It has been a busy few months. In addition to passing my Black Belt test (like being a white belt all over again, but now I know how much I don't know!), I have been helping one of our Sensei's open a school in Tallahassee, Florida.
Silkisondan Karate of Florida will be opening its doors in the very near future. Check out their website here:
www.karateofflorida.com
If you don't like the site, don't blake Sensei Rusty Burke; I put it together for him. As you can see, I am not a professional web designer!
Sensei Burke began training with Master Thinh in 1981. He is a 3rd Dan Black Belt in Silkisondan Karate and holds a 3rd Dan Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do. He is also a former United States Marine and a really great guy.
If you are in the Tallahassee area, check him out!
Hopefully I will return to writing here very soon, as soon as Rusty opens his doors!
17 June 2011
30 November 2010
Change is... change (and can be good!)
Things change. That is a constant (ironic, isn't it?). A good example is this blog entry. I stepped into the modern world and got a" smart phone," a Droid 2 to be exact. So, I am writing this on my little tiny keyboard.
Is that good or bad? It can be both. I will certainly write shorter entries (you can determine if that is good or bad). But, perhaps I will write more frequently (again...).
The martial arts are the same way. As we age, we change. Like it or not. No matter how tough we are, at some point we begin to deteriorate. But, this can be a good thing. Instead of relying on strength, we are forced to rely on good and improved technique. Instead of relying on speed to respond, we must rely on a keener awareness of actions the exact moment they happen. To do this we must change in another way: we must move beyond our pride and make a more honest analysis of ourselves.
Is that good or bad? It can be both. I will certainly write shorter entries (you can determine if that is good or bad). But, perhaps I will write more frequently (again...).
The martial arts are the same way. As we age, we change. Like it or not. No matter how tough we are, at some point we begin to deteriorate. But, this can be a good thing. Instead of relying on strength, we are forced to rely on good and improved technique. Instead of relying on speed to respond, we must rely on a keener awareness of actions the exact moment they happen. To do this we must change in another way: we must move beyond our pride and make a more honest analysis of ourselves.
Change is neither good nor bad, in and of itself. It simply is. But, if we become like water, we can flow wit it and ride it to a new place in our growth.
08 March 2010
Breaking The Mirror
In Japan, and likely many other eastern nations with long Buddhist influences, there is a ceremony or ritual of "breaking the mirror." I was fascinated when I first discovered this.
In western culture, and many other primitive cultures, breaking a mirror is considered bad luck. The history and legends behind this often involve the idea that the mirror captures part of your soul and that, by breaking, you have lost a part of yourself, leaving yourself fragmented.
The eastern idea of breaking the mirror is very different. It is purely symbolic. The mirror symbolizes our view of ourselves, how we perceive ourselves. Breaking the mirror symbolizes forgtting who we are in a way and starting new.
This is a valuable lesson in the martial arts as well as life. Too often what we see in the mirror are our perceived limitations, what we cannot do.
"I am not flexible."
"My balance is limited."
"I can't do that technique."
"I don't want to get hit."
Sometimes what we perceive is reality, at least for now. Other times it is simply years of listening to other people tell us what we cannot do. This is true in the martial arts, but also in life.
I started in my pre-teens in the martial arts. At the time the were very foreign to the small, backwoods community I grew up in. In fact, they still are viewed that way there. As such it was common to hear people admonish you that I "would hurt myself," "cripple myself," or be injured for life. If people saw me trying learn a jumping kick, they would tell me I couldn't do that ("who do you think you are, Bruce Lee?").
To often, I listened. Though on the inside I pretended to ignore them, small doubts were formed in the back of my mind. As a result, I didn't advance as I should have.
Now, I have broken the mirror. I have forgotten who I was and now focus on a new image of who I see myself to be, who I want to be. And I find that I am that person (though it isn't always evident when you watch me train).
I am middle-aged now (boy, it hurts to admit that). As a result I still get the same advice, though from a different perspective. Now I am "too old for that." If I keep at it I "will cripple myself," or "get arthritis."
But, I remind myself that the mirror is broken and that I cannot see my reflection any longer. Instead I must focus on the new picture of me, the one that I have drawn, my self portrait. And, yes, I have broken fingers, bones in my hands, fractured my shins, cracked ribs, and spent days limping as a result. But that's ok, because in my self portrait is a martial artist who learns from mistakes and continues to grow.
