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.

A New Fundamental Principle (The Borg Principle)

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

Note: If we truly wish to teach the complete, comprehensive and appropriate self-defense be in through some physical discipline or some virtual mind-set/mind-state psychological/electronic discipline we need to include, "Virtual Self-Defense," simply because it is just as dangerous, just as costly and just as damaging. 

This is a, “Work in Progress,” but it occurred to me when bringing together materials for my new blog, “iSD,” that in the world of self-defense it is critical to our abilities to protect ourselves from an old yet new threat, the predatory virtual adversary

It came to mind simply because until the last decade most karate and martial arts self-defense teachings focused on technique based models then suddenly the whole world of self-defense, a decade ago, became known, i.e., the adrenal stress-conditioned reality of violence, the need to avoid, escape and evade over the more physical, the articulation to first responders to remain within the law and legal system of self-defense-defense, the ramifications of applying violence for self-defense, and then the ramifications of what comes after legally, emotionally and economically, etc. It was this thought that said to me, what about the virtual predator

When we teach self-defense through the physical disciplines such as karate and martial arts we think of the dangers and damage from actual hands-on humans, i.e., we think of, “The Fight.” Like all the other aspects of self-defense we tended to either ignore them or simply didn’t know of them because they were not exciting, dangerous or gratifying like the early teachings of karate and self-defense with all the trophies, the drills, the self-defense scenarios, etc. that allowed us to go hands-on. 

iSD is not exciting and because it does not involve human violent interactions and tends to come from sources we cannot readily see, hear or feel we tend to ignore them unless we are the unlucky one to be attacked. 

In iSD there is no sneaking up behind us, surprising us with a blow to the back of the head or behind the ear, the sudden loss of balance and structure and the instant freeze of our minds where we end up in the hospital emergency room. When iSD is needed we experience most often nothing until some other type of signal reaches our brains and tells us something is amiss, there is something wrong and often you don’t know what at the moment.

In an iSD attack you will not be approached physically from any direction, you will be approached swiftly, silently and with deadly intent outside your perception of any wrong happening. You won’t become unbalanced physically, you won’t lose your physical structure and you won’t be surprised by a physical damaging attack for the attack happened completely and utterly outside your physical and mental awareness. 

A predatory virtual attack is not about you and your personal physical health, safety and security. It is about all those electronic attachments and connections you walked into without even a smidgeon of knowledge and understanding to what you just don’t know that you don’t know that gets you and it is about your virtual self such as your identity and your virtual economic self such as your bank accounts or your actual mental safety, security and health. 

In the physical world you often have signs of impending danger and possible conflict and violence but rarely do you have these signs when a predatory virtual attack is on. It is not personal as with a physical predatory attack but it is personal as it attacks your virtual personal self, the one you knowingly and voluntarily put out there in the iVerse open and accessible to everyone be they, “White Hats” or “Black Hats” or “Virtual Predators.” 

Where we have like parallels knowledge in self-defense is from seeking and acquiring, “Knowledge,” so that you can understand the dangers of a virtual predatory attack and you can achieve some semblance of safety and security. 

Unlike physical self-defense you cannot find safety in any type of environment by avoidance unless you turn off your electronic devices and stop connecting to the iVerse itself. Unlike physical self-defense there is not actual environment you can live, work or play in that is not subject to attack from virtual predators. 

In our physical world where we live, work and play can be controlled by ourselves to remove dangers of both social and asocial attacks. In our physical world where we live, work and play you have those warning signs and can escape and evade an attacker and you can defend yourself before the real damage is done. In a sense through education and understanding you can develop a security model that can avoid conflict and violence at higher levels outside the more social acceptable types for your entire life.

In the iVerse, the virtual world, in which we now live you can go no where on this planet and find safety from attack or possible attack. You cannot see the predators that surround you like you can in the physical world, they are not human breathing flesh but one’s-n-zero’s that don’t sleep, don’t ever stop and never ever slow down and they are in your face twenty-four hours a day, every day and they are eternal. 

The types of damage you will encounter and have to endure is not personal, there are no emotions involved and it is a clinical like emotional empty and of a nature that is not prejudiced in any way, it is not a human thing but humans end up victimized. 

The dangers are real and in many cases can lead to a mind-fuck so intense and dangerous that it can actually lead to human grave harm and death. They can kill you both literally and virtually. Like true reality non-virtual violence it has repercussions that reach as far and even further than those encountered when physically attacked. In some sense it is actually more dangerous and more damaging then if a predatory simply attacked you physically and put you in the hospital for the virtual repercussions regardless of your status in the legal system and to the law because it last decades and it has the good chance of never being resolved. 

When I step out my front door I am self-assured to my personal safety and even if a danger is presented I am self-confident of my ability to handle it starting with avoidance to escape and evasion but when I turn my cell phone and computer on in the morning the danger is present and more dangerous, the danger is constant, continuous and truly diligent in its goals with barely any security to impede let alone stop it. Even in my home, with my physical security model and my personal training and expertise I can feel safe but when my devices are on, there is virtually, no pun intended, no real confidence of safety or security except in the most minor ways. 

I liken our virtual vulnerability to the old show, “Star Trek TNG,” where when encountering the, “Borg,” they hear, “We are the borg, resistance is futile.” In our virtual modern world today the borg are out there but in this case they don’t provide warnings, they are absorbing our lives and data silently, swiftly and with deadly intent and resistance is definitely futile in our present security state and posture regardless of the so-called effort of the virtual security industry. You won’t see the borg cube, you won’t get a screen communications of a borg hive leader, and the borg leader of the hive will not be giving you even a hint by saying, “We are the borg, resistance is futile.” In our case, “We are the coders, resistance is futile or We are the data brokers, resistance is futile,” etc. 

Bibliography (Click the link)



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