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.

Karate Questions

Blog Article/Post Caveat (Read First Please: Click the Link)

Reading Michael Clarke Sensei’s post today he simply asked the following questions. I suspect he was being rhetorical in asking them but I decided to answer them anyway, the answers are for me and are mind alone. Look at it as a reflective exercise I decided to share. 
  • When you take karate out of the dojo, what are you left with? [Karate … A Dojo; a thing and a place filled with emptiness that holds no void, no meaning and no heart; a dojo with karate and a life lived where every moment is a dojo through which karate is lived, breathed, practiced and applied to life itself]
  • When you only practice in the dojo, what have you got? [Dojo practice where you cannot live and breath karate, merely a means to dance the dance; karate is taking it out of the dojo and placing it firmly in your life, your lifestyle, then seeing where that leads; if you don’t leave the dojo or don’t practice outside the dojo you are just participating in a social club but if you understand that everywhere you go and every place you visit is a dojo, you become successful]
  • When the dojo is called a studio/academy/school/club, what is going on there? [who knows, distinctions are a part of karate practice or would it be better to call it the way simply because karate is meant to be a part of you as a person, to become an intricate system in support of your beliefs; to name something is to give it power and set obstacles and restrictions on it when karate is a mystery of the universe to unleash the capacities of the  human mind to take in the myriad things that make us, us.]
  • When dojo are rented halls, where's the commitment? [commitment becomes a need to earn money and money leads toward a commercialism denigrating the karate practice of a personal nature; commitment is something one carries within their hearts, minds and spirit; once we attain that commitment then a hall rented takes on a different meaning]
  • When karate is packaged, what is it being packaged into? [something tangible like a package of product; the packaging is like a box, it contains a particular something and by its very containment does not allow one to seek knowledge and understanding that exists outside a box or any one container; it is about freedom from such trappings.]
  • When karate is sold, what are you buying? [a limited supply of what you desire rather than a means toward survival and understanding; towards a horizon that sets over the universe and instead you have just a smidgeon of its possibilities often removed from its original intent, its very essence for to package up the intangible makes it tangible and therefore a box.]
  • When karate is so easy to find, what is the point of searching for it? [search for the underlying meaning and benefit you seek underneath the covering presented to attract in case something special is hidden behind the frosting; opening the box to let the true essence fly like a bird recently pushed from the nest to take to the sky, welcome to the sky!]
  • When karate is known by so many, why do so few understand it? [it is the few who seek out more than the presented outer presentation of karate for it is that hidden that provides each person an opportunity to take it the distance, not many can, will or do; there has been and always will be those who seek out the truth through their studies and practices while all the others simply dream of the possibilities while remaining chained to the rhythms, patterns and comforts of a limited life.]
  • When belts mean skill, why can you buy them in a shop? [the ability to buy something is a telling story to one who understands karate and that makes karate a product instead of something personal; relying on a symbolic meaning from an external object relieves one of the difficulty in finding a meaning toward a greater self; the belts and thier symbolic meaning are merely the chains that bind rather than the cloth that holds up our pants and holds the jacket closed also a symbolic representation of what binds life over releasing us from those chains.]
  • When sensei means 'teacher' why are so many ignorant? [a failure to see, to hear, to remain balanced, to see and hear all sides, to find the meaning of one’s heart and mind while leading the body to greater health, fitness, well-being and spirit, a wholehearted effort few find and fewer keep close to their hearts]
  • When training is so physically demanding, why are so many karateka unfit? [a failure to see, hear and feel karate; a focus on the trappings of ego symbolized in belts, uniforms, certificates, trophies and the accolades of a self-soothing nature to hid from the conflicts and violences of life.]
  • When karate is such a challenge, why is it advertised as family friendly? [product vs. a living effort]
The above is just some of the stuff that passed through my mind (Sensei Michael Clarke, Shinseidokan Dojo) as I walked my Nagasendo [中山道] earlier today. Returning home, I wondered if anyone else ever thought of such things?

Bibliography (Click the link)


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