Now, when I do happen to look in the mirror, the person I see more closer resembles that self portrait. Now I must strive to do the same with the rest of my life. And I will.
Don't be afraid to break a mirror. It will not bring you 7 years of bad luck and you will not lose a piece of your soul. But, you may find a new person in the mirror when you one day look again.
In western culture, and many other primitive cultures, breaking a mirror is considered bad luck. The history and legends behind this often involve the idea that the mirror captures part of your soul and that, by breaking, you have lost a part of yourself, leaving yourself fragmented.
The eastern idea of breaking the mirror is very different. It is purely symbolic. The mirror symbolizes our view of ourselves, how we perceive ourselves. Breaking the mirror symbolizes forgtting who we are in a way and starting new.
This is a valuable lesson in the martial arts as well as life. Too often what we see in the mirror are our perceived limitations, what we cannot do.
"I am not flexible."
"My balance is limited."
"I can't do that technique."
"I don't want to get hit."
Sometimes what we perceive is reality, at least for now. Other times it is simply years of listening to other people tell us what we cannot do. This is true in the martial arts, but also in life.
I started in my pre-teens in the martial arts. At the time the were very foreign to the small, backwoods community I grew up in. In fact, they still are viewed that way there. As such it was common to hear people admonish you that I "would hurt myself," "cripple myself," or be injured for life. If people saw me trying learn a jumping kick, they would tell me I couldn't do that ("who do you think you are, Bruce Lee?").
To often, I listened. Though on the inside I pretended to ignore them, small doubts were formed in the back of my mind. As a result, I didn't advance as I should have.
Now, I have broken the mirror. I have forgotten who I was and now focus on a new image of who I see myself to be, who I want to be. And I find that I am that person (though it isn't always evident when you watch me train).
I am middle-aged now (boy, it hurts to admit that). As a result I still get the same advice, though from a different perspective. Now I am "too old for that." If I keep at it I "will cripple myself," or "get arthritis."
But, I remind myself that the mirror is broken and that I cannot see my reflection any longer. Instead I must focus on the new picture of me, the one that I have drawn, my self portrait. And, yes, I have broken fingers, bones in my hands, fractured my shins, cracked ribs, and spent days limping as a result. But that's ok, because in my self portrait is a martial artist who learns from mistakes and continues to grow.
Now, when I do happen to look in the mirror, the person I see more closer resembles that self portrait. Now I must strive to do the same with the rest of my life. And I will.
Don't be afraid to break a mirror. It will not bring you 7 years of bad luck and you will not lose a piece of your soul. But, you may find a new person in the mirror when you one day look again.
14 September 2009
Changing of the Seasons
I have been reticent in my blogging. Summertime, work, family; all great excuses. But, only excuses. But I will not beat myself up over it; we all pass through seasons.
The same is true of our martial arts. We go through seasons. Not just the age thing, but life is filled with an ebb and flow. When we are passing through a difficult season (perhaps it is induced by work demands or family demands, or perhaps our body and mind just aren't "clicking"), we must be careful not to beat ourselves up.
There is a recurring theme in many martial arts which was echoed by Bruce Lee to "be like water." Think of a still pond. If you throw a stone into it how does it react? Exactly proportional to the stone; no more, no less. And once it has reacted it returns to a state of calm.
The martial arts are this way. If we respond too little to an attack, we are defeated. If we respond too greatly, we will defeat ourselves, tire ourselves out. We must relax and expend exactly the amount of effort that is necessary; no more, no less.
This is true of our martial arts practice and life in general. And we must address each stone and pebble as it occurs, respond and return to stillness. If we do not, we save it up and respond inappropriately later.
Be like water, my friend. Be like water.
The same is true of our martial arts. We go through seasons. Not just the age thing, but life is filled with an ebb and flow. When we are passing through a difficult season (perhaps it is induced by work demands or family demands, or perhaps our body and mind just aren't "clicking"), we must be careful not to beat ourselves up.
There is a recurring theme in many martial arts which was echoed by Bruce Lee to "be like water." Think of a still pond. If you throw a stone into it how does it react? Exactly proportional to the stone; no more, no less. And once it has reacted it returns to a state of calm.
The martial arts are this way. If we respond too little to an attack, we are defeated. If we respond too greatly, we will defeat ourselves, tire ourselves out. We must relax and expend exactly the amount of effort that is necessary; no more, no less.
