We Must Cultivate our Gardens: ‘Aging Well’ a la Voltaire

This is final part (Part III) of the series -
Caring to cultivate on the long row of life: 
An eclectic look at gardens, gardening, and the aging process
{Part I and II are in previous postings} 
This is an open source scholarship posting; you are welcome to use for you own educational interests and experience. A citation back to this blog site is appreciated.
Thanks, Scott D. Wright, Ph.D. 

UPDATED: March 21, 2009 – - – - from NY Times, March 20, 2009 Reporter: Marian Burros

Obamas to Plant Vegetable Garden at White House 

  

 

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We Must Cultivate our Gardens

In George Valliant’s (2002) monumental study of aging and well-being, Aging Well, there were many highlighted suggestions that could serve as helpful “guideposts” (lifestyle choices) toward a healthier and more fulfilling process of adult development. And in summarizing his book, Valliant ended with a chapter titled, “Positive Aging: A Reprise,” and in that section there was the creative metaphor that captured the nuances of growing older as akin to gardening – or more precisely – the lessons learned in being a gardener could serve as a positive role model for finding fulfillment in later life.

Among the many positive attributes, Valliant proposed that gardening is an activity that encourages a therapeutic slowness (see also Goldman, 2005; Goldman & Mahler, 2000) and brings with it the additional benefit of creating opportunities for introspection and reflection (that you should you stop and smell the roses) and that it encourages and facilitates the overarching Eriksonian concept of care: a hallmark and defining positive attribute of the aging process. We are reminded of Shakespeare’s lament, “sweet flowers are slow and weeds make haste” which all but exudes the wisdom of living a long and cultivating the rewards of a life well-lived – and cared for. Valliant also proclaimed that gardeners are very much in the spirit of generativity and symbolically working (that is, being concerned and having responsibility for) the soil is embedded with the meaning of rebirth and re-generation, stewardship and the essence of cultivating for the next cycle of life. And with this kind of care, there is the potential for the legacy of caritas, a vita activa, and a vocation of care transmitted through the generations. Thus, as Valliant succinctly states it, “There is a kind of immortality about gardens, at least until next spring – and the spring after that” (p. 309).

Not only does Valliant make reference to Cicero and the ancient Roman tradition of viniculture as an honorable activity for aging, he revisits the famous line from Voltaire’s Candide ¹⁴, where after many journeys, hardships and mishaps, and a great deal of theorizing, Candide instructs Pangloss, “We should cultivate our gardens.” That pithy philosophical statement was crafted by Candide and inspired from an earlier encounter with an old man who was sitting outside his house “minding his own business” and taking in the day and enjoying the “fruits of his labor.” This encounter sounds very familiar to a similar story of the old man previously mentioned in Virgil’s Georgics. In Voltaire’s novel, the old man knew little of worldly affairs and events, but graciously offered Candide, Pangloss and Martin a sumptuous meal of exotic fruits and nuts that were grown on his farm. Candide assumed the old man must have some vast and magnificent estate, but the old man said, “I have only twenty acres and I cultivate them with my children; and my work keeps at bay three great evils: boredom, vice and need.”

It took awhile, but Candide had suddenly become a fast learner. Gardening? Yes, of course. Candide thought it to be a far better existence than compared to anything else they had encountered as history unfolded not too kindly in all of their travels and experiences. And so be it. We should cultivate our gardens, but what is it exactly about gardens and gardening that would supply meaningful significance to the life course, and particularly to the aging process? What is the connection between gardening and care and well-being? There is much to discuss with this intersection, but one link to appreciate is the connection back to Valliant’s synthesis of his research findings that point to gardening as more than activity, rather it takes on the gravity of an a philosophy of life, a Weltanschauung, a raison d’être – and much more. Valliant indicated that instead of the all-elusive high expectations of happiness to be sought for in later life, the concept that might instead be a better fit given the realism of the aging process in terms of challenges and promise is a joy in life. Wendell Berry (1972), noted scholar and farmer helps to build the bridge the connection between the land, the person, and the psychological benefits in this way,

The redeeming aspect of the sense of involvement and responsibility is that it does not stand alone, but is only part of the process, a way of life that includes joy. Not always or necessarily or even the dramatic joy of surprise – though that is one of it’s possibilities – but the quiet persistent joy of familiarity (p. 42).

