Pedro Solana
The Path of the Spiritual Warrior
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The following is an excerpt from Lindsey Wei‘s forthcoming book to be published by Purple Cloud Press later this year:
“The secret of martial arts that everyone knows but no one does…
Let go of the fear of losing.”
-Pedro Solana
I would like to make this post as a tribute to the time I spent learning from Kru Pedro Solana in Thailand at the Agastya Temple Of Wisdom.
At one point he said to me, “You thought you came here to write a book, but you came here to face your fears.”
I am now deep in the process of writing about the life and teachings of Kru, as well as reflecting on my time there. I feel different, a lot of healing happened for me in his presence and at his school. Cords of past karmic afflictions were severed and I feel much lighter. I faced my fears in a way I’ve never done before, which is to sit in meditation and look straight at them. As Kru says, “It is painful at first, very painful, but then it is gone. What appears must disappear, this is the law.”
While I was there I kept a small notebook in my pocket and tried to write down everything I could of what Kru said. So here is the moment, almost word for word. We were sparring with the Krabong (staff), and Kru sensed a tension in us, as he would spar with each student one by one every afternoon. He stopped and spoke to us.
“The secret to martial arts, the secret everyone knows and no one does… be willing to risk! Be willing to die and observe. Learn how to die everyday! It is the ego that dies! Lose the fear of losing… to lose is okay. It is the fear of losing that hurts us. The ability to die in training will give you the ability to improve. The fear will keep you tight and defensive. Tension is the competitive mind, it is what stops us from letting our own greatness come out. The best way to fight is the mind of no mind. Become careless with skill, and all skill will come out! The one who dies more, learns more! The cure is… to win, you must lose!” -Kru Pedro Solana
Post-Scriptum: More info on Lindsey and her teachings can be found under: https://wudangwhitehorse.com and about Kru Pedro
under https://www.muaythaisangha.com/.
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