The image says it all. Think about it and then truly ask yourself if you are doing the work to get the results you want?
Results – Get Some
Sensei Posted in Awareness, Questions, State of Mind, Training notes，Tags: Awareness, Confidence, critical thought, training
08
May
2012
0
The Magnificent Exterior
Sensei Posted in A Zen Thing, Quotes, State of Mind，Tags: Catholic, Confidence, Quotes
05
October
2011
The brothers praised a monk before Abba Anthony. When the monk came to see him, Anthony wanted to know how he would bear insults, and seeing that he could not bear them at all, he said to him, “You are like a village magnificently decorated on the outside, but destroyed from within by robbers.”
– St. Antony The Great (Anthony of Egypt is the Patriarch of all the Desert Fathers and of all Monks.)
I Love this quote, it demonstrates that Abba Anthony was a tough character who could not stand for fake people and people who did not know who they were. Sticks & Stones will break your bones but names will never hurt you, that is the point being made in this quote, words are harmless to those who know their worth. That last part, “words are harmless to those who know their worth” is a slight play on words, there are two ways to read it, both are correct.
I leave the rest for your reflection and comments.
Board Breaking
Sensei Posted in Fun Stuff, State of Mind, Technique, Training notes, Video，Tags: Focus, Fun, Sparring, State of Mind, Technique
04
October
2011
Let’s start with a laugh, I like to say I’ve never met a board I didn’t like…
ZD YouTube FLV Player
Well anyone who has attempted to break a board has experienced this at least once! Lose your mental focus, feel fear or uncertainty, lose your physical focus and that will probably be you jumping around screaming!
Focus, this is the real trick in the Martial Arts or any fighting art, to much focus (see above) can be a bad thing. While you may gain power you lose your situational awareness. Instead of focus you need to train to stay relaxed, aware of your situation and fluid, this will give you the ability to react without the time delay of planned movements. When I spar I rarely look at my opponent, in other words I do not focus on the person I am fighting. Instead I relax my focus and heighten my awareness of the entire sparring situation, taking in their whole body or multiple attackers. This is almost the opposite of what most students are taught when breaking boards. Yet relaxing your focus can accomplish the same thing with the benefit of not getting tunnel vision. You are simply putting your fist or knife hand strike to a defined spot, past the object, regardless of the object.
However I’d like to end by saying I have never met a board I didn’t like…
Perhaps I need to rethink that!
Body, Mind & Soul
Sensei Posted in A Zen Thing, Religion, State of Mind，Tags: beliefs, Perspective, Religion
03
October
2011
When a Wise man thought about the depth of the judgments of God, he asked, “Lord, how is it that some die when they are young, while others drag on to extreme old age? Why are there those who are poor and those who are rich? Why do wicked men prosper and why are the just in need?”
He heard a voice answering him, “Keep your attention on yourself; these things are according to the judgment of God, and it is not to your advantage to know anything about them.”
– From The Life Of St. Antony The Great (Anthony of Egypt is the Patriarch of all the Desert Fathers and of all Monks.)
How does this help us as a Martial Artist? As a Christian it always amuses me how God gets blamed for everything yet credited for little. We see things from our own perspective and assume omnipotence. The funny thing is most of us don’t even know ourselves and what is in our own hearts, let alone to be in a position to judge the justness of a given situation. Instead we should be focused on our actions and the state of our soul. How often does a student look with envy at the abilities of another student thinking they are naturally better than themselves. Unknown to them are the countless hours this student with “natural ability” practices. What St. Anthony was driving at is, in focusing on things we can not control, we take away from time that could be spent in perfecting ourselves. That is not to say we exclude thoughts of others, but that we do so without envy, we take lessons from the world around us without letting the events distract us from perfecting ourselves. Instead, we to often use lessons from the world to justify our current selves.
This might sound a little high minded but it is the essence of Martial Arts training, perfection of ones self. Unfortunately unlike the above passage, Martial Arts training deals with the perfection of your mind and physical self. Many mistake Martial Arts training and this sense of perfection for religion. The broadening of our senses through training can give us a feeling similar to that of a higher connection, it is a false connection. Unfortunately many are willing to deceiving themselves as this false religious feeling elevates them to the station of God, even though they believe it a connection with some larger Universal force or power. This is the trap of many pursuits, Martial Arts, Higher Education degrees, any practice which expands the powers of the mind and body, yet neglects the soul.
I will leave you with that to ponder, to comment upon, and hopefully, to stimulate awareness.
Master of Distraction
Sensei Posted in State of Mind, Technique, Video，Tags: Entertainment, Funny, Jokes, Video
28
September
2011
This video will blow your mind. It very well demonstrates how to maintain control of a situation and your opponent. But it’s most important point is in the use of distraction.
ZD YouTube FLV Player
Enjoy!!
Happy Thoughts
Sensei Posted in A Zen Thing, Awareness, Quotes, State of Mind，Tags: Awareness, critical thought, Perspective, Quotes, training
16
July
2011
To think bad thoughts is really the easiest thing in the world. If you leave your mind to itself it will spiral down into ever increasing unhappiness.
To think good thoughts, however, requires effort.
This is one of the things that discipline – training – is about.