The experience of a joyful attention to life (and a life) that is cultivated in gardening is very much akin to a meditative practice (Johnson, 2008) and helps to create a new kind of “homecoming” that allows one to become native to a place where a deeper connection to seasons of growth – and decline (Jackson, 1994).  To many, the garden exemplifies a new agrarian standard (Berry, 2003) that integrates the many realms of the “Great Garden” that is a seamless gateway between many realms of nature including trees, streams, pastures and it helps to instill a redirecting of mindful care (see Logsdon, 1994).

Before you might think that the topic of gardening is exclusively an opportunity for those who are geographically located in rural areas or along the exurban fringes, and thus beyond the reach for urban and inner city dwellers, consider the following example.

In the low-income residential neighborhood geographically located in the Bronx (New York) known as Tremont, there exists a community garden that recently celebrated its 37^th anniversary. And it is here that the residents of Tremont find a sense of belonging even while surrounded in a world of concrete. Tina Kelley wrote a story for the New York Times (August 30, 2008) on the Tremont Community garden and said that the, “gardens are oases, where a collective spirit and a sense of community grow from the topsoil.” The President of the community garden is Elizabeth Butler (age 77) and she said that the garden is like a refuge, “If I couldn’t come here, it would be rough…I can’t stay in the house.” Another garden member, a retired nurse, said the garden is site for celebrating birthdays and as a place for memorial services as well. “They were like deeply part of the garden, like a soul thing,” while another community member said of the garden, “It’s my joie de vivre. I like the way it looks. I enjoy the view. I sit here by myself.”

Joie de vivre. Joy in life.

And then there is Candide: Il faut cultiver notre jardin. Yes, we should cultivate our gardens. But listen to how Harrison (2008) has interpreted notre jardin from Voltaire’s story,

Notre jardin is never a garden of merely private concerns into which one escapes from the real; it is that plot of soil on the earth, within the self, or amid the social collective, where the cultural, ethical, and civic virtues that save reality from its own worst impulses are cultivated. Those virtues are always ours (p. x).

It may be difficult to imagine this much ado about a patch of soil, some seeds, watering, and having a “strong back and a weak mind” with all the weeding and mulching (see Stout, 1974). But Voltaire was onto something. And that “something” has resonated with many older adults throughout history and is today still both a viable and contemplative activity that is both elemental and transcendental. That “something,” is related to the core virtue of the mature and responsible adult in mid and later life: the ethical basis of care (Hoare, 2002; Kotre, 1996).

To be generative – to cultivate – to care – is both utilitarian and sacred and finds its joyful expression in the reverential duty in the garden.

Thanks – and best of luck with your cultivation, care, and gardening
Scott D. Wright, Ph.D. 

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Endnotes

1.              This is also a special thematic issue of Activities, Adaptation & Aging Activities, Adaptation & Aging, 22, 1997, edited by Suzanne E. Wells. See also Activities, Adaptation & Aging, Volume 22, Number 3 (1997), Horticultural Therapy and the Older Adult Population, Part II.

2.              The Eden Alternative web site: http://www.edenalt.org

3.              For example, many “weekend gardeners” with an interest in sustainable gardening are turning to perennial meadows as an environmentally friendly alternative. The rewards take time as the wildflowers take time to mature and proper over several years (Garmey, 2008). (See Shakespeare’s line from Richard III, “Because sweet flowers are slow and weeds make haste.”

4.              Michael Pollan’s chapter in “Keeping Eden” (1992) also appears in the magazine Orion (Winter 1993, pp. 27-31.

5.              “You reap what you sow,” from Paul’s letter to the Galatians – 6:7; but see also Van Gogh’s paintings, “The Sower” and “Sower with Setting Sun.”

6.              I am referencing from two publications, Thoreau, H.D. (2004). Walden (foreword by Terry Tempest Williams), Shambhala: Boston which is the one hundred fiftieth edition; and Thoreau, H.D. (1995). Walden (annotated edition and edited by Walter Harding), Houghton Mifflin Company: Boston.

7.              For an interesting critique of the portrayal of gardening in movies, see Constance Casey’s posting “Gilding the lily; What movies get wrong (and right) about gardening.” in Slate, Friday, December 28, 2007.

8.              In Horton Foote’s (1954), The Trip to Bountiful” Play in Three Acts, Mrs. Carrie Watts said, “I gotta get back and smell the salt air and work that dirt. I’m gonna spend my whole first month of my visit working Callie’s garden. I haven’t had my hands in dirt in twenty year. My hands feel the need for dirt. Do you like to work the ground?” Published by Dramatists Play Service, Inc.

