Several martial arts are privileged to be the means by which ancient cultural traditions are kept alive. Kung fu, t’ai ji quan, silat, and many other arts have techniques and traditions that are hundreds of years old. The art that I practice has Japanese, Chinese, and Hawaiian lineages. Each lineage contributes practices that have been passed down from generation to generation, proven effective and upbuilding for the students who train in the art.
One practice from our Chinese side that is particularly meaningful for me is the Grand Pillars. The Grand Pillars consist of sixteen different poses that the student stands in for a given period of time, holding each pose on both the left and right side for a period anywhere from 10 seconds to a few minutes. While this may sound easy enough, anyone who has taken yoga can probably tell you that poses are not to be underestimated. Going into it you think, “I’m young, I’m fairly strong, and I’m in pretty good shape. I bet I can stay pretty low and get through these fine.” And for the first few poses, you probably can. Then after a few minutes the burning kicks in. The pain travels from your quads into your calves, your gluts, and your abs. It’s front, center, and unavoidable. Once you start Grand Pillars there’s no way out. Sure, you could cheat a little bit by letting yourself raise up an inch higher, taking a fraction of the searing edge off of your quadriceps. But the thing is, when everyone in the room is holding the same pose, any and every movement is amplified. And even worse than having the instructor see you cheat is personally knowing that you cut a corner in your training. There is no shortcut for Grand Pillars and no mystical secret to getting through it. They are a test of endurance and are meant to strengthen both body and mind.
During a retreat in San Diego
The Grand Pillars are more than just a martial arts practice; they are life itself. Suffering is inevitable, and there will be times when the pain seems unbearable. All we want to do is move out of the situation that we’re in, but many times we’re not able to change our circumstances. Instead, we must endure. We endure better when we are breathing and when we are focused on something other than our own pain. By breathing, I mean more than just inhaling air (though indeed there may be times when this is literally all we can do). To truly breathe is to take in and receive that which sustains us. By focusing on something other than our own pain, I do not mean being in denial of our own pain or needs, but rather taking our focus off of ourselves and placing our focus upwards toward God and outward toward the needs of other people.
Accordingly, the Christian must understand both what sustains her and where her focus should be. Scripture says that God is who sustains and upholds us, and God himself affirms this:
Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is the upholder of my life. – Psalm 54:4
My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. – Psalm 63:8
The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. – Psalm 145:14
…Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous hand. – Isaiah 41:10
God’s promise to sustain us is one that we can powerfully claim:
Uphold me according to your promise, that I may live, and let me not be put to shame in my hope! – Psalm 119: 116
Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. – Psalm 51:12
Thus, what the psalmist proclaims boldly, God confirms with promises we can cling to, and we know that He has the power to keep this promise:
He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. – Hebrews 1:3a
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” – Matthew 28: 18
Once the Christian understands what sustains her, it is easier for her to shift her focus above and beyond the situation. Pain, discomfort, and dissatisfaction can be amplified to the degree to which we are self-focused. While we do need to honestly look our own problems in the eye, we don’t have to stare at them. On its own, dwelling on our imperfections and pain does nothing to alleviate them. But when you believe in a God who is so powerful that he upholds the universe by his word, a God who holds all authority in heaven and on earth, a God who has given his only Son to save you because he loves you so much, and a God who can give you new life and redeem any circumstance, you now have something that is truly worthy of your focus.
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth. – Colossians 3:1-2
When I meditate on who God is and what he has done for me, my mind is naturally drawn upward in prayer. I look up from my own suffering and see the compassionate face of Christ as He suffered for my sake. As I pray in gratitude to Him, my prayer extends outward toward other people in my life – starting with those who are enduring the Grand Pillars with me. I think about other people in my life who are suffering, and I pray for God to uphold them in the same way that he upholds me. Praying during something like the Grand Pillars doesn’t necessarily mean that they are any easier, but it does in some inexplicable way make them more enjoyable. Perhaps it’s because I come away from them feeling spiritually stronger in addition to feeling physically and mentally stronger. By praying through the Grand Pillars I am training myself to turn to God during painful times – times when I desperately need to cling to his promise to uphold me.
During the Grand Pillars, your body is screaming at you to move while your mind is simultaneously fighting to stay still. It is a literal representation of Mark 38:14, where “the spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak.” Practices like this help the martial artist to bring the body further under the control of the will, so that we are capable of executing that which we desire to achieve. For the Christian, this has unique meaning in light of the earlier part of the aforementioned verse, where Mark warns to “watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation.” Our will is not naturally God’s will, and we need to train in the ways of righteousness if we are to act in a manner consistent with Christ.
Often times students practicing the Grand Pillars will drop a knee to the ground midway through. When that happens, the instructor quickly tells them to get back up- and the student rises and assumes the same position – still shaking, sweating, and wanting nothing more than to rest their muscles. But they rise again because while their muscles may have given up, their minds have not. You would think that after dropping they would just stay down, but as the student resumes their position they learn that they can continue despite the pain. They learn that they are capable of more than they thought they were, and they push themselves beyond limits they had originally set. The Grand Pillars teach a simple lesson that a wise man once told me: you’re not finished when you’re tired, you’re finished when you’re done.
I don’t practice the Grand Pillars as often as I should, but the thing about a solid pillar is that once you’ve built it, it stands strong. That there is a God who loves me, has saved me, redeemed me, and is with me every day, and that he has a greater purpose for my life: these solid pillars have truly upheld me during times of suffering. When you are suffering, I offer you these two things: breathe, and lift your mind upward to the Lord and outward to others. By this may you train in righteousness and progress in the art of endurance.
