Month: July 2016

A healthy mind equals A healthy nation

Our paradigms are the halls our dreams are made in. We can only achieve and do what we deem possible and we often place chains on our hearts and minds.

Names and distinctions force our eyes to see in terms and the boxes we place our actions and movements will impact our lives with every breath and thought.

Consider the distinction between soldier and citizen. Are they not one and the same? Are we nations who rise to keep our children safe or do we place a stamp on a person and he is a citizen no more?

I ask you to consider a different way of looking at distinction. A point of view which encompasses dualism and distinction without limitations. Make the decision yourself as you always do. Even though sometimes we agree to think someone else with a tag (government, police, establishment) can decide for us.

Attach and defense are movements on the bandwidth of combat but truly exist in out minds as distinction. Any movement and maneuver can be both from an air force bombardment to extending your hand forward. The moment you can see both attack and defense but not limit your perception to one or the other you release yourself from the prison of terms.

I ask you to see people past the badges and yourself as a sovereign, a father, a son. A person. See establishments as frames with people as well as symbols and see past the learned lessons into real wisdom.

A short note about martial art. Most arts taught today have little to do with the mechanics of war fighting. Empty hand technique and cold arms use, are very sparingly used and if you have a rifle and have to resort to a knife during a  fight, you are hopefully going for silence is golden.

The real use of martial art as taught today for war fighting is in cleaning the essence of the soldier to be. What you learn and accept of your nature and the release of inner horizons is the true value for the grunt. You are not a rifleman alone. You are a member of a team, a choice maker, a tool maker and user, a friend and medic. Hopefully a mensch 🙂

 

 

 

 

No start to finish

It is easy to divide the battle to before, during and after and to some extent it is true. It is however a burden to divide it in terms of movement when you want to recognize what is happening or want to be the initiator yourself.

In the coming drill we will work several variations in order to clean excess tension and movement and also use it to free the mind and body to keep going. Don’t demonize fear. It is an integral part of our body and psyche and a useful tool in our lives.

Start standing face to face at an arm distance away from each other. Pay attention to your breath and look each other over. Note the pace and manner of each others breath and posture. Note how they shift themselves in place and perform the same observation on yourself. Know that whatever your body is saying is very loud to many.

Continue to touching outstretched hands and swaying in place and letting the sway (release of postural rigidity) take away the impact from the contact.

Continue to repeating this drill by laying hands on each other and working to push and pull each other as you release your body to avoid being tensed up and moved from place.

Continue to walking side by side and having one attack at a time. The movement needs to be unchanged and natural. If the other party notes the movement before contact is made. It calls it and the attack is forfeit (repeat this drill to find out your own current tells and tensions and with time your practice will deepen).

Continue to walking side by side and having one attack at a time. This time, make the movement abrupt and harsh in nature and work to avoid reaction by keeping your breath continuous and your focus on your own movement rather than controlling the outside. All types of movement teach us something unique and thus need to be experienced and solutions worked dynamically throughout.

Finish with walking side by side and having either attack at will according to the signal you gauge and your own inner calm. Play with continuous contact but without forgetting to pay attention to what is around you and above all. Choose your actions instead of being a beaten drum.

 

 

 

ten tests of strength

Here are ten tests of strength to gauge our ability under the pressure of life and going through the motions. They come to bring light to what we can do during the work and not when we are primed and ready. There is a vast difference between a boxing match and a ditch fight over the life of a friend.

  1. Hang on a tree branch and count to 120 out loud. Once finished, start doing pull ups and see how well you do.
  2. Squat down and count to 300 out loud. Once finished, sprint a 100 meters and see how well you do.
  3. While keeping yourself and others safe, avoid sleep for 72 hours and then write a full assay about how you see the world and yourself. See how well or different you do.
  4. While keeping yourself and others safe, Keep your eyes closed and perform your morning routine until you exit your home without your sight. Note how well you do.
  5. Place a conscious capable friend you care about over your shoulders and carefully walk up a few flights of stairs. See how you perform gentle tasks such as tying special ties with thin ropes and creating a working pulley without a winch. See how you do.
  6. Stand in a location without fragile china and start spinning around (lookup ballet if you want to learn a trick to that) Count to 60 out loud as you spin and then, perform a target practice from throwing darts to taking a good solid picture of an object under maximum zoom. See how you do.
  7. Place yourself in the push up position and start doing push ups as you hold your breath until you cannot continue (avoid breaking your own nose) Take a knife and cut a precise as you can shape into a piece of wood and see how you do.
  8. Inhale slowly until you cannot take in more air and hold. Start from a standing position and transition to laying on your stomach and getting back up until you cannot perform so anymore. See how you do.
  9. Play a game of tag and allow yourself to move only backwards. See how you do.
  10. Wear uncomfortable clothes (winter in summer or without a belt to hold your pants up..) and perform any task you choose. See how you do.

Difficulty and specialty are ways to bring us to ourselves and evolve as we clean the excess. The way we treat what comes along is the surest measure of our growing quality.