9.               In addition to the main appearance of the strawberry patch in the script, it is interesting that Bergman (1960) uses another “strawberry” reference in relation to describing the very pregnant Eva, wife of Akerman, who wished to reconnect with Borg, and even suggested he could become godfather to the new baby.

10.           The Garden of Earthy Delights has inspired the cover art for several books such as Terry Tempest Williams’s book (2000) Leap, cover of Dead Can Dance, from the album Aion (see song The Garden Of Zephirus); the novel Mating by Norman Rush (1992), in fact many of the covers of Rush’s novels). Carl Jung referred to Hieronymus Bosch as the, “The master of the monstrous… the discoverer of the unconscious.” The Garden of Earthly Delights is also used on the front cover of Thomas Freidman’s recently released book, Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution – and How It can Renew America (2008) which raises some degree of intrigue: on one hand the painting could symbolically connote some utopic ecological ideal; on the other hand, the notion that a Bosch painting saturated with Medieval Christian doctrine could capture contemporary concepts of “sustainability” and “stewardship” and “energy-net zero” is provocative.

11.           c. 1558; Oil on canvas, mounted on wood, 73.5 x 112 cm; Musees Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, Brussels. Compare and contrast the portrayal of the imagery capturing the fall of Icarus in the following paintings: The Lament For Icarus by Herbert Draper, exhibited 1898, Oil on canvas 1829 x 1556 mm, Tate Gallery, London; Icarus and Daedalus by Charles Paul Landon. Imagery of Icarus falling is also found on the doors that enter into National Academy of Science building and is used by the poet W. H. Auden and “Musee des Beaux Arts” (1938), and to the more recent, the poet William Carlos Williams’s “Landscape with the Fall of Icarus” (1962).

12.           For a virtual visit of Monet’s Garden at Giverny, go to http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/visual_culture/projects/diva/giverny.html.

13.           For more information about other exhibitions of Monet’s work, see article by Alan Riding, published June 1, 1999, Arts abroad: Monet’s endless valedictory of light and water lilies, in New York Times. Riding notes several pertinent statements relevant to this article where Monet was quoted, ”I am absorbed in my work. These landscapes of water and reflections have become an obsession for me. It is beyond my strength as an old man, and yet I so want to render what I feel.” In addition Riding observed, that with the water-lily series, “Monet seems suddenly liberated. Having long insisted that he was an artist who painted what he saw; now spending more time in his studio he began painting as much from memory. In the summer months he would again work in his gardens. But the outdoor easel paintings of the final decade of his life also show a dramatic change in his style, toward what we now call abstraction: his beloved bridge, for instance, is barely recognizable amid a storm of brush strokes in autumnal colors.”

14.           I am referencing from the book by Jean Francois Marie Arouet de Voltaire, Candide and the 1929 edition published by The Literary Guild, New York. (Copyright, 1929 Random House Inc.) with illustrations by Rockwell Kent.

15.           In relation to the issues of gardening and awareness of the importance of soil quality for future generations, see National Geographic magazine article, “Our Good Earth” (September, 2008), where the subtitle captures the concept, “The future rests on the soil beneath our feet.” Another succinct comment in the article was offered by a geologist who said, “…we’re going to have to start getting interested in soil…We’re simply not going to be able to keep treating it like dirt.” (p. 106).

16.           This book has been republished in 1992 although copies may be hard to find in bookstores. Several online vendors in the United Kingdom offer copies at various prices. For an interesting perspective on the significance of this classic publication by Arthur Hellyer see article by Robin Lane Fox in Financial Times, “Financial fruit-rot,” Oct.18/19, 2008, p. 1.

17.           See also Ralph Blumenthal (2008, August 31), Out Back, an Urban Oasis, The New York Times, p. 24.

18.           Camille Paglia (2005) has offered several interesting insights into the garden metaphor found within Hamlet, viz.,  “The well-managed garden, a major metaphor in Hamlet, is a paradigm of the wisely governed state.” (p. 15). 

Martial Arts and the Art of Aging

Martial Arts and the Art of Aging  {updated as of Jan. 30th, 2009 with recognition to
Hélio Gracie)

This blog posting is now dedicated to spirit and tradition of Grand Master Hélio Gracie who passed on  due to natural causes.
Please see this link for more information: 
http://enews.gracieacademy.com/m/dc3Qdm3NQykM7v2BedNfIJpnLhQyBVDlsg1ToYWsxdNdU7TTfg

and new citation from Jan. 25th:

New story from Press Democrat (1/25/09)
Aging Baby Boomers find a Refuge in Tai Chi 
www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20090125/LIFESTYLE/901250302/1350
(thanks, Scott Wright) 

Introduction

            We are bombarded by claims (in the hundreds – and counting) in the media that have purported to discover the “secret to longevity” and the ultimate “anti-aging” pill or elixir. We are overwhelmed by such marketing and publicity stunts and over time many people are sucked into purchasing these “magic bullets” and as a result their money and time have disappeared into a black hole of quackery and scams.

