Highlight your child’s summer with two weeks of fun and learning in the Berkshire Martial Arts Camp!  The 2016 camp will feature a FUN and age appropriate martial arts immersion with classes in Karate, Kickboxing, Jiu-jitsu, Krav Maga, Classical Weapons, and Bully-Defense.  The kids will also participate in games like “Gauntlet”, “Cage-Ball”,  “Javelins”, “Ants at the Picnic”,  and “Hot Potato” AND fun activities like board-breaking, throwing stars, and “Martial Art” finger painting!!
Targeted for ages 6 to 13, the Camp will run during the weeks of July 18 through 22, and August 8 through 12.  Each session is $160 for enrolled students, and $185 for non-students.  Call 413-637-0656 or visit ZenQuest to register today!
 

In ancient times, warriors known as the Samurai protected the ruling nobles in Japan.  These warriors dedicated their entire lives to developing the skills that would keep them alive in battle. Since the most advanced weapons of their time were swords, spears and arrows their lives depended on great skill. 
Just as important was the ability to stay calm and focused even under tremendous pressure.  A warrior could possess amazing physical skills, but crumble the first time they face an opponent with a three foot sword that is as sharp as a razor where just one mistake meant certain death.  So, in addition to physical skills, the Samurai trained to develop their minds and control their “spirit” or emotions to have the best chance of survival in on the battlefield.  This included three important principles of mental and emotional development known as Mushin, Zanshin, and Fudoshin. 
Mushin means clear or “empty” mind.  This is not to be confused with an absent mind.  Rather, it means to eliminate useless thoughts, noise and confusion in our mind, so that it can be very clear and open.  Mushin allows the martial artist to be clear minded in their technical training, demonstrative performances and real time applications of their material.
Zanshin is awareness and alertness.  This includes awareness of our surroundings, of ourselves, of social situations, and of our actions and behavior.  Long term development of Zanshin can also increase our “big picture” awareness in our lives and of the world around us.  It can also help with seeing how our choices will likely affect future situations.  Zanshin is awareness on an a very clear and instinctive level, not consciously thinking our way through our environment.  Having a heightened sense of awareness allowed the warrior to recognize attacks and react quickly. 
Fudoshin is calmness and emotional stability.  This is the ability to remain calm and stable under pressure. It is minimizing feelings of fear, anger, impulsiveness, revenge, hopelessness, and even anxiety or depression.  Calmness and stability allows a martial artist to maximize their efforts regardless of the circumstances.  This can take years to master, but may be the most important and valuable trait for a warrior to acquire.
These principles all depend on one another to reach their full potential.  Each is important in their own way but, when combined together, they will bring the warrior or martial artist to new heights in their training and performance when it matters most.
Although some martial arts put more emphasis on these concepts than others, most will provide them over time if the student is open to learning them.  These ideas takes time to understand and develop and should be included in every advanced student’s practice.  A basic understanding and ability should be achieved by the time the student has achieved advanced rank, too.  This is why awarding advanced rank, such as the black belt, should only happen after a number of years of a student’s training.  Promotions to advanced rank without a general understanding of these principles is a failure on the part of the student, and the teacher.
These principles ARE all important in the dojo/gym or in real time application....but they can all be applied in our everyday lives, too.  Each can benefit us tremendously in work, school, sports, activities, home projects, socially, the inevitable crisis that pop-up, and even in our personal relationships. For example, learning to focus and eliminate distractions can help us to give our full attention to projects, tests, or just listening to a friend.  Being more aware can help us fully evaluate situations and avoid problems in self-defense, in driving, or in a golf game.  Staying calm and stable helps us to minimize making decisions based on emotional noise (like anger, jealousy, or bitterness), leading to intelligent solutions and management of our lives....even under intense pressure.
In the modern day if we learn and adopt the principles of clarity...Mushin, awareness...Zanshin, and calmness...Fudoshin, we can greatly improve the quality of our lives and the lives of those around us.  In weaving these abilities into our lives we can use the principles that kept the Samurai alive on the battlefield to live more intelligently, make good decisions, and minimize unnecessary drama and stress.  We can be healthy and happy living Samurai!

​Team ZenQuest provided two of the best fights of the night at Kaged Kombat 25. The event took place on March 12th in Saratoga, New York in front of a “standing room only” crowd.  About 90 of those people came out to support Matt and Neil of Team Z.  Both of their fights were amazing, but unfortunately only one went home with the W.
In the fifth fight of the night Matt “Machine” Bienia faced Andrew Lee at 155 pounds.  Lee is a brawler, and had a record of 1-1-0 going into this contest.  The fight started with the two trading strikes on their feet.  Matt quickly began to dominate the exchanges, landing some solid straight punches.  His opponent struggled to take Matt down, but Matt immediately reversed, and got top position.  After some punches from the top Matt attempted an arm-bar, but lost it and his opponent began to strike as Matt pulled guard.  After playing defense from the bottom for a bit, Matt threw up a triangle-choke, and finished after a valiant attempt to defend from his opponent.  Matt emerged victorious at 1:15 of the first round and went to 3-0-0 in his MMA career.  Matt is also now ranked # 13 among New York amateur MMA fighters, and #37 in the northeast.
Neil's fight for the Welterweight title started with a BANG!  His opponent landed a vicious overhand right punch to the side of Neil's face right away...which clearly stunned him.  Neil quickly reset and began to throw some punches of his own.  The two warriors then cycled between very strategic and dynamic maneuvers against the fence, on the ground, and back to striking.  Neil showed moments of brilliance with takedowns and positioning, wining most of the exchanges in the first round.  Toward the end of round 1, Neil got to his opponent's back and stretched him out into a position called the "grape-vine" (considered the worst position possible in fighting.)  Neil attempted to finish the fight with strikes to the head and fishing for a rear choke, but the end of the round came too soon.  In round two it was clear that Neil's energy level was fading and his opponent gained momentum.  Neil struggled with escaping bad positions for a good portion of the round...but caught his opponent with an arm-bar from the guard with about a minute left in the round.  The submission was deep and Neil tried desperately to finish, but his opponent refused to tap.  Neil let go with about 5 seconds left in the round and his opponent began to strike when the horn blew ending round 2.  Neil struggled to get to his corner, and could not continue to round 3 from exhaustion. Beyond disappointed, Neil fell to 4-1-0 and missed his first chance at a title.  He is still ranked #11 in New York, and #21 in the northeast.
Although their fights and outcomes were very different, both Matt and Neil fought like warriors.  Matt dominated and got the quick finish.  Neil faced real adversity for the first time in his MMA journey, and ground through two very animated rounds.  Neil completely takes ownership of his performance but, truth be told, he had the flu for 8-9 days prior to the fight.  This prevented him from properly training, weight cutting, and preparing mentally for the fight.  Despite all of that, he nearly finished his opponent at the end of the 1st round...and dislocated his opponent's wrist trying to finish the arm-bar at the end of the second. 
We are very proud of both Matt and Neil after their performances in Kaged Kombat 25.   Keep an eye out for the next event coming soon!


Photo by TM Williams Photography