Attaining the Dragon

by Ted Walls, Ted is an Anthropological student working on his Thesis.

The goal of Pukulan Cimande Pusaka is to attain the Naga, in both its physical and spiritual sense.

The forces of nature have non-physical, spiritual, energetic aspects, which are apparent in us as well as in natural phenomenon. The different aspects and nuances of natural forces have their analogies in our minds, in our personalities, in the makeup of our character, in our emotions and even in the secret place which gives rise to our thoughts, attitudes and feelings. The Javanese believe that there is an inner, hidden connection between things such that these analogies have mutual influence upon each other in subtle ways.

Animist religion, of which Pukulan Cimande Pusaka can claim to be an expression, is about having a harmonious relationship with the forces of nature and expressing them in a balanced way in ourselves and in the world.

The history of media and artistic expression is closely tied to animism as well. When we as humans want to express a higher idea or force, we use some kind of media. Traditionally these have included dance, dramatic performance, song, drumming, ritual and poetic and graphic arts.

According to animism, all unhappiness, un-fulfillment, confusion, ill-health, personal weakness and bad luck are the result of a deficit or imbalance of natural forces as they are expressed through us.

If we expect any kind of force to express itself through us in a healthy way, we must become a healthy medium for this force. Simply wanting it to come to us, or asking it to come is not enough, although these are important too.

Just as someone cannot express themselves musically until they have mastered the medium sufficiently, practiced a certain instrument, learned music theory and so forth, so too do we have to train and condition ourselves in certain ways to be able to express certain forces. Sometimes this training takes the form of severe ascetic discipline, or adherence to a very strict and specific moral code. Sometimes it requires meditation, the memorization of prayers and ritual actions.

In Pukulan Cimande Pusaka, the medium through which we express the forces of nature is combat. And as with all media, there must be an element of artistry which opens the door. Without a genuine desire to express something subtle, something higher, all forms of media fail in their intentions, ours especially.

I have often described what we do as combative animist worship. The movements of our art are designed to alter the consciousness and express a certain type of energy. This design of our movements comes from animists who were successful in using the powers of nature to achieve their combative ends, and the physical shell of what they left us is a key to attaining the same mystical, powerful state they were in when they performed the movements. The principle is just like that of traditional prayers, the idea being that prayers spoken in a specific state can be re-spoken, and if this is done with proper intent, leads one back to the state in which they were composed. This is why it is so important in Islam to chant the Quran, for example, because it is God’s will expressed to the mind of man, put into words. In fact, I think Islam would be better off chanting the Quran and keeping its injunctions, instead of engaging in pseudo-intellectual speculations, and then using these speculations to impose restraints on Javanese culture.

The benefits of practicing Pukulan Cimande Pusaka are that the energies channeled during combat training have very strong analogies to all parts of one’s life and character, such that strengthening one’s self for combat simultaneously develops the overall spiritual, mental and emotional condition.

The Four Elements

Each set of animal movements in PCP is meant to open the door to the energies of certain elements and animal fighting energies. This follows the principle of mudra from Hindu mysticism, and also yoga, but its roots are distinctly animistic.

When we perform the movements in a trance state, these energies are called into our body- in order to be expressed through our body. This is a fundamental rule. Energies will not manifest unless there is the means by which they can be expressed, and the occasion fits also. This principle will be important later when speaking of the circle of creation.

When I express an elemental energy through myself, it is as if I have had an epiphany of it. I experience it in a direct, transforming way. I am re-shaped, renewed and energized by the encounter. This is true for any spiritual epiphany; we encounter spiritual force in a direct way, and that confrontation causes fundamental changes in the way we exist and see the world. And after each encounter, our connection to that force becomes stronger, allowing it to influence and change us even more.

What I’m speaking of, experiential spirituality, is very different from dogmatic religion. It is a direct knowing of certain processes and truths, and knowing these informs us in the most perfect way how to be. It is better to guide someone to have an experience, then to ask them to accept what comes from the mind of another, unless of course you want to enslave someone.

All of our personal strengths and weakness, all of those things which determine our fate and determine our outlook can be understood in connection with the elements. We are a prisoner to the way we see reality- our ego is usually the interpreter of events, and this limits the range of responses we can make, and factors we can be aware of. When we become free of these self-imposed prisons of perception, then we have what the Javanese call “rasa”, correct intuitive knowledge.

