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.

Cognitive Dissonance (takes place mostly on an unconscious level)

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


Ever wonder why? Why do folks in the face of irrefutable evidence REFUSE to hear or see and remain steadfast in their beliefs. Well, in the newsletter referenced in the snapshot they provide a wonderful explanation of what is going on in one's mind. 


I get this email almost daily, Creative Writing Tips, to which I read often in my humble attempts to improve my writing. They, the CWT people, provide a good deal of education information about writing along with what follows, an interpretation of things or subjects or traits, etc., a writer may include within their writings. 


In our lives as human beings we have to deal with a lot and one of the defense mechanisms the mind provides, for survival, is cognitive dissonance. Couple that with another subject called, “Bias,” and you will find a slew of things that effect what, when, where and how we do things every moment of every single day. 


In the following the provided some excellent information on dissonance which I try to pass on to my fellow karate-ka whose disciplines lean heavily toward self-protection for self-defense BECAUSE these very concepts are often triggered, unconsciously and at the speed of light, when stressful situations arise that could lead to conflict and violence. 


So, lets get going and here are the excepts and quotes on this most comfortable yet uncomfortable feeling we get because “UNDERSTANDING” leads to an ability to recognize it when it happens and best of all, when certain conditions begin to occur that will trigger you mind to say, “Uh-oh, gotta rein in the monkey so the lizard doesn’t go all survival mode on me!”


My sincerest thanks to the writers of “The Daily Writing Tips” newsletter and if you find this interesting you can visit them at the link in the reference at the end of this post and sign up to receive your own copy. You just never know what might be of great benefit to your efforts both in and out of the dojo. 


A feeling of psychological discomfort that triggers a reaction that can cause a person to deny reality.

A  form of psychological self-defense that we all practice.

  • cognition (noun): the action or faculty of knowing taken in its widest sense, including sensation, perception, conception, etc., as distinguished from feeling and will.
  • cognitive (adjective): of or pertaining to cognition, or to the action or process of knowing.
  • dissonance (noun): lack of concord or harmony between things; disagreement, discord.

Festinger’s A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance (1957) suggests that we have an inner drive to hold all our attitudes and behavior in harmony and avoid disharmony. This is known as the principle of cognitive consistency. When we do something or learn something that contradicts the attitudes and beliefs we already hold, we experience psychological discomfort. - Daily Writing Tips "Cognition and Cognitive Offshoots


Cognitive dissonance refers to the feelings of discomfort that arise when a person’s behavior or attitude is in conflict with the person’s values and beliefs,  or when new information that is contrary to their beliefs is presented to them. People like consistency. They want the assurance that their values and beliefs have always been right. They always want to act in ways that are in line with their beliefs. When their beliefs are challenged, or when their behavior is not aligned with their beliefs, this creates a disagreement (dissonance).— “Understanding Cognitive Dissonance (and Why it Occurs in Most People).” by Anastasia Belyh 


we live in an era of aggressive information overload. Marina Gorbis, Executive Director of Institute for the Future, warns that: [w]e are living in an unprecedented information environment. Our attention is monopolized and fractured by a multitude of devices, applications, websites, and notifications. Manipulation has never been so easy or so refined. And mass data surveillance enables exquisitely accurate targeting of manipulative information. Traditional strengths of democratic systems—diversity and freedom of expression—are making us particularly vulnerable to a growing army of media and information manipulators. - Marina Gorbis, Executive Director of Institute for the Future


Infodemic: onslaught of misinformation as a disease that threatens to infect the body politic. She regards the information manipulators as parasites and recommends that we strive to develop a cognitive immunity to protect our thinking from becoming infected with falsehood. - Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus WHO director-general (it would be wise to examine our reasoning and ascertain the validity of our evidence.) 


Daily Writing Tips "Cognition and Cognitive Offshoots" posted: 06 October 2020 04:33 AM PDT

For reference and sources and professionals go here: Bibliography (Click the link)


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