are thinking about what you are doing, you are not thinking about what your opponent is doing. You will miss something and missing something means you are getting hit or getting cut. Neither of which is very fun. As a martial artist you have trained your movements for a long time. They should come naturally to you at this point. If you are too focused on a certain move it is called “Technique Fixation” and that will get you hurt (for more on that, read the article on “Why black belts get beat up”).

Speaking of technique fixation, physical flow can also mean the ability to move freely from one move to another without getting stuck on any one movement. If your attack or defense doesn’t work just calmly flow to the next one. Again, flowing with your opponent’s movement. Not forcing anything unless the opportunity allows it. Following the path of least resistance. This is important for police, military, and executive protection details around the world. If you can’t flow from one movement to another, or from one person to another, you, your partner, your team, or your principal are at risk. This brings us to the most important version of flow. The part that makes all the others possible. The “FLOW STATE”. The mental aspect of flow.

By definition, the “Flow State” is the mental state in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. Flow is characterized by the complete absorption in what one does, and a resulting transformation in one's perception of time. First coined “flow state” by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi in 1975, the concept has been widely referred to across a variety of fields, though the concept has existed for thousands of years under other names, notably in some Eastern thought systems, such as Taoism and Buddhism, but is most commonly referred to in the west as being “in the zone”.

In the article “The importance of being NOW!” I discuss two experiences that I have had being in the zone. Both examples are when I was in immediate danger, or at least felt I was. In both cases time seemed to slow down. I was hyper-aware of everything around me and as mentioned above, despite being in danger, I was in a blissful state. I was almost looking at the situations as an observer, not emotionally attached to anything going on. Strange, I know. I’m sure if you search your memories you can recall an event where that happened to you. In the book “The Rise of the Superman” by Steven Kotler, he talks about finding the flow state while surfing and skiing, but anything that causes stress can cause the slip into the flow state, Mr. Kotler even sites an extremely shy man deciding to walk across the room to talk to a beautiful woman can incite this reaction.

The stories of the masters of ancient times seem to have been able to drop into this state at will. Was this possible? Is it still possible today? I believe it is. Extreme sport enthusiasts do it all the time. Good fighters do it as well. But how?

There are many paths to the top of the mountain. Some people fight so much that their mind just relaxes into the conflict and they are able to focus without the specific mental training. Others train their minds and awareness over time to be able to “see clearly” when they choose. I did a bit of both. I trained martial arts 5 to 6 times a week growing up and participated in a form of “fight club” that a friend set up for all styles to be apart of. This constant attack and dealing with different styles helped me to see things for what they are. Like Bruce Lee said “A punch is a punch, a kick is a kick”. On the flip side of that, I studied meditation and internal awareness as well. I have never been able to attain what my masters have but I can use it somewhat effectively in my personal life and in combat.

If you wish to train this state of mind, I suggest reading “The Rise of the Superman”, by Steven Kotler and “FLOW” by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Both are amazing books and give great insight into understanding the flow state and how to achieve it from a western point of view, but in a martial sense, it comes down to your personality. Would you prefer to attain flow through fighting? Then find a school that allows you to fight most of the time. Eventually you will be able to see the opponent coming at you a little slower. If you don’t like getting punched in the head repeatedly until you find the flow state, there is a more peaceful method. It’s as simple as standing.

Flow, the zone, mushin, or “Matrix moments” as one of my masters and oldest friends like to call it. They are all one in the same. The ability to step out of your own head and become 100% in the moment. Writers do it when they “find their flow” and cannot be disturbed for fear of breaking their concentration. Cooks, cleaners, fighters, and surgeons all do it regualrly. Be able to find meditation, focus and mindfulness in everything you do. Washing the dishes can be very meditative if you can just focus on what you are doing and find the joy in it.

Enjoy the path because destinations are just an illusion.

Brad Dotten

Ronin Combatives