James Clavell, in his novel “Shogun”
I read this book as a young man and have to say it is still one of my favorite novels. At the time I was training very hard in Karate and this novel steeped me even further in the history and culture of old Japan, brutal, savage yet elegant. Today I teach students in the art of Karate and hopefully Life. I am an avid observer of the world and I see increasing negativity in general. One of the aspects of how I train my students is control of themselves and their minds. The above quote goes to the root of my teachings (though I never connected the two) in that we control nothing in the world without first controlling ourselves. Negative thoughts are destructive to yourself, your world and those around you, it is like a disease. Our thoughts are ours to do with as we please. Yes our thoughts can be influenced by the things around us. That is why it is a bad idea for an Alcoholic to hangout in a bar with his/her friends. Ultimately though we have ourselves to deal with, the environment or situation we are in are only as influential as we let them be. This all sounds so easy but it is a lifetime of work and practice and failure to become proficient at. The world is dynamic but our inner world’s are infinitely more dynamic, to infinity and beyond! But like any lesson it starts small, baby steps, with awareness. We cannot change or control anything we are unaware of, become and observer of the world. First we need to see the small things most people never see. We can find perfection in the small things, the cut of sunlight through a cloud or the beat of a butterfly resting on a flower, or even the silence of being totally alone in a room. Some of the things you will notice may make you uncomfortable in a strange way, that is your body fighting awareness the way you fight waking in the morning (if you are like me!). What does this have to do with not being negative? Everything. You could start by focusing on not thinking negative thoughts, however your success would be short lived. You have to have something to fill the void left by the negative thoughts you eventually will banish. Why? Because your brain never stops, it is always churning away, in the computer world we call that paging. Paging is moving information into and out of usable memory, if you page to much you can’t do any useful computations or make any useful observations. Observing the little things in the world require you to stop thinking so much, to quiet your mind or in computer terms to limit or stop paging so we can take in new information. As you do this you are increasing your positive memories and thoughts and reducing your negative thoughts without trying to force it. You will eventually get to a point where you will be able to control what your brain is processing positive or negative and more importantly know when you are paging negativity because you are more aware. Awareness is one of the keys to good thoughts with its byproduct, happiness. As an observer you often find yourself in a calm state of acceptance like someone watching a play…but that is a topic for another discussion.
‘Stop and smell the roses’ are words of supreme wisdom which few of us ever understand until it is to late. Stay positive, train hard, train often.
To Serve & Protect??
Sensei Posted in Awareness, Control, Law Enforcement, State of Mind, Technique, Training notes，Tags: Control, News, Police, Situational Awareness, training
28
April
2011
Here is a story that will make you feel safe…unfortunately it is an all to common event.
In ENFIELD, CT (as reported here)
Two female officers were hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries Tuesday afternoon after responding to a reported domestic violence incident, police said.
One officer was struck repeatedly in the face and the other’s arm was injured while she was trying to protect herself, police said. Both were taken to Johnson Memorial Hospital, treated and released.
The two officers were at a house on Garden Drive around 5 p.m. when the altercation began, police said.
One person, a 15-year-old male, has been arrested. His charges have not been released because of his age.
There is very little discussion about cases like these because the violate the politically correct environment society wants. In the comments on this article someone mentioned that there was no mention of the size of the 15 years old assailant, his size shouldn’t matter. Police Officers are well equip and even if they are not should be sufficiently proficient at defending and subduing someone, especially two to one! Any Martial Artist or self-defense instructor can show multiple ways for any situation to over power bigger, stronger opponents. Of course experience counts for a lot, you can practice a technique all your life but until you try it in a live or realistic simulated environment it is untested. The biggest problem with the above story is it demonstrates that the officers lost control of the situation, a luxury no Police Officer can afford.
Another commenter stated “Police Officers DO NOT receive hand-to-hand combat training. They have not for almost 25 years, since a female officer was injured in training and sued over her injuries (and won). I love what the public is willing to believe about those elected or hired to protect them, based on common sense yes, facts…no.“ Most people will not believe that first statement it is true, (which proves the third sentence), at least in Connecticut. Some Officers seek their own training however while they should it is no replacement for training common to all Officers, where they can test and challenge each other.
Perhaps the next time you think about your safety you’ll remember this story and realize you are on your own more then you realize. Perhaps it is time to get back to that Karate Class and hone your skills!?
Is Your Jar Full?
Sensei Posted in A Zen Thing, Articles of Interest, Quotes, State of Mind，Tags: Awareness, Life, Priorities, Quotes
13
April
2011
When things in your life seem almost to much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar……and the beer.
A Professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.
So the Professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.
The Professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous “Yes.”
The Professor then produced two cans of beer from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty
space between the sand. The students laughed.
“Now,” said the Professor, as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.
The golf balls are the important things – your family, your children, your health, your friends, your favorite passions – things that if everything
else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.
The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else – the small stuff.”
“If you put the sand into the jar first”, he continued, “there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house, and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”
When he had finished, there was a profound silence. Then one of the students raised her hand and with a puzzled expression, inquired what the beer represented.
The Professor smiled. “I’m glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of beers with a friend.”
– I couldn’t have illustrated it better myself since the sad truth is most of us spend all our time dealing with the sand in our life.
Everyone Has a Story
Sensei Posted in Articles of Interest, Fun Stuff, State of Mind，Tags: critical thought, Perspective, Success
25
February
2011
Turns out it was true!
Like the title says, everyone has a story. I do. You do. Everyone does. So what!
This isn’t meant to trivialize your story, but try to keep it in perspective. We all have or will have health problems. We all have our crosses to bear, if you don’t…you will. What is important is how we deal with these crosses put upon us. How do we deal with them… how do you deal with them? Sometimes they turn into excuses. The important thing is to stretch to your limits. Like stretching a muscle you might just find that after a while you can stretch further then your could before. Maybe that hill wasn’t as steep as you thought. But most definitely you are not the only one who has climbed that hill or another just like it!
Life happens all of a sudden and not usually in the way we expect, the trick is accepting the blessings and curses as gifts. Do this and you will find the value in the gift no matter how it changes the direction of your life.
Train hard, Stay Safe, Have Fun…but stop whining!! 