            The fountain of youth does not exist – at least as we think of it from some “golden time” in the past or on some “golden isle” somewhere – these grand hopes are a part of the mythology and the story telling that captures our imagination – but escapes our reason.

            But there are ways in which we can work toward a healthier lifestyle, achieve tranquility, and age with grace and dignity. The approach is straightforward, but yet takes effort and a dedication to the practice and an acceptance of the art. I am convinced that science and medicine are tools by which we can understand – and create – a more complete experience (and existence) in the aging process. But there is more to it than that. We must be our own best stewards of our health by nourishing both the body and mind with activities that sustain well being.

I am not claiming that the following approach is the Holy Grail to defeat the aging process; rather, I am claiming that there are many techniques that create an opportunity for us to embrace the transformations of the aging process in a more creative and adaptive manner. Furthermore, these activities and techniques are not written out on prescription pad – Rx – nor do they have to be purchased at outrageous prices. The barriers to participation may be more psychological than physical. The involvement will take time and practice and a dedication to the craft- to the art. I am not talking about an obsessive/compulsive approach; rather, I am proposing an approach where the practice is effortless – where the activity is more of a flow – than a burden and drudgery. But in our frantic world of busy distractions, the practice can be vulnerable to displacement and a lower priority compared to all else.

            The practice is breath. The practice is stretching. The practice is posture. The practice is a knowing and experiencing of your center, your core, your muscle, your movement, your flexibility, your balance, and your mind.

            Walk. Hike. Bike. Meditate and reflect. The practice can be Yoga. The practice can be Pilates. The practice can be weight training. The practice can be all of the above.

            The practice can be Tai Chi. The practice can be Kung Fu.

            To age well = stretch and strengthen. The body and the mind.

Aging Well: The Center, the Balance, and the Sphere

            In one of the most significant publications on the topic of aging ever produced, Thomas R. Cole, the author of “The Journey of Life”, has captured the developmental essence of the spiritual and scientific understanding for the life course from pre-modern, through modernity, and into the so-called “post-modern” domain of how we come to interpret and dialogue about the meaning of – what it means to be old – and an aging individual.

          Now, while I find this publication to be the exemplar of “complete” scholarship in the field of aging, this publication nevertheless had as its primary focus, the Anglo-European traditions as the overarching template and optic for analysis (however, see The Oxford Book of Aging: Reflections on the Journey of Life, Cole & Winkler, 1994). While this limited focus is fine and worthy in its own right, the complementary perspectives of eastern beliefs, philosophical nuances, and the respective cross-cultural approaches to the aging process also intrigue me (personally and professionally).

           My interest has less to do with the role of “alternative medicine” (as compared to the “scientific biomedical model” associated with western perspectives), and rather, more the interest of the belief systems and practices of the martial arts as a potential for enhancing the quality of life as we age in all domains: physical, mental, and spiritual (and very much the totality of all three as integrated). While not all styles of martial arts are necessarily embedded within an “eastern” approach, my approach here is to recognize the diversity of martial arts, while showing the highest respect for the origination of most in the sphere of Asian culture.

            Because I embrace the scientific method, the verification and validation of the ‘truth’, and some good ole fashioned skepticism and Cartesian “doubt”, this is not a blog posting about seeking some magic elixir or potion to obtain immortality; this blog is not about how the martial arts are examples of “anti-aging” (I detest the phrase = anti-aging) or how they can “reverse” the aging process; rather, I see the martial arts as an philosophical and practical example of engaging in the aging process and understanding the essence of life in all phases and stages of life. To some degree, I have found an interesting cross-cultural symmetry between the Roman Stoical approach to the aging process and the nuances of wisdom about “existence” and “the way” in many of the martial arts.

            For example, Michel Foucault (2005) has proposed some interesting insights from both Seneca and Marcus Aurelius on the topic of old age:

“…old age should not be seen merely as a limit in life, any more than it is to be seen as a phase of diminished life. Old age should be considered, rather, as a goal, and as positive goal of existence. We should strive towards old age and not resign ourselves to having it come upon us one day. Old age, with its own forms and values, should orientate the whole course of life. (p. 109).

