Please take a look at Articles on self-defense/conflict/violence for introductions to the references found in the bibliography page.

Please take a look at my bibliography if you do not see a proper reference to a post.

Please take a look at my Notable Quotes

Hey, Attention on Deck!

Hey, NOTHING here is PERSONAL, get over it - Teach Me and I will Learn!


When you begin to feel like you are a tough guy, a warrior, a master of the martial arts or that you have lived a tough life, just take a moment and get some perspective with the following:


I've stopped knives that were coming to disembowel me

I've clawed for my gun while bullets ripped past me

I've dodged as someone tried to put an ax in my skull

I've fought screaming steel and left rubber on the road to avoid death

I've clawed broken glass out of my body after their opening attack failed

I've spit blood and body parts and broke strangle holds before gouging eyes

I've charged into fires, fought through blizzards and run from tornados

I've survived being hunted by gangs, killers and contract killers

The streets were my home, I hunted in the night and was hunted in turn


Please don't brag to me that you're a survivor because someone hit you. And don't tell me how 'tough' you are because of your training. As much as I've been through I know people who have survived much, much worse. - Marc MacYoung

WARNING, CAVEAT AND NOTE

The postings on this blog are my interpretation of readings, studies and experiences therefore errors and omissions are mine and mine alone. The content surrounding the extracts of books, see bibliography on this blog site, are also mine and mine alone therefore errors and omissions are also mine and mine alone and therefore why I highly recommended one read, study, research and fact find the material for clarity. My effort here is self-clarity toward a fuller understanding of the subject matter. See the bibliography for information on the books. Please make note that this article/post is my personal analysis of the subject and the information used was chosen or picked by me. It is not an analysis piece because it lacks complete and comprehensive research, it was not adequately and completely investigated and it is not balanced, i.e., it is my personal view without the views of others including subject experts, etc. Look at this as “Infotainment rather then expert research.” This is an opinion/editorial article/post meant to persuade the reader to think, decide and accept or reject my premise. It is an attempt to cause change or reinforce attitudes, beliefs and values as they apply to martial arts and/or self-defense. It is merely a commentary on the subject in the particular article presented.


Note: I will endevor to provide a bibliography and italicize any direct quotes from the materials I use for this blog. If there are mistakes, errors, and/or omissions, I take full responsibility for them as they are mine and mine alone. If you find any mistakes, errors, and/or omissions please comment and let me know along with the correct information and/or sources.



“What you are reading right now is a blog. It’s written and posted by me, because I want to. I get no financial remuneration for writing it. I don’t have to meet anyone’s criteria in order to post it. Not only I don’t have an employer or publisher, but I’m not even constrained by having to please an audience. If people won’t like it, they won’t read it, but I won’t lose anything by it. Provided I don’t break any laws (libel, incitement to violence, etc.), I can post whatever I want. This means that I can write openly and honestly, however controversial my opinions may be. It also means that I could write total bullshit; there is no quality control. I could be biased. I could be insane. I could be trolling. … not all sources are equivalent, and all sources have their pros and cons. These needs to be taken into account when evaluating information, and all information should be evaluated. - God’s Bastard, Sourcing Sources (this applies to this and other blogs by me as well; if you follow the idea's, advice or information you are on your own, don't come crying to me, it is all on you do do the work to make sure it works for you!)



“You should prepare yourself to dedicate at least five or six years to your training and practice to understand the philosophy and physiokinetics of martial arts and karate so that you can understand the true spirit of everything and dedicate your mind, body and spirit to the discipline of the art.” - cejames (note: you are on your own, make sure you get expert hands-on guidance in all things martial and self-defense)



“All I say is by way of discourse, and nothing by way of advice. I should not speak so boldly if it were my due to be believed.” - Montaigne


I am not a leading authority on any one discipline that I write about and teach, it is my hope and wish that with all the subjects I have studied it provides me an advantage point that I offer in as clear and cohesive writings as possible in introducing the matters in my materials. I hope to serve as one who inspires direction in the practitioner so they can go on to discover greater teachers and professionals that will build on this fundamental foundation. Find the authorities and synthesize a wholehearted and holistic concept, perception and belief that will not drive your practices but rather inspire them to evolve, grow and prosper. My efforts are born of those who are more experienced and knowledgable than I. I hope you find that path! See the bibliography I provide for an initial list of experts, professionals and masters of the subjects.

Violence - some thoughts

The I Ching of Life :-)
I have been reading Marc MacYoung’s book, “In the Name of Self-Defense,” when it occurred to me that possibly, possibly, we as a society have actually provided for more violence over less by taking the tact that to “ignore” it that it will go away all on its own. I have the feeling that society thinks if it ignores violence and the fact that humans are by nature violent creatures it exposes us to those common things that lead to violence. 

Maybe I am not that clear here. As I read Marc MacYoung’s book I find that because I am learning a lot more about the subject than I previously understood and assumed I knew it became clearer to me that knowing this stuff would give me the background necessary to use the tools to avoid my nature of being a violent human being. 

Just knowing about how the process of violence works I can grasp what it takes to avoid it myself, i.e. as in my anger leading to conflict and violence. I think this concept is important that putting our heads in the sand and ignoring nature will always get us into trouble.

In addition, our society has to deal with the population explosion it is experiencing meaning that there are more of us, more differeing cultural groups with their own unique belief systems, etc. that create more friction when in contact with one another not to forget even within the group not understanding the rules of violence and its process leaves a greater opportunity for misunderstandings, lousy communications, not knowing the rules and in the end through confusion, perceptions, perspectives, stress, assumptions, speculations, resentments, etc. you find that the human violent tendencies come to the surface.

It is also like communications where simply learning about them and understanding how it can lead to conflict and violence, i.e. like learning about it in Mr. MacYoung’s books along with the gentle art of verbal self-defense, etc., leads to an understanding along with the tools to first see it all in yourself thus providing the opportunity to see it in others then avoid violence by how you handle it all. If everyone were afforded the opportunity to understand all this then maybe violence would diminish to a minimum.

Remember, as I started to state above, with the closeness of the variety of humans becoming overcrowded, etc. nature tends to create greater stress, etc. that create situations and scenarios that will open the door to our monkey brains who tend to like connecting to our human nature of conflict and violence. 

This blog post may seem convoluted but that is because all of this is complex, very complex. I could see the human condition improving if we just embraced our nature and learned all the tools to combat that nature, i.e., like taking the materials from INOSD, Meditations on Violence by Rory Miller, Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman and more and put that into our educational system, our homes to teach our children so that we could combat violence by putting it on a choker leash so we can keep that junk yard dog restrained to our benefit rather than our detriment.

I may be taking this to the extreme but I wish I had this knowledge and learning when I was a teenager. I could envision a far better life than what I had (and that life was pretty darn good too but ….. you know that old hindsight thing :-). 

Ok, anyway, off the soap box. 


p.s. if anything, all this stuff could and would make a huge difference in the self-defense and martial art culture and belief system. It might even be a better seller commercially. Hmmm …. Oh, I think some ancient sage in the business of war, etc. said you should keep your friends close but your enemies closer so it that is true, I believe it to be so, then we should really keep our violent natures close, not hidden in the sand but right there on our left with our friends on our right. 

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