This is true of our martial arts practice and life in general. And we must address each stone and pebble as it occurs, respond and return to stillness. If we do not, we save it up and respond inappropriately later.
Be like water, my friend. Be like water.
26 May 2009
Discard What Doesn't Work For You
Whether Bruce Lee was the individual first to brake the mold of tradition and inspire us to look beyond our individual style (not likely), or just the person responsible for making it "OK" (more likely), the martial arts do owe him a debt of gratitude.
However, that doesn't make martial arts traditions or styles bad. I disagree with Lee on this key aspect: I believe they are essential in one's martial arts journey.
One must have a foundation upon which to build. Whether you choose a style of Karate, Kung Fu, Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai, etc., you cannot begin to trim down to the essentials until you have something with which to work.
For example, kicks. Clearly kicks are effective, generating much more power than hand techniques. However, that does not make all kicks good for me. But I will not understand this until I have learned and practiced my style's kicks countless times.
In my style we rely heavily on the front kick, the roundhouse kick, the Muay Thai-style round kick, and the side kick; these are pretty standard. We learn to execute them with both the front and rear leg. But they are not all effective from the rear leg. The rear leg side kick is largely useless in combat or the ring; it's simple physics.
In the rear leg side kick you bring the rear leg all the way around the front of the body, cock it, then release it at your target. You do not gain any added energy prior to reaching the cocked position than you do by simply cocking your front leg (if anything, you lose power through the act of having to stop and reverse the motion of the leg). And what you lose is time and stealth; I can spot a rear leg side kick LONG before it is actually released. Heck my father, who is not a martial artist, certainly could.
But I wouldn't know this unless I had learned and practiced it countless times. I wouldn't know that the more effective alternative if one must use the rear leg is the "spinning" back kick (which actually does crank the power factor way up over a front leg side kick).
Whatever one's style, one should commit to it and learn it to a basic level of proficiency (and I'm not talking about a green or blue belt here; think advanced brown or black, depending on your school).
And once you have reached that level of proficiency, seek out a completely different style. If you are a striker, study grappling. If you are a ground fighter, study stand-up fighting. You get the picture.
Pick a style. Study it. Learn it. But don't be so wedded to it that you can't determine what works and what doesn't. As the old saying goes, "There are no superior martial arts, only superior martial artists."
But, whatever you do, don't think that you can skip a style and a skilled teacher. If you go to your garage and think you're going to figure it out for yourself, you'll just get yourself hurt. (As my dad once told me, "you know just enough to get yourself hurt or killed." Shortly thereafter he caught my side kick in mid-air and proceeded to demonstrate what he meant by that.)
All of us must have a parent to give us life. This does not mean we have to "grow up" to be just like them.
However, that doesn't make martial arts traditions or styles bad. I disagree with Lee on this key aspect: I believe they are essential in one's martial arts journey.
One must have a foundation upon which to build. Whether you choose a style of Karate, Kung Fu, Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai, etc., you cannot begin to trim down to the essentials until you have something with which to work.
For example, kicks. Clearly kicks are effective, generating much more power than hand techniques. However, that does not make all kicks good for me. But I will not understand this until I have learned and practiced my style's kicks countless times.
In my style we rely heavily on the front kick, the roundhouse kick, the Muay Thai-style round kick, and the side kick; these are pretty standard. We learn to execute them with both the front and rear leg. But they are not all effective from the rear leg. The rear leg side kick is largely useless in combat or the ring; it's simple physics.
In the rear leg side kick you bring the rear leg all the way around the front of the body, cock it, then release it at your target. You do not gain any added energy prior to reaching the cocked position than you do by simply cocking your front leg (if anything, you lose power through the act of having to stop and reverse the motion of the leg). And what you lose is time and stealth; I can spot a rear leg side kick LONG before it is actually released. Heck my father, who is not a martial artist, certainly could.
But I wouldn't know this unless I had learned and practiced it countless times. I wouldn't know that the more effective alternative if one must use the rear leg is the "spinning" back kick (which actually does crank the power factor way up over a front leg side kick).
Whatever one's style, one should commit to it and learn it to a basic level of proficiency (and I'm not talking about a green or blue belt here; think advanced brown or black, depending on your school).
