Flight-Fight Reflexes

There are the flight (yin) and fight (yang) reflexes. Each of these is itself a cascade of neural autonomic responses that prepares the body to deal with the highest threat level – one that risks the continued survival of the organism. Moreover, purely reflexive flight-fight instincts are heavily overlaid and supplemented by learned behaviors, or fixed action patterns, allowing for great variations in their expression in individuals. In the context of these yin-yang crisis reflexes, “making the involuntary voluntary” means nothing less for the internal martial artist than seeking to eliminate this entire range of involuntary crisis behaviors. Standing meditation (Zhan Zhuang) cultivates awareness which transforms these polarities into the offensive and defensive skills that define the internal martial arts.

These reflexes are hard-wired by evolution in the human brain and central nervous system. But, when we are startled (reflex) or when we tense, when we are provoked to fight-or-flight alert, these reflexes limit our response to challenges and create vulnerabilities that can be exploited by an opponent in martial arts combats. The stillness meditations (Zhan Zhuang) of the internal martial arts are designed to de-activate these involuntary responses and make them voluntary.