the things worth believing in

I found a longer clip of Merlin. The reason I am posting it here is because I find the first half (the second half is my previously posted clip) pretty interesting. It shows Merlins bullfighting training. An assistant is shown chasing the horse around with a wheelbarrow-type contraption..with horns attached, so that Merlin can practice his “moves”. It also shows the horse going through some dressage practice which is reminiscent of shadowboxing.

The training sequence reveals something very interesting about the relationship between training and “real life”. When a person watches the bullfighting sequence it looks like the relationship between the bull and the rider is entirely random and the horse’s movements are “free-flow”. But when one watches the training he can see that almost all of the horses movements are “techniques”. As a matter of fact you can find almost all of Merlins “moves” in both the training and fighting sequences. It brings to mind such things as kata, technique practice, scenario training and rehearsal/dry runs. While one can never anticipate an opponents every move, if you know the basic elements or framework of the activity you are training for you can concentrate on the patterns/techniques that comprise the bulk of what you need to know to to win.

It makes me think about MMA as an example. While to the uninitiated it may lo0k like an undisciplined brawl, to those “in the know” the patterns of mount, guard, posturing, passing etc are obvious. From there one can begin to see how training in these “techniques” enter into the equation.

This may seem odd coming from a blog that focuses on martial arts, weaponcraft, warfare and the ilk; but every time I hear the doomsayers sounding the alarm for Armageddon, saying that our times are the “most violent ever” and that our children are not safe to play in the yard I wonder if that is really true. Did our ancestors during the Great Depression and WWII think that the “end” had arrived any more or less than some people seem to believe today? During the Civil War did people believe that “the end of days” had arrived? Are things somehow worse now than they were then?

As a cop you would think that I would be more paranoid, but I think most cops come to the realization fairly quickly that the lions share of violent crime happens to and is perpetrated by a rather narrow segment of society. Yes, random violence can and does happen to innocent people…always has always will…and you cant live in denial of it. However, I believe we place ourselves at a statistically higher risk of early death through our everyday living; driving, poor diet, lack of exercise, smoking, drinking and myriad other poor lifestyle choices, than we will ever be at risk of homicide, but we don’t live in fear of those mundane things.

Take child abduction. Yes it does happen, yes we should protect our children, BUT stranger abduction/murder is extremely rare. Due to the media frenzy it produces, everybody fears that their child could be next. Its unhealthy. The same thing with school shootings and terrorism. I am in agreement with Col. Grossman when he compares preparation for these events with fire safety. We have all sorts of measures in place for fire safety/survival; building codes, hoses, extinguishers, drills, fire departments etc. but we don’t give ourselves ulcers worrying that the building we are in could burst into flame, even though we know that it could happen and has happened to other people in the past. I believe that preparation for violence should be much the same thing. Plan for it, prepare for it, train for it, take steps to avoid it, but don’t live in fear of it or let it make your life miserable.

The video above is of one Mr. Steven Pinker, a prominent Canadian-American experimental psychologist, cognitive scientist, and author of popular science. Pinker is known for his wide-ranging advocacy of evolutionary psychology and the computational theory of mind. Mr. Pinker’s speech offers hope and bit of perspective regarding just how “violent” our current society is in relation to human history. It turns out that “the good old days” were never as good as we thought they were.

Of course I also agree with his opinion about my chosen profession.

Adjudication by an armed authority appears to be the most effective general violence-reduction technique yet invented. Though we debate whether tweaks in criminal policy, such as executing murderers versus locking them up for life, can reduce violence by a few percentage points, there can be no debate on the massive effects of having a criminal justice system as opposed to living in anarchy. The shockingly high homicide rates of pre-state societies, with 10 to 60 per cent of the men dying at the hands of other men, provide one kind of evidence. Another is the emergence of a violent culture of honour in just about any corner of the world that is beyond the reach of the law. The inverse is true as well. When law enforcement vanishes, all manner of violence breaks out: looting, settling old scores, ethnic cleansing and petty warfare among gangs, warlords and mafias. This was obvious in the remnants of Yugoslavia, the Soviet Union and parts of Africa in the 1990s.

I was watching Ratatouille with the kids this morning, when a character gave this quote:

In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face is that, in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is more meaningful than our criticism designating it so…

Sometimes even kids movies have something profound to say.

Another nice little gem from Clint Smith. While I agree with 99.9% of what he is saying here, I have found the “by the leg” location to be useful at times (with the finger OFF the trigger of course) while at work. He also apparently doesn’t prescribe to the various CQB methods like SUL, CAR or other close retention techniques. I don’t know if  his philosophy is geared towards civilian use, LE use or ALL use.

An interesting article in the New York Times:

The Officer Who Posted Too Much on MySpace

In pictures, Vaughan Ettienne is a champion bodybuilder of surreal musculature. In conversation, he is polite and thoughtful.

And in the looking glass of his computer screen, he becomes a man of fierce, profane views on how to keep law and order. A few weeks ago, he posted a description of his mood on a MySpace account. “Devious,” he wrote.

The next day, a man accused of carrying a loaded gun would go on trial in State Supreme Court in Brooklyn — and in large part, the case rested on the credibility of Vaughan Ettienne, bodybuilder, Internet user and arresting officer. 

Which only serves to illustrate the point I made in my previous post Cops and Blogs. In this day and age one can’t be too careful with what he posts on the net. If this officer had posted nothing but “serve and protect”, America, Mom and Apple Pie, even if