“…even if we are still young, even if we are adult and still active, with regard to all that we do and all that we are we should have the attitude, behavior, detachment, and accomplishment of someone who has already completed his life. We must live expecting nothing more from our life and, just as the old man is someone who expects nothing more from his life, we must expect nothing from it even when we are young. We must complete our life before death. The expression is found in Seneca’s letter 32: “consummare vitam ante mortem.” We must complete our life before our death, we must fulfill our life before the moment of death arrives, we must achieve perfect satiety of ourselves. “Summa tui satietas”: perfect, complete satiety of yourself.

“Book VIII (Marcus Aurelius): “Keeping your eyes fixed on your task, examine it well and, remembering that you must be an honest man and what nature demands, perform it without a backward glance” (see p. 201).

Now take those representative examples of “western” wisdom and compare to the “eastern” perspective found within the Tao Te Ching (Mitchell, 1988);

Knowing others is intelligence;
Knowing yourself is true wisdom.
Mastering others is strength;
Mastering yourself is true power.

If you realize that you have enough,
You are truly rich.
If you stay in the center
And embrace death with your whole heart,
you will endure forever. (#33)

Or in another example (from Light on Aging and Dying {Wise Words} by Helen Nearing (1995):

          No one can really stop growing old….Since there is no use in fighting against nature one might just as well end with a grand finale of peace and serenity and spiritual contentment and not with the crash of a broken drum or cracked cymbals. Lin Yutang, The Importance of Living, 1937.

So, it is my belief that there is great profit in examining the wisdom from the classical to the modern – and from all cultures – in relation to the process of existence, and aging.

Styles and examples of Martial Arts – and the Art of Aging

            There are many, many variations and “schools” found within the martial arts, for example (and using Black Belt Magazine (www.blackbeltmag.com/styles) as reference point in creating a fairly complete list of “styles”):

Aikido, Aikijujutsu, Bando, Bersilat, Boxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Capoeira, Catch Wrestling, Chi Kung (qigong), Dim Mak, Haganah, Hapkido, Hsing-i Chuan (xingyiquan), Hwa Rang Do, Iaido, Jeet Kune Do, Judo, Jujutsu, Kalaripayit, Kali, Kapap, Karate, Kendo, Kenpo, Kickboxing, Krav Maga, Kuk Sool, Kung Fu, Lima Lama, Lua, Mixed Martial Arts, Muay Thai, Ninjutsu, Pa Kua Chang, Pentjak Silat, Sambo, Savate, Shuai Chiao, Sumo, Taekwondo, Tai Chi Chuan (taijiquan), Tang Soo Do, Wing Chun,Wushu, (and others) –

            And so let me say from the outset, my primary preference leans toward the philosophical practical methods found within the arts of aikido (at least from a gerontological perspective). But I will also examine other approaches and identify exemplary “role models” of aging individuals who lead, follow, and serve as living testimonies to the “practice” of their art. There will include Aikido, Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, Hapkido, and Tai Chi Chuan. I will finalize this blog posting with some good old fashioned empirical research findings that indicate the positive benefits of practicing the martial arts – and in particular – the advantages of practicing the approach of Tai Chi Chuan.

            Aikido

When contemplating the direction of time and examining our place in the spatial domain, especially in the context of the aging process, we typically think of a linear flow and life unfolding in phases – or stages. While it all makes sense to our prevailing paradigm of the unidirectional movement of energy and objects, the principles of Aikido, challenge that limited view to the experience of life.

With Aikido, there is the centralization of energy – and a center – to all things. There is a spherical and dynamic embrace of life while keeping one point – focused, in harmony, and a balance of the opposites. The practice of the art leads to an inner condition of calm and constant control – and an objectivity to maintain (a meaningful) mental distance with events. With events that swirl about us, we are the calm center and then guiding the unbalanced energy over us, around us, and past us. There is a guiding and a leading of the energy by converging with it – to flow with it – not against it. In the practice, there is the use of circularity and sphere-icity to move and defend and visualize –aggression. The counteraction is a redirection of action and a reframing of the mind.

“We must understand that human life is limited and must develop the modesty that comes from understanding.” – shizen tota -  (see Saotome, 1993).

Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of the Japanese martial art of Aikido, lived to 85 years and has a rich legacy to offer for people of all ages, and I would like to offer a few “gems” from his living philosophy.

Everyone has a spirit that can be refined, a body that can be trained in some manner, a suitable path to follow. You are here for no other purpose than to realize your inner divinity and manifest your innate enlightenment.

