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.

Rank is Credibility (or is it?)

Caveat: 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.

This article is mine and mine alone. I the author of this article assure you, the reader, that any of the opinions expressed here are my own and are a result of the way in which my meandering mind interprets a particular situation and/or concept. The views expressed here are solely those of the author in his private capacity and do not in any way represent the views of other martial arts and/or conflict/violence professionals or authors of source materials. It should be quite obvious that the sources I used herein have not approved, endorsed, embraced, friended, liked, tweeted or authorized this article. (Everything I think and write is true, within the limits of my knowledge and understanding. Oh, and just because I wrote it and just because it sounds reasonable and just because it makes sense, does not mean it is true.)

In a recent post by Michael Clarke Sensei of the Shinseidokan Dojo he wrote about rank, you can read it here. This post is not a comment on his post but just some thoughts about a very, very specific quote from that article. His article, in my view, is spot on. I can say that during my earlier years I was one of those guys who felt the urge to express my rank as if that would validate my expertise, knowledge and experiences - boy, how naive can one get?

The quote that inspired this article is, “ … depending on his rank to claim credibility.” I could not help but give thought to the “Why” of such a need. I think using the term “Need” may help with the explanation because I think that it comes from some deep seated need of humans as it pertains to survival, survival by our associations to the group for it is only in groups that humans were and are able to survive - even in these more modern times.

In so many ways it is about the group in human survival. It is not about just those survival needs say for combat but for the various levels of group/individual survival from the simply mundane all the way up to survival of violence with a goal of killing others. 

When you adhere yourself to a group two immediate thoughts come to mind, first is status and the second is that status according to the hierarchy of that group. Humans can’t just collect into a group willy nilly, they need to have a hierarchy and for that to work there must be leaders and there must be followers therefore a hierarchy that is built somewhat similar to a military ranking system. 

In order for a status driven hierarchal system to work you have to have an ego. Yes, ego is driven by such things as without ego I doubt we humans would give a shit about status or hierarchal models but we do because we all have an ego. It is a rare bird that stands alone, as alone as any bird can be in nature, and make their own path with minimal intervention, inter-connections and minimal exposure except what is allowed. 

When humans gather even outside the group there seems to be the instinct to compare and establish a certain type and level of status that creates a pecking order. Isn’t this how work environments run since humans come together to perform services, etc. with strangers? Isn’t this how work environments end up in separate and distinct groups often referred to as “Silo’s?” Isn’t this why martial arts, such as the karate community, end up creating groups called “Styles?” Isn’t this why like-minded folks even within a particular group (Style) tend to create more groupings called “Associations?” You see what I am trying to get at, right?

Then those groups will create sub-groups regardless of styles called, “Traditional,” or “Classic,” or “Modern/Mixed,” and so on where humans quickly establish a hierarchy, levels (grades/ranks/titles, etc.), and statuses within often driven by human politics rather than anything driven by the martial arts practices. 

I guess what I am driving at, at a very basic kind of instinctual level is humans tend to gravitate “naturally” toward group like-minded gatherings where they instinctively create an ego driven status type hierarchal system so that their cultural belief system can survive and even flourish. Is ti then a wonder why so many tend to display, like a bird displays it colorful feathers in a mating dance, their colors, ranks and knowledge and experiences, etc.? Come on, isn’t that really why we have the huge variety of colored and designer uniforms, the large and group governed rank requirements along with the associated colored belts, and finally the need to display those colors, ranks/belts and ego driven accolades from certificates, trophies and personal associations, i.e., how I trained with Master so-n-so and my sensei was a first generation student of said master and so on and ete., etc., etc.?

No wonder the world is full of those who demonstrate, display and articulate their achievements let alone the socially mandated need to display for all to see our status within the social hierarchy of that society.


So, going back toward the spirit of Clarke Sensei’s article, it is a rare bird indeed who can discard such trappings so their focus aims toward the soul of karate (martial disciples) practice to achieve a certain goal that is not about the trappings of a social group survival dynamic but a more introspective understanding of a physical introspective way of practice that build on things like character, personality and enlightenment. Isn’t this why certain philosophical aspects of martial practice is about lessening the hold ego has on us, controlling the monkey brain, allowing our lizard to learn the jutsu of martial disciplines and to promote a more human brain form of living though actions, deeds and words? Or, is this just another model that also creates the exclusivity of a group dynamic called “Traditional, true or some other more descriptive name?”

Click for larger view, the display of these snapshots is
for article emphasis only and not a comment to the actual
photo source or purposes.

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