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.

Off Topic Rant: Social Conditions

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

We live according to social conditions and social conditioning, i.e., the tapes or sub-routines/functions that go click-whirr when certain stimuli trigger them in our instinct-like primal conditioned response-actions. It would seem that group dynamics in social conditions also have effects on the individual and the group mind. Here in lies the rub, media does have a huge effect on humans and social media of the Internet by its saturation of our world with all kinds of emotionally driven effects will rub off on both the group and its individuals. 

In the psychology of persuasion by Dr. Robert P. Cialdini, PhD, he speaks to social proof, a proof humans as individuals who are driven by social survival conditions to look to ‘others’ in groups to make decisions one way or another. So much so that when media reports grave violent news that very report will effect the mind-state of others who are exposed toward actually, at the extreme, taking their own lives in response. 

It is my theory that social media and the saturation of emotionally changed monkey dancing dramatized so-called news or just information in an information driven Internet our very emotional maturity toward life itself has become ‘IN-affected’. 

Look at it as the electronic version of groups who gather for a demonstration where a few within the group, another smaller group whose agenda is to inflame and incite, start actions out certain agenda driven emotional actions, words and events to stimulate and effect the others into taking actions they normally would not subverting the original intent of the demonstration into an inflamed violent action.

Take a look at how the current elections are going and the emotions that are flaming around indiscriminately causing others to follow the herd, it is being fed by those with the agenda through social media to inflame and incite others to follow along, follow the herd so to speak. 

Dr. Cialdini’s group actually is believed and reported to be involved in one candidate’s actual change of strategy and tactics using his influential psychology programs. If all he studied and presented in his results and now in his two books on the subject is true then social media and the platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Youtube and so on are all contributing heavily toward the direction our society is going and that to my mind is an emotionally immature direction. 

Sigh!

“In order for any life to matter, we all have to matter.” - Marcus Luttrell, Navy Seal (ret)


p.s. to bring some of the actual topic to bear regarding this article, in self-fense of avoidance and deescalation this part about social conditions, conditioning and proof principles can teach us the how of the mind so we recognize when events are going to trigger certain tapes, sub-routines and functions more automatic in nature so we can stop the triggers and use that information and the art of persuasion to avoid violence and eve deescalate offending adversary’s  but that is a whole article unto itself for later. 


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