And once you have reached that level of proficiency, seek out a completely different style. If you are a striker, study grappling. If you are a ground fighter, study stand-up fighting. You get the picture.
Pick a style. Study it. Learn it. But don't be so wedded to it that you can't determine what works and what doesn't. As the old saying goes, "There are no superior martial arts, only superior martial artists."
But, whatever you do, don't think that you can skip a style and a skilled teacher. If you go to your garage and think you're going to figure it out for yourself, you'll just get yourself hurt. (As my dad once told me, "you know just enough to get yourself hurt or killed." Shortly thereafter he caught my side kick in mid-air and proceeded to demonstrate what he meant by that.)
All of us must have a parent to give us life. This does not mean we have to "grow up" to be just like them.
30 March 2009
My Style Is Better Than Your Style
One of the most popular "discussions" martial artists seem to engage in is the question of whose style is better. Hard stylists praise their strength and toughness. More fluid stylists praise their speed and flexibility. Ground fighters believe every fight goes to the ground. Stand-up fighters believe fights never go to the ground.
So, which is better? In truth, the answer is "none." Let's take an example.
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is the hot martial art today, so we'll look at that. If a BJJ practitioner gets you in one of those crazy pretzel holds, your only hope is having some familiarity with it. He's going to break something on you. So, BJJ is the best? Well, no.
BJJ's weakness is that it is effectively a 1-to-1 art (unlike Japanese jiu jitsu whose goal is to stay on your feet). In a street fight or bar fight, if you go to the ground and put your opponent in an arm bar, his friends are going to kick you in the head. Repeatedly. BJJ isn't great for moving between multiple opponents.
So, does this make BJJ bad? of course not. It just highlights the fact that every style has its strengths and weaknesses.
The key to any martial art, regardless of which you choose, is experience. Recognize your style's strengths and play to them. Accept your style's weaknesses and train to defend against them. If your goal is to be a professional fighter, study a contrasting style like mixed martial arts competitors.
To paraphrase Sun Tzu, Victory goes to the warrior who understands himself and his enemy. And Bruce Lee's martial philosophy of Jeet Kun Do provides excellent guidance in "taking what is useful, and ignoring that which is not."
Don't waste time arguing about which style is best. It is a better use of that time to study another style or to practice your own.
So, which is better? In truth, the answer is "none." Let's take an example.
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is the hot martial art today, so we'll look at that. If a BJJ practitioner gets you in one of those crazy pretzel holds, your only hope is having some familiarity with it. He's going to break something on you. So, BJJ is the best? Well, no.
BJJ's weakness is that it is effectively a 1-to-1 art (unlike Japanese jiu jitsu whose goal is to stay on your feet). In a street fight or bar fight, if you go to the ground and put your opponent in an arm bar, his friends are going to kick you in the head. Repeatedly. BJJ isn't great for moving between multiple opponents.
So, does this make BJJ bad? of course not. It just highlights the fact that every style has its strengths and weaknesses.
The key to any martial art, regardless of which you choose, is experience. Recognize your style's strengths and play to them. Accept your style's weaknesses and train to defend against them. If your goal is to be a professional fighter, study a contrasting style like mixed martial arts competitors.
To paraphrase Sun Tzu, Victory goes to the warrior who understands himself and his enemy. And Bruce Lee's martial philosophy of Jeet Kun Do provides excellent guidance in "taking what is useful, and ignoring that which is not."
Don't waste time arguing about which style is best. It is a better use of that time to study another style or to practice your own.
23 March 2009
So, are the martial arts relevant today?
Modern action movies love to mix gun play and the martial arts. Protagonists leap through the air, firing away with their submachine gun, tuck, roll, and launch into a spinning back kick. Of course anyone who has every served or trained in the combat arms sections of the US military knows that is pure fantasy.
In the real world that old maxim I learned in the Marines, "Never bring a knife to a gun fight," takes precedence. Kung Fu won't allow you to dodge bullets and no "iron skin" technique will make you bulletproof.
Of course one cannot simply whip out their concealed handgun and stick it in someone's face just because that said they were going to kick your keister. That's a quick trip to jail, even in Texas.
So, there could be situations where the martial arts are both practical and warranted. Occasionally a street fight may be unavoidable. In those instances it will be very important to take care not to seriously injury your assailant. In most states it will result in a trip to jail and, quite often, a civil lawsuit by your "victim." (What do you expect when you turn the reigns of society over to the soft and weak?)
