| ISAI �ISraeli Art of Integrity ISAI is a highly efficient self defence and healing art which is very beneficial for both body and soul. ISAI is the only art which combines the natural movements of the human body with mental and spiritual activities, flow of internal energy, breathing and regular daily activities and merges them into a single unified system. All these activities, both internal and external, are based on the same principle and have the same single form � the fact which makes ISAI so unique. ISAI stems from tradional Jewish roots and Kabbalah and its symbol is a 6 petal flower inside a Star of David. It is basically an Israeli and Jewish modern art and has no Chinese or other Far East theoretical backround. I have created ISAI after a long period of studying and practicing Hatha Yoga, Kung Fu, Tai Chi and other martial arts. The principle of ISAI I have spent years in research and analysis of the relations between different martial arts, their internal and external aspects, and the connection of martial arts to our natural body movements like walking, running, stretching, breathing, etc. Finally I discovered that all these things are just different appearances of the same fundamental fenomena. I named this fenomena the fish play. The fish play is actually an ancient semitic symbol of two opposite directed fish and I believe that this symbol evolved into the famous Yin-Yang in China and later passed to the Christianity. Babies and animals apply this princile naturally and spontaniously. But, with the growing up and getting more conscious and reasonable, people tend to get more and more distant from this natural basis of our existence. This results in numerous diseases and abnormalities which appear in our body, mind and spirit, weakness and deficiency in our physical movements and in our self defence possibilities. No animal in the wild will try to imitate any another animal. It is impossible to find the cat that will try to imitate in fight a snake or an elephant, and no snake will try to fight in the style of bird or horse. Only the man tries to reconstruct his lost natural qualities by imitating other beings during fighting � externally and spiritually. Wouldn�t it be much better if humans were behaving like humans and not like snakes or horses? The implementation of the above principle of fish play allows the man to fully recover and use his natural abilities. This principle constitutes the very basis, the heart of ISAI. When practicing ISAI, the movements turn out light, effortless, graceful and dancing-like, pleasant for both the performer and the observer. The movements appear to be nice, soft and not threatening, but every touch, punch, blow or kick will discover the steel concealed in cotton. Every movement in ISAI performed as a continuation of the previous movement and as a pass to the next movement, doesn�t matter if these movements are kicks, punches, steps etc. The direction of the movements and their combination plays no role in these connections. As a result all movements will appear fluent, continous, startless and endless, like eagle circling or like clouds moving in the sky. The start-and �stop movements of other martial arts are never seen in ISAI. Even a fight looks like a flowing and harmonious dance, differing totally from the strenuous and stiff movements of any other well known martial arts, even of so-called �soft� martial arts. Performer will feel and be a part of the world, he or she will see and feel the One with all things. The understanding of movements of other people will come and self defence possibilities will increase greatly together with a peaceful mode of the mind. No brutal force, not the knowledge of numerious artificial human-constructed drills, nor mastering of ancient, uncommon and exotic weapons are needed for self defence to these, who mastered ISAI. The natural fish play principle which represents the Universe itself is the only thing to be mastered. The benefits of ISAI ISAI can be practiced by men and women of any age, following the person�s natural abilities. The practice is pleasant and aesthetic, not strenuous, building strong and supple muscles which are not heavy. After a short period of training the body becomes much stronger, looking fit, light and flexible, moving nicely and reacting naturally. The breathing improves greatly, the energy balance grows and a general sence of well-being prevails. ISAI is very beneficial for health, both physical and mental. The natural walking-like movements of the legs, with constant but gentle turning and twisting of of the trunk, have a positive effect on the entire body and especially on the back. The bones of the skeleton in whole become stronger and more robust. The need to keep balance on one leg and constant circular moving from one leg to another develop the sense of balance. The constant turning of the head and changing the focus of the eyes is good for the eyes but is also beneficial for improving the concentration and for sharpening the brain activity. The smooth and gentle breathing, which is fully coordinated with the movements of the body, is very good for the lungs and the heart. The special unique stretching-in-the-morning-like exercises and other breathing and tensing-with-breathing-control exercies will cleanse the body and nerve system, develop imagination, provide good breathing habits and give outstanding control over the body. These exercises which need only very short time for performance will greatly develop external and internal musculature without any need in any training devices, help of partners etc. A pleasant, soft music, natural and nice surroundings and good scents can be helpful during ISAI practice. Moshe Gorelik |