As an example, let’s say that the fire element is unbalanced in my person. I will be aggressive, I will be prone to argument, I will be hasty to act, etc. I will let things stress me that probably shouldn’t. What this means is that I am a prisoner to these personality traits. The same set of circumstances, the same events could be experienced by me and another person, but because of my dysfunctional relationship with the fire element I will see it differently, and respond differently. I will step into a totally different future, with a totally different set of probabilities than the other person from that one theoretical point we share. I will be suspicious of the motives of others, perhaps making unfounded assumptions and guesses. People will not want to be around me for long periods of time, maybe avoid interacting with me. I can destroy personal relationships, fail to be diplomatic with the right people, or anger someone I shouldn’t.

When the elements are unbalanced, when there is an unhealthy abundance or deficit, we will find various prisons of thought, ego interpretation and response which keep us from acting according to our best destiny. This self-made prison is called “nafsa” in Javanese.

We therefore seek to understand the elements as they exist within us, and use the power-building, energy manifesting movements of PCP to give us an epiphany of the healthy element we need to influence us. Water counteracts too much fire, for example. I would be more calm and sensitive, reflect reality more instead of assume, be willing to go with the flow, etc. All of this is the opposite of suspicion, anger, and the need to control.

It is the usual state of most people to live in unbalance, which is why the world is the way it is. Even after you do the work of balancing yourself, you must maintain your balance always. Life will always offer you chances to lose your balance. We must also harmonize with the cycles of nature, because various elements and forces ebb and flow at different times. We must be aware of the affects of this in ourselves, and also realize what times are appropriate for what things. All of this knowledge is part of the Ilmu of the Bayang-Bayang Naga Penglima.

When we balance all of the elements within ourselves, we will have freed ourselves from many internal prisons, many of which we won’t be aware of until we’ve escaped. After this happens, we can see properly and respond properly. Our perception is open to seeing reality how it truly is, and we allow ourselves a broader range of possible responses. It seems like magic to people who haven’t undergone this same journey on some level, as if we know things and are capable of dealing with reality on a totally different level. This is the mind of the dragon. In Javanese culture, this is known as “Eiling”, which can be translated as being centered, remembering what you need to remember, having depth of awareness, and being an ethical person. This puts us into the state of “weneng”, meaning clarity and purity.

Circle of Creation

The circle of creation is a diagram of how things come into being, and how we create our reality. Be clear that you do in fact create your reality at any given moment. More accurately, you are now living in the reality you created not long ago, and the circle of creation you are in now is forming your future. Your life is like a series of interconnected circles, spiraling upwards like DNA. It is also like the “S” diagram footwork of Mas Jud. To gain the mind of the dragon is to work with this process in a much more far-seeing, subtle and effective way.  

As Pendekar Sanders has taught, all potentiality starts in the water element. This is where things are conceptualized, given birth to in potential. Next is the earth element. This is where the stage is set, where the material conditions and potential are arranged. The fire element governs the actual process, the action of bringing in to being. It is decisive action towards the goal. The air element is the thing realized, which frees us to travel in a new realm of potentiality. The fifth element is the great matrix of what “is”, to which all accomplished energies go, to play out their karmic effects according to the will of the Cosmos.

There is really nothing mysterious about this, it is logical upon reflection. If a student needs to write a term paper, for example, the first thing is to get the idea straight in their head of what they’re going to do. Then they gather books from the library, schedule some time, and sit down at the computer. The fire element will be the actual beginning of the writing process, and the air element is the finished product. The fifth element will be how your paper affects your grade point average!

Another example is if you want a new job. You first must be clear about what you want, what is available, and what you are capable of. This is the domain of the water element. Then you craft a good resume or CV, collect references, and find out where to apply. This is the earth element, taking care of those practical matters which will allow the whole thing to happen. The fire element is actually sending out the resumes and going to interviews. The air element is your first day on the job, the fifth element is the long-term results of having made this career choice.

