Have fun. and be respectful. and have fun.

Bill: "This is an interesting thought but a loaded question. It presumes something that isn't [yet] commonly accepted."

It's actually not a loaded question. It's just a question.

What are your collective thoughts on the idea of an Anthropocene Era? Are we caretakers or impotent victims of the changes around us?

Are we the gardeners or the weeds?

I just saw something where the person was talking about different sounds for different movements. A snapping straight strike would be a "yeeahh!" An arcing strike would be a "wraaagh!" A sinking strike would be an "ohhhh!" and a kick would be a "nup!" It seems that the sounds you make alter the way ...

A good sigh feels good, and releases tension. Good way to ground yourself. A good strike should be more like a sneeze! A throw should be maybe more like a yawn.

My parents divorced when I was in the 2nd grade. Shortly after he moved out, my father gave me one of the chess sets he had brought back from Korea, when he was stationed there as an army doctor during the first years of the '70's. I still remember the smell of the wood and sandstone when they were ...

I guess it is just par for the course that we undergo "sea changes", if we are trying to learn.

I spent years whittling down the things I practiced, into a core that I felt represented the ideals that were worth holding on to.

Now I find myself letting go and enjoying the process of learning too ...

Bill, I just read your post and I have to agree. I say things and then I realize that I'm talking about whatever ideal is floating around in my mind.

It is true that there are different methods that are just plainly designed for different results. While there are many Chinese systems that share ...

It is not a style of martial art, but a description, like karate-jutsu, combatives, or self defense.

The philosophy is that by seriously looking at how to do violence, one might come to a personal understanding of the value of life, and the possible repercussions of one's actions.

One thing I have ...

Bill: "One of my friends had a creative writing instructor who implored her students to "find their voice". This in my opinion is the end game of martial arts."

I agree, and I think that is the end game of any discipline.

The system I am exploring right now has so many two person sets that It brings the whole memorizing techniques for specific attacks paradigm to the level of the absurd. But when you actually look at them from a distance you see that they all teach the same thing using different examples.

They all ...

Consider the difference in framing: "If someone attacks you this way, you grab their wrist and apply pressure to their elbow at this spot, and follow up with this combination of strikes".

"If you happen to trap the arm, you can apply pressure on this reflex point of nerve and tendon, in order to ...

I will struggle with this, so please bear with me.

Ever notice how things change, depending on the way they are looked at? It has been shown in multiple studies of the mind/body interface, that what is suggested becomes the outcome.

Take, for example, an exercise where two people act out a ...

As someone who has undergone physical therapy in the past, I have to add that the tai chi approach has to be one of the most therapeutic things a person can do, both in the preventive and rehabilitative sense. You don't see too many older Chinese people in wheel chairs or using walkers. What you do ...