If your heart is large enough to envelop your adversaries, you can see right through them and avoid their attacks. And once you envelop them, you will be able to guide them along the path indicated to you by heaven and earth.

The body should be triangular, the mind circular. The triangle represents the generation of energy and is the most stable physical posture. The circle symbolizes serenity and perfection, the source of unlimited techniques. The square stands for solidity, the basis of applied control.

http://www.aikido.com

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

My first experience with the practice/style Gracie Jiu-Jitsu was quite by accident. I was participating in some Jeet Kune-Do classes and at the end of one class, a group of people were waiting to use the same large room, and then began their practice. A few of us stayed to see what that was all about. About halfway through, we were invited to join in and get some direct experience “on the mat.” Whatever I had thought I knew and learned (some Judo, some Jeet Kune Do) was crushed in an instant. I was not demoralized, rather, I was in awe – even after being subject to a chokehold that appeared out of nowhere. Done. Tap out. What is this? Where did this come from?

Well – The Man – is Hélio Gracie (born October 1, 1913) and is the co-founder of “Gracie Jiu-Jitsu,” also known as  Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ). He is a master of the discipline (the grandmaster) and is widely considered as one of the first sports heroes in Brazilian history; he was named Black Belt Magazine’s Man of the Year in 1997. Hélio Gracie celebrated his 95th birthday in 2008. Think about that  - 95 !

When Hélio Gracie was 16 years old, he found the opportunity to teach a Jiu-Jitsu class, and this experience led him to develop Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. The Director of the Bank of Brazil, Dr. Mario arrived for class as scheduled. The instructor Carlos was running late and was not present. Hélio offered to begin the class with the man. When the tardy Carlos arrived offering his apologies, the student assured him it was no problem, and actually requested that he be allowed to continue learning with Hélio instead. Carlos agreed to this and Hélio began as an instructor. Hélio realized however, even though he knew the techniques theoretically, in actuality, the moves were much harder to execute. Due to his smaller size, he realized many of the jiu-jitsu moves required brute strength that his physical nature did not allow. He began adapting the moves for his particular physical attributes, and through trial and error learned to maximize leverage, thus minimizing the force that needed to be exerted to execute the move. From these experiments, Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, formally Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, was created. Using these new techniques, smaller and weaker opponents gained the capability to defend themselves and even defeat much larger opponents.

Here are a few excerpts (from an interview) from a magazine (http://www.graciemag.com/?c=154&a=2744) that highlighted the thoughts and principles of Helio Gracie. 

Few people get to your age with so much lucidity. Is there a secret formula for that?

The sternness of age makes me see things as right or wrong. With me there’s no halfway, it’s either yes or no. Try from now on not to answer “maybe?” “more or less,?” “who knows? Simply say yes or no, you’ll see how tough it is.

Are you afraid of death?

Death? [Laughter.] Why fear death? I don’t need anything, I don’t have anything, I don’t want anything. I think it’s silly for somebody to be scared of dying. One should be afraid of being born. I have already told my children when I die I want a party, with no alcohol, no hell raising [general laughter]. But I want a party with music, food… I don’t know if you guys believe in reincarnation, but we all go and come back until the day we no longer have to return. My brother [Carlos Gracie, already deceased] used to say the fellow only stops returning to Earth when he mingles with the Whole. Even when you’re thinking just a little bit wrongly, you come back to continue evolving. Hell, my friends, is right here on Earth.

            The art and the practice continue on via The Gracie family. This is also a great example of multigenerational involvement in a rich tradition.

http://www.gracieacademy.com/

http://www.gracieacademy.com/helio_gracie.html

Hapkido

            This is the amazing story of the 61 year-old – Mark Shuey Sr. who took the notion of defensive tactics and the cane to whole new level. I would have never thought a “cane” could be used as a defense tool in such a way.

The very device that one might associate with “disability” or vulnerability or “weakness” turns out to be an effective way to restore confidence and provide self-protection. Mark Shuey holds black belts in Tae Kwon Do, Hapkido and Tang Soo Do, began using the cane in earnest ten years ago. Although he’s trained in all of the major martial arts weapons, he’s completely sold on the merits of the cane. “It’s the most practical weapon a martial artist, or anyone for that matter, can learn,” says Shuey. “What other self-defense tool can you carry on a plane or in a casino? Try getting nunchuka past airport security! And if you think about it, what good is it learning a weapon if you can’t take it anywhere?”  His techniques and the art of using the cane has been profiled in the Wall Street Journal (see “Everybody Is ‘Cane Fu’ Fighting At Senior Centers, So Watch Out Older People Get Healthful Exercise And Learn to Wield a Ready Weapon” -

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121582129325447667.html)

http://www.canemasters.com/

Tai Chi (Taijiquan)

Dr. Jwing-Ming Yang (PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University) and was born in born in 1946 in Republic of China and became an expert in the White Crane Style of Chinese Martial Arts.