But, there are two critical factors that has yet to be mentioned wherein the martial arts can be truly beneficial.
The first is awareness. Through training, particularly through sparring, a martial arts becomes more highly aware of their surroundings (or at least they should). By being aware of potential threats a martial artist is better able to avoid them, to cross a street, to slip into a store, or to leave the club before things become to rowdy.
"But, that's running from a fight," you exclaim! You are correct; you win the rubber chicken. Well, you're not exactly correct, but you can still have the rubber chicken.
That brings us to the second critical factor which the martial arts can help us address: ego. Avoiding a conflict should be a natural response. Most "dumb" animals will avoid conflict unless there is something in it for them, a meal, a mate... ok, that's pretty much it: self-preservation and reproduction.
But, the human being, on the other hand, has one thing an animal does not: an ego. Typically a gigantic over-inflated ego. We will fight for no other reason than to "prove we're a man" or "prove we're as good as any man." (Do not underestimate the ladies; I have seen some very beautiful ladies who can leave you on the ground wondering what happened and why your arms and legs are at such weird angles.)
This is where the traditional martial arts, at their highest level, provide their greatest benefit. According to Japanese tradition, the samurai who no longer cared whether he lived or died was superior. In kyudo, as attested by Eugen Herrigel in his excellent treatise "Zen in the Art of Archery, only when you mastery comes through "purposelessness."
Ultimately the martial arts provide us with an avenue to defeat our toughest opponent: ourselves, our ego. And I have yet to see an opponent that is bigger and tougher than my ego. Hey, I'm a Marine and they issue you at the end of Boot Camp that it took 13 weeks of hard training in order to carry.
And, if someone tells you that their martial arts system will turn you into "The Terminator" and allow you to mow through a room of armed terrorists like a laser through extra-firm tofu, take my advice: run.
In the real world that old maxim I learned in the Marines, "Never bring a knife to a gun fight," takes precedence. Kung Fu won't allow you to dodge bullets and no "iron skin" technique will make you bulletproof.
Of course one cannot simply whip out their concealed handgun and stick it in someone's face just because that said they were going to kick your keister. That's a quick trip to jail, even in Texas.
So, there could be situations where the martial arts are both practical and warranted. Occasionally a street fight may be unavoidable. In those instances it will be very important to take care not to seriously injury your assailant. In most states it will result in a trip to jail and, quite often, a civil lawsuit by your "victim." (What do you expect when you turn the reigns of society over to the soft and weak?)
But, there are two critical factors that has yet to be mentioned wherein the martial arts can be truly beneficial.
The first is awareness. Through training, particularly through sparring, a martial arts becomes more highly aware of their surroundings (or at least they should). By being aware of potential threats a martial artist is better able to avoid them, to cross a street, to slip into a store, or to leave the club before things become to rowdy.
"But, that's running from a fight," you exclaim! You are correct; you win the rubber chicken. Well, you're not exactly correct, but you can still have the rubber chicken.
That brings us to the second critical factor which the martial arts can help us address: ego. Avoiding a conflict should be a natural response. Most "dumb" animals will avoid conflict unless there is something in it for them, a meal, a mate... ok, that's pretty much it: self-preservation and reproduction.
But, the human being, on the other hand, has one thing an animal does not: an ego. Typically a gigantic over-inflated ego. We will fight for no other reason than to "prove we're a man" or "prove we're as good as any man." (Do not underestimate the ladies; I have seen some very beautiful ladies who can leave you on the ground wondering what happened and why your arms and legs are at such weird angles.)
This is where the traditional martial arts, at their highest level, provide their greatest benefit. According to Japanese tradition, the samurai who no longer cared whether he lived or died was superior. In kyudo, as attested by Eugen Herrigel in his excellent treatise "Zen in the Art of Archery, only when you mastery comes through "purposelessness."
Ultimately the martial arts provide us with an avenue to defeat our toughest opponent: ourselves, our ego. And I have yet to see an opponent that is bigger and tougher than my ego. Hey, I'm a Marine and they issue you at the end of Boot Camp that it took 13 weeks of hard training in order to carry.
And, if someone tells you that their martial arts system will turn you into "The Terminator" and allow you to mow through a room of armed terrorists like a laser through extra-firm tofu, take my advice: run.
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