Pendekar Sartono put the elements on a circle, with the water in the west, earth in the south, fire in the east, air in the north. Their respective colors are blue, red, orange and white. The reason given was that this was the process of how night turned into day, so it is essentially how a new day is created in the heavens. First the sky is blue, then turns red as the sun starts to come up, then orange in the morning, becoming white at mid-day. And just as the path of the circle of creation is anti-clockwise, so too do we have to go against established momentum when we want to intentionally create something. If we just “go with the flow” we meet little resistance, but we must exert ourselves if we want to express our will. Expression of will is creative and alive, like the morning to the noontime, but passivity in life is like the setting sun- you fade away.

From this we can see how imbalances in the elements in our personality can negatively affect the way in which we create our lives. Imbalance in the water element, for example, means that we never understand what we really want, and can never imagine the right way to go, the best future for ourselves. If we aren’t in touch with who we really are and what we want, if we cannot decide for ourselves what path is best, all our efforts will go to serve something else, no matter how skillful or diligent we are. We don’t have our own true goals, so we will accept someone else’s goals, adopting them as our own.

Imbalance in the earth element means that our ideas never pan out. We never get it together enough to make things happen. We try to proceed without having laid the right foundation, or don’t manage the practical aspects as we should. Or maybe we over-plan, without ever getting out of the planning stage. We can’t get our goals “off the ground”.

If the fire element is imbalanced, we act hastily, forcing things. Impatience burns us. We are too rash, not careful enough. If we lack fire, hesitation sabotages us, or lack of motivation.

If the air element is imbalanced, we cannot see things through to completion, we stop short. Either that, or we try to finish the job too early, or are unclear and scatter-brained about what to do, how to proceed to the finish.

So we can see that the process of creating anything in life relies on the healthy participation of all the elements. One imbalance can de-rail the whole act of creation.

Sympathetic Magic

If you do manage to purify your elements to a certain degree, then you will be able to exert your will with far greater effect, embracing subtleties of cause and effect unavailable to most people. But more than that, you have the sanction to perform magic. Only now will you safely be able to use magical means to enhance your will-power. If you dabble in magic before this purification, then those prisons of perception will tighten their chains as never before, and cause ALL of your willful acts to go afoul of your desires.

Once the analogy is fully grasped, it is possible to use the circle of creation to perform sympathetic magic which brings results into being. When someone ritually pantomimes the process of manifestation in the circle of creation, there is a sympathetic connection which demands that that energy find its expression in reality. All causes must have their effect.

Sympathetic magic is primal, and easy to understand once the basic concept is grasped. If you find or make something which resembles something else, there is a strong hidden connection between the two. If you understand how certain processes work, these processes can be represented ritually, and the ritual will have this same kind of sympathetic connection to the process it imitates.

When we combine the use of symbolic materials and symbolic processes, then we have a real laboratory wherein we can engineer reality, especially if we can trick ourselves (mostly our subconscious mind) into believing what we’re doing is not symbolic, but real. If our inner-self is acting as if the sympathetic magic process is the actual process, and that the representational material is the actual material, then all the creative powers of our spirit reverberate into the cosmos to help cause the change.

Using the Circle of Creation in Training

The circle of creation has two primary functions in helping us to improve our martial arts skills. Firstly, by purifying our perceptions our reactions will be correct, enabling us to respond to our opponent in ways he himself will not be able to comprehend. We seek that state of clarity mentioned above, from which we can see without the interference of our ego filters, which include fear, anger, nervousness. The goal is to develop the ability to do the right thing at the right time, which in martial arts is everything. If the elements are balanced within you, you will not be prone to the certain “blindnesses” associated with each element in its dysfunctional state.

Second, we use sympathetic magic to determine the outcome of a technique before it is even performed. By performing different martial arts techniques in the circle of creation, (using a special methodology which we possess) we can control how these will manifest themselves in reality. It is not deterministic- no magic is. It is the creation of a ‘potential’ which seeks to express itself if conditions allow. If I perform a successful attack or defense within my circle, (by the methodology from the Untung Surapati lineage, which is a carefully guarded secret) it exists in the ether, a waiting potential. If the need ever arises to use the technique, I simply ground this potential out through my opponent by my movements. The outcome has already been strongly conditioned in my favor.

