Stupid Shit

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No matter how much we learn, no matter how much we understand and no matter how much experience and expertise we attain in our lives we are still human and therefore subject to monkey brain stupid shit. I have lived the good life of sixty-one point 8 years with about forty plus years actually experiencing life as a proverbial adult where my Marine side as well as my Martial Arts side reside. It all adds up over time and as I enter my winter years, as understood toward the Chinese belief age 60 and above is senior winter years, I accept that I and others like me will be more enlightened, knowledgable and experienced yet I also readily admit that I still say, do, and write, “Stupid Shit.” As a part of my enlightened state of becoming I try my best to acknowledge and change my stupid shit.

I know of, not know personally but of this person, a person who in his mid winter years has accumulated a lot of knowledge, experience and ability by the experiences of that persons life. Like all elders this person has a lot to offer and deserves a great deal of respect and admiration. Except, like all humans he sometimes says, does or presents things that are, in my book, stupid as in stupid shit. Some of it is blatant and some is very, very hard to detect, perceive and question. 

Expertise is subjective and relevant toward specifics of each individual and the discipline involved. One persons expert might be another persons novice, it is about perception and the distinction toward what is generally accepted by the majority of that discipline as it regards the “Expertise of said discipline.” 

In general it is a person of an authoritative and comprehensive knowledge, skill and all important understanding of a particular area or discipline where that persons authoritative and comprehensive knowledge, skills and understanding are acknowledge by the whole of that discipline as a level commensurate with the award and holding of such a title. 

Regardless of the expertise of any person and the discipline involved we are all still humans subject to mistakes, misunderstanding and falsehoods that lead to saying, writing and believing, “Stupid Shit.” 

Even when queried for advice on the discipline  due to their extensive knowledge and ability as based on practice, training, teaching, research, experience and occupations as to the discipline studies those in receipt of that response must fact-check, verify and question to validate, verify and confirm. Why you might ask if they hold such a distinction, because we are all human and we are all subject to saying monkey brained stupid shit. 

Now, this person that I speak of has my appreciation, respect and admiration for their levels of knowledge, experiencing, teachings and understanding but I still question their teachings nonetheless because of that respect and admiration. It is my job as I receive such gifts that when I pass them along they are correct, factual, relevant, true and work to my students especially if that information could lead to ramifications detrimental to the student and practitioner of the discipline.

I am often chided when I question this person by his direct students because of his status within that group but in truth they failed, as he has in this part, to convey the importance of questioning, verifying, validating and correctly stupid shit. This person actually advocates change when falsehoods are discovered yet in the same vane this person cannot see or perceive any part of their knowledge, etc., as questionable or incorrect, etc., so they tend to adhere to stupid shit that should be changed. The changes come only when it involves others outside the group and often appears and is perceived to validate the belief to change incorrectness while not changing when valid, verifiable and factual proof is provided. 

I still follow and study this persons discipline and knowledge and experiences and so on because on the whole his expertise is outstanding. He has earned my respect and admiration. He is an example one would aspire to in life and in the discipline in question - yet, he still says, does and promotes some stupid shit. I just tell other who ask, “Data mine, validate, fact check and verify everything regardless.” 

Hey, I do and say stupid shit all the time and I consider myself to be an expert in certain disciplines but that expertise as with almost everything is subject to questioning. 

In the end my intent is not to cast dispersions on the individual, it is not personal at all, or his expertise but my intent is to learn, accumulate knowledge, make that knowledge base valid, effective, factual, true and relevant and then pass it down with all the caveats I try to live by in this effort. Look at it as a continued effort for self-growth for a goal of a greater depth and breadth of knowledge, understanding and ability to this discipline(s). 

Here is a good example, using myself for this one, at one time I assumed I was an expert martial artists in the realm of fighting, combatives and especially civil self-defense. I taught what I was taught to my students for a very long time. One day I was introduced to a site titled, “No-Nonsense Self-Defense.” I was literally flabbergasted, you could have knocked me over with a feather. I then began to study Mr. MacYoung’s material and was introduced to other professionals like Mr. Rory Miller and many others along the way. I had to make such a HUGE paradigm shift in my study, belief and teachings of self-defense that it became my mission because, truthfully, what I learned, taught and assumed was self-defense was such a minuscule part of the world of SD I had a hard to taking it all in. 

I assumed even at the physical level the technique based teachings taught me and I taught my students was going to “Get-r-done” if attacked or if encountering conflict with physical violence. I never once encountered teachings of self-defense that taught about adrenal dumps, reality based adrenal conditioned training, and especially awareness of how to detect violence before it makes it physical toward an understanding of avoidance and deescalation let alone about the three brains with emphasis on the monkey along with ramifications and so many other aspects, i.e., “Conflict communications; Emotional Intelligence; Lines/square/circle of SD, Three brains (human, monkey, lizard), JAM/AOJ and five stages, Adrenal stress (stress induced reality based), Violence (Social and Asocial), Pre-Attack indicators, Weapons, Predator process and predator resource, Force levels, Repercussions (medical, legal, civil, personal), Go-NoGo, Win-Loss Ratio, etc. (still working on the core sub-principles for this one)”Attitude, Socio-emotional, Diplomacy, Speed [get-er done fast], Redirected aggression, Dual Time Clocks, Awareness, Initiative, Permission, multiple attack/defense methodologies (i.e., actual tactics and attack methodologies of impacts, drives (pushes), pulls, twists, takedowns/throws and compression, etc. are best for stopping a threat.”

AND

“Attacked Mind, Train It, Breath It Away, Visualize It Away, Sparring vs. Fighting, Degradation of Technique/skills, Peripheral Vision Loss, Tunnel Vision, Depth Perception Loss/Altered, Auditory Exclusion, Weakened legs/arms, Loss of Extremity Feeling, Loss of Fine Motor Skills, Distorted Memory/perceptions, Tachypsychia (time slows), Freeze, Perception of Slow Motion, Irrelevant Thought Intrusion, Behavioral Looping, Pain Blocked, Male vs. Female Adrenaline Curve, Victim vs. Predator, The Professional, Levels of Hormonal Stimulation, etc.”

If you take a look at my bibliography you will see a lot of references that were never addressed in self-defense martial arts as I studied and taught since I began in 1976 and earlier. I was taught to “Do this when they do that” technique based defense and I can tell you the only reason I made it work in my youth was my mind-set and my training of mind-set and mind-state as a Marine.

If I were to apply my skills without learning all of this over the last decade, minimum, I might be writing about stuff from prison or I might actually be dead never reaching my winter years. Now, I strive to get the word out through my writing, blogging and soon to be published book on the subject. Another awesome product of learning of self-defense comes from Marc MacYoung, who published the most comprehensive book on the subject titled, “In the Name of Self-Defense.” 

No where to date will you find one source that provides you the information you need for self-defense. It provides you the fundamentals necessary to self-assess your self-defense needs, find and choose a self-defense training program(s) and make the decisions toward your needs in the world of self-defense be it martial arts or by other means. I have read this book four times and every one of those readings as exposed things I needed to know about self-defense and I can say with steadfast resolute certainty that this book is absolute to teaching, learning and practicing the “Discipline” of Self-Defense. 

Dont’ take my word for it, get a copy and determine the truth for yourself!

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