Such a massive subject! What is Shamanism?

Hopefully the episode will help to understand where we are coming from when we talk about Shamanism.  But there is undoubtedly a lot that I also missed out in this episode.

A few points:

- Shamanism is a tool. It is not a religion in the sense that it doesn't have a set doctrine, rules or code of morals, it doesn't have any kind of holy book. Shamanism comes directly from nature not from ideas or imagination.
- Shamanism aims to gain insight from nature through experience.
- Normally we put up barriers to nature. These preconceptions, misrepresentations, cultural biases, imaginary delusions and sometimes even physical constructs we call "the miasma". 
- The experience in Shamanic technique has to be authentic, without those barriers and delusions.  The way to ensure this is to be in an altered state of consciousness that stops your normal thinking and categorisation. This state we call "Chalicity" (and we will discuss this next time in Episode 3).

One thing I forgot to mention but will pick up on in the next episode is the aspect of looking inwards or outwards.  Many people when they embark on a "spiritual practice" will immediately try to look inwards for answers.  Shamanic methods ultimately look outwards for answers, from the environment around us. Of course at first there is actually a lot of practice focused on become aware of your own body and energy but really its about getting feedback from outside of yourself.

To listen to the episode click the link below.  

Also I think I've managed to get the podcast on Spotify and I'm in the process of working out how to get onto Apple and Amazon. However, if you listen on Spreaker eventually I'll get a tiny pay-out from the ads they place on the front and back of the episodes, and this will help pay for the hosting and so on.  

I just published the first episode of the podcast on Spreaker.  Hopefully in time I will learn how to get it onto other platforms like Apple Podcasts and Spotify etc.  But for now if you want to hear the first episode the link is just below

This first episode is really just an introduction into what the podcast and this blog is all about.

It's fairly simple really, it's about shamanism, and it's about warrior arts (martial arts), and how those two things intersect.

But nothing is ever simple is it? 

Shamanism is often misrepresented or misinterpreted or even appropriated as a term and used to describe things that are completely nothing to do with actual shamanism.  At the heart of shamanism is active experience with nature, experience that looks to gain insight, and ultimately which seeks for the practitioner to be entirely connected with nature so that they are undifferentiated from nature.  

Martial Arts can similarly cover a whole host of different subjects from self defence to military training and everything in between such as sport combat, hobby practice and personal development.

In many martial arts traditions there are aspects of training which could be said to be shamanic and this is what we are looking to delve deeper into.  These might include religious or meditative practices, rituals, symbols and more, they are often described as spiritual aspects or traditions and could include things like Qi Gong or Shen Gong in Chinese Styles, or various practices such as Mushin and Zazen in Japanese styles, and there will be more to look into from other regions and styles and traditions. 

I'm intentionally going to focus on practical aspects of training and experiences of training, myths and ideas within martial arts training, rather than look at lineages and history so much. 

I'm also going to keep episodes relatively short, under 1 hour certainly but around 30 minutes if possible. This should make episodes easy to digest.  Hopefully I'll be publishing a podcast episode every two to three weeks, and I'll look to bring in friends, students and those interested to tell their own experiences of the  spiritual, meditative and shamanic aspects of their training.

Welcome to my new blog. 

Firstly this blog has nothing to do with the manhwa (Korean comic books) series "Shaman Warrior" by Park Joong-Ki.

My name is Paul Andrews and I am the author of this blog. 

Why "Shaman Warrior" you may ask?

Well I am a long time practitioner of martial arts, the warrior arts of old, and I have also researched and practiced shamanic technique for many years.  In some ways my martial practice is also a form of shamanic technique, and shamanic methods have I believe enhanced my martial arts. It has got to a point where, for me, my martial practice and shamanic practice can't really be separated. 

My natural curiosity has always driven me towards investigating nature, and I have always had a fondness for physical experience. Despite not being the biggest kid I always joined in with sports, particularly basketball and rugby. I began martial arts training in my late teens when I tried karate and then wing chun.  Since then I discovered and have specialised in the rare northern Chinese martial art of Xing Yi Quan (I run my own school with online classes - www.xingyiacademy.com/onlinelearning).  I've also visited China and trained in Yi Quan (a martial art derived from Xing Yi Quan) and Shuai Jiao (Chinese Wrestling) as well as visiting numerous Xing Yi masters to see the variations in the art.  As well as Xing Yi, I have also had experience in cross-training many other martial arts, with experience of traditional Japanese Kempo (Mishima Kempo / Kaido Miwa Ryu), Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan (Tai Ji Quan), Ba ji Quan, Choy Lee Fut, Baguazhang, Mei hua zhang, and more.  I've also got quite a bit of experience in weapons and swordplay, but we will probably come to that in future posts.

To put it simply I've trained martial arts for over 20 years, met a lot of people from different styles, tried out lots of stuff, some more than others, and I've held on to Xing Yi Quan as my core practice since 2004. 

My main teacher or guide in both the martial arts and shamanic training has been Damon Smith.  Damon is co-host of the Woven Energy Podcast on Real Practical Shamanism, aided by Josef Sykora.  Josef is one of my closest friends and for a long time was my student of martial arts and fellow explorer of shamanic technique.

As well as Damon, I have trained martial arts with Sifu John Agar (Wing Chun), Sensei Phil Marsh (Kaido Miwa Ryu), Tai Chi and Choy Lee Fut with the Yongquan Association (mostly with Sifu Donald Kerr), and Chinese Swordplay with Scott M Rodell.  I've also spent some limited, but intensive time, studying Yi Quan with Yao Chengrong, and Shuai Jiao with Wang Tongqing (both in Beijing).  

In shamanic tradition, I was also blessed to have known the late Sensei Kato Eiichi and late Sensei Kato Kaoruko who were involved with the tradition of Japanese shamaness Nakayama Miki. 

Shamanism is a much misunderstood area of practice, and martial arts is an arena which is vast in range and scope.  There will be lots to get into and I have a lot of experience to call upon for examples and anecdotes.

A lot of what I will post here and present in my upcoming podcast (unsurprisingly this will also be called Shaman Warrior) will likely overlap with things which are discussed on the Woven Energy podcast.  The main difference will be that I will be presenting more from the viewpoint of my own training experiences and understandings, with a focus on physical training and conditioning and application within the context of martial arts.  

I hope to involve a number of good friends, acquaintances and hopefully other interested parties, including some of my past training partners and my current students.  Hopefully, I will be able to pass on some knowledge to those who might be interested in shamanism, martial arts, or both.