All Pukulan Cimade Pusaka techniques need to be pre-programmed in this way, if one is truly doing Ilmu. Physical and energy attacks will have special mudras and mantras which call this potential into being, triggers which were programmed using the circle of creation. Some of these mantras have existed for hundreds of years, having been programmed over and over again by generations of masters. When this type of magical training is combined with the instinctive response trance training we employ, the result is something very powerful and effective. It is true combat sorcery.

The Dragon

In all cultures, the dragon is a holy mythical creature. This is a mystical animal, different from the rest of creation.

In our art, the dragon is that which operates on a different, higher level. It is the overcoming of fragmented perceptions, able to see things in their totality, the “big picture”. The dragon can make better physical choices, because he knows better the overall dynamics of cause and effect, but he can also cause change through non-physical means. He knows how power exists in various correspondences, how to manipulate these, and how to manipulate his own belief about reality. He is not a passive victim, letting random forces dictate to his inner-self; he informs his inner-self from his higher self.

As Pendekar Sanders has said, the dragon is unfathomable. It is almost impossible for the opponent to see how the dragon attacks, and it is impossible to attack the dragon unless he himself allows it. The opponent is manipulated into doing what the dragon wants him to. In all things, the dragon operates according to his own terms, and if you must confront him, he will be the master of all aspects of the confrontation.

Our “Ta Naga Dallam”, or “Inner-Dragon” is the power we have access to when all the elements are purified and balanced. It is the power of subtle, mystical comprehension of reality, and the numinous power which accompanies this understanding. We have power from the four elements; moisture from water, body heat from fire, breath from wind and muscle power from earth, and we get these elements by breathing, drinking and eating. But the other power, the fifth element, is something different.

The various properties of this power- how it is increased, how it becomes depleted or captured, how it expresses itself in various circumstances- are taught in Pukulan Cimande Pusaka. The art is an example, a mandala of this power and the truths which govern it. This is why it is called “Pusaka”- a sacred vessel of knowledge which can be passed down through the generations.

The Dragon Fighter

In reality the dragon rarely has to physically fight. Most confrontations are caused by a lack of wisdom, so wisdom is the primary martial tool, and for us wisdom means a balanced and healthy expression of the elements.

Training in Pukulan Cimande Pusaka is characterized by a lack of emotion in crisis situations, emotions which serve to filter your response. When I was younger I got into confrontations every once in awhile, and these were always times of great stress for me for various personal emotional reasons. After studying this art, I have been in a number of confrontations, but I was never nervous or scared- if anything I was extremely empty and focused. Most of the time, my would-be attacker suddenly decided it would be better to leave well enough alone, not because of anything I said, or a threatening posture I made, but because of the silence, total readiness and lack of fear they felt.

Fear actually fuels the flames of aggression. There is something primal inside of us which urges us on to attack with more ferocity when we sense fear in someone. Many predatory types rely on fear to set the stage and give them the cues and stimulus they are waiting for. Without it, it is like a rapist with impotence.

The student of Pukulan Cimande Pusaka knows that there is almost nothing that can happen to him on the street which his body isn’t already prepared to handle. His training makes him calm, because the confrontation is not a new, unknown or unusual thing he is experiencing. Any fear or uncertainty is cast upon the opponent, and this is really half the battle.

Many of my students started studying with me because they had been in confrontations, and felt as if the other styles they studied had let them down. But I know of no one who has been let down by this style in a real-life situation. No one has ever left this art because it failed them on the street; indeed, it has saved the lives of several people I know personally, men and women, although there were sometimes legal problems afterwards. One small boy had to leave the art because it enabled him to stand up to his tormenters at school- a little too well. His father stopped bringing him for lessons after he broke the leg of a much bigger, older boy who had bullied him.

My students have also reported to me that the frequency of confrontations they experienced was greatly reduced after studying this art. They simply seem to stop getting into fights. This is the first indicator that you are becoming the dragon- things begin to happen on your own terms.

The master of Pukulan Cimande Pusaka knows that everything has been decided in advance. He has trained so extensively in the circle of creation, that any attack to his person will be met by an extreme surge of potential flowing against the attacker in favor of the master. Destiny itself is on your side, because you have aligned with it, and aligned it with you. The only possible attack can come from someone who does not possess such alignment, and without these elements in place, it will be like attacking with a weak, ineffectual limb, still frozen from the night’s sleep.

If you feel you have what it takes to be a Shadow Dragon Warrior, contact us.