He is now 63 years old and one his books present a concise and detailed approach to Shaolin Chin Na (seizing techniques) and the other I want to mention is on Tai Chi Theory and Martial Power. Readers of this blog may also want to review this article as well: Tai Chi (Taijiquan) Theory of Reaching Enlightenment by Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming, November 12, 2008 (http://www.ymaa.com/articles/reaching-enlightenment).

Dr. Yang further discusses the merits and goals of Tai Chi. Taijiquan was created at the Daoist monasteries on Wudang mountain. The final goal of Daoist spiritual cultivation is to reunite the human spirit with the heaven’s (natural) spirit. To reach this goal, first we must comprehend the meaning of our lives, cherish all living things, search for the mandate of nature, and finally fulfill this mandate. From this, we can see that, though Taijiquan was created as a martial art, it does not mean to destroy or to kill life. On the contrary, it is the tool for us to understand life. From self-understanding and discipline, we learn how to control ourselves and to appreciate life everywhere. Only then can we have a pure and kind heart to understand nature and its mandate. All of these are the required procedures for the unification of human and heaven’s spirit.

            I will briefly review some research articles that examine the intervention potential of Tai Chi for increasing balance, coordination, and reducing falls in the next section.

To summarize this section I will highlight this article from 2004, Martial Arts Defend Against Aging (posted in Aging – (HealthDayNews) –

A new study finds the martial arts to be safe, effective exercise for 40- and 50-somethings.

”If you want to do something that’s fun, different and good for self-defense — and good for long-term self-defense against disease — do the martial arts,” says study author and physical therapist Dr. Peter Douris, of the New York Institute of Technology in Old Westbury, N.Y. His findings appear in the March 25 issue of the British Journal of Sports Medicine. For most people, the decision to get fit usually means buying a gym membership or shelling out money for expensive home-exercise equipment. But what about alternative methods, such as practicing the martial arts? 

In their study, Douris’ team examined the overall fitness of 18 individuals between 40 and 60 years of age. Nine of the study participants had been practicing soo bahk do, a Korean martial art similar to karate or tae kwon do, for about three years. The other nine participants maintained a more or less “couch potato” lifestyle. Overall, the soo bahk do devotees “were much more flexible, had more leg strength, less body fat, better aerobic conditioning and better balance” compared to the sedentary study subjects, Douris reports. 

The martial art practitioners had an average 12 percent less body fat than the non-exercisers, the researchers report. They also seemed much stronger — while sedentary types could only muster up 37 sit-ups in a row on average, the soo bahk do practitioners averaged 66 sit-ups before exhaustion set in. The martial arts group also displayed more than double the balancing power of non-exercisers and outperformed the sedentary types when it came to flexibility. 

The study did not compare the benefits of the martial arts to that of gym workouts, running or other fitness options. However, Douris estimates that the average soo bahk do class raises students’ metabolic level — a measurement of changes in the metabolic rate — to about a 10, a level equal to that of jogging. 

And he believes that older individuals, especially women, needn’t be put off by fears they will be injured trying out karate-like sports. “It’s not like ju-jitsu or judo, where you’re doing a lot of flips and throws,” Douris explains. “There isn’t that much of that in soo bahk do. You do fall down when you’re ‘free-sparring,’ but there’s people in the classes that are 60 years old — they get right back up. There’s plenty of women in these classes, too.” 
Dr. Douglas McKeag, a sports medicine expert at Indiana University in Indianapolis, believes the martial arts “are a perfectly acceptable way to boost fitness, certainly in middle age it makes a great deal of sense. The sport is capable of delivering the type of stimulus that the body needs to get in shape.” But he cautions that, as with any new sport, beginners “have to come at it relatively slowly and intelligently.” Douris, 47, has been practicing soo bahk do and tae kwon do since he was a teenager and says he routinely beats competitors half his age in tournaments. He calls the sport “self-defense against aging.” 



Good Old Fashioned Science (evidence-based) meets the  Martial Arts and The Art of Aging

Wolf, S. et al (1999). Reducing frailty and falls in older persons: An investigation of Tai Chi and computerized balance training. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 44(5), 489-497.

The authors concluded that a moderate Tai Chi intervention can impact favorably on defines biomedical and psychosocial indices of frailty and that this intervention can also have favorable effects upon the occurrence of falls.

Li, F. et al. (2005). Tai Chi and Fall Reductions in Older Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences, 60A (2), 187-194.

The authors found that a 3x per week, 6-month Tai Chi program is effective in decreasing the number of falls, the risk for falling, and the fear of falling, and it improves functional balance and physical performance in physically inactive persons aged 70 years or older.

Lu, W. & Kuo, C. (2006). Comparison of he Effects of Tai Chi Chuan and Wai Tan Kung Exercises on Autonomic Nervous System Modulation and on Homodynamic in Elder Adults. The American Journal of Chinese Medicine, 34(6), 959-968.

TCC and WTK are comparable to each other in terms of their positive effects on autonomic nervous system modulation and hemodynamics, thus suggesting that WTK can be just as beneficial as TCC as a form of low-impact exercise for elderly adults.

Tsang, T., et al (2008). Health benefits of Kung Fu: A systematic review, 26(12), 1294-1297. Journal of Sports Sciences, 26(12), 1249-1267.

The authors found no evidence that Kung Fu is associated with prevention or treatment of any health condition. However, as moderate-to-high intensity form of aerobic exercise, it may confer benefits similar to those attributed to other aerobic training modalities.

Summary: Take it home and put it on your refrigerator message:

            As it stands now, the health benefits of some forms of martial arts (e.g., Tai Chi) for older adults is well-documented especially as it relates positive outcomes in improved balance, motion, and the prevention of falls, and reducing the fear of falling. Several studies have indicated an improvement in some physical indices of well being, but there is more that needs to be done to understand the mental and psychological potential for positive outcomes as well.

            In the long run, and in the long lane of life, stretching and strength, is a worthwhile activity and practice to engage in for overall well being in later life. The older adult role models in the various styles and art forms of the practice of martial arts are many -  and the specific style may be a matter of personal preference, availability of learning opportunity in community, and physical status of the practitioner.

            No one would advocate that the older adult begin from scratch (no experience) and jump right into the Kung Fu “horse stance” for one hour as a way of beginning the path to practice the art.

          Only after an initial traditional physical evaluation (by a medical professional such as Family Practice doctor, Nurse Practitioner, or a Geriatrician) and assessment, there is great potential in the incremental exposure and practice regimen in Tai Chi and some reasonable Yoga sessions.  From there, the older adult “student” may progress and expand into other styles of martial arts. The art of aging well begins with the dedication and self-discipline to practice and follow in the footsteps of the masters who have created a path before us.

You were born in human form, and you find joy in it. Yet there are ten thousand other forms endlessly transforming that are equally good, and the joy in the these is untold. The sage dwells among those things, which can never be lost, and so he lives forever. He willingly accepts early death, old age, the beginning and the end, and serves as an example for everyone. (from Chuang Tsu: Inner Chapters; Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English; Vintage Books; 1974; p. 123

 

(photo: Scott Wright – Portland, OR – Japanese Garden; 2008).

References:

Cruikshank, M. (2003). Learning to be Old: Gender, Culture, and Aging. New York: Rowman & Littlefield.

Donaldson, S. R. The Aging Student of the Martial Arts – “Why Do We Do It?”

http://www.stephenrdonaldson.com/TheAgingStudentoftheMartialArts.pdf

Cole, T. R. & Winkler, M.G.  (1994) (Eds.) The Oxford Book of Aging: Reflections on the journey of life. New York: Oxford University Press.

Gleason, W. (1995). The Spiritual Foundations of Aikido. Rochester, Vermont: Destiny Books.

Gracie, H. and Gracie, R. ((2007). Gracie Submission Essentials: Grandmaster and Master Secrets of Finishing a Fight. Montpelier, Vermont.  Invisible Cities Press.

Mitchell, S. (2006). Tao Te Ching (A new English version). New York: HarperPerennial (Modern Classics.

Cole, T. R. (1992). The Journey of Life: A Cultural History of Aging in America. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Foucault, M. (2005). The hermeneutics of the subject: Lectures at the College de France, 1981-1982. Palgrave: New York.

Nearing, H. (1995). Light on Aging and Dying {Wise Words}. Tilbury House, Gardiner, Maine.

Kim, S. H. (1999). Martial Arts After 40. Turtle Press.

Westbrook A. & Ratti, O. (1996). Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere. Charles E. Tuttle Co. Rutland Vermont.

Saotome, M. (1993). Aikido and the Harmony of Nature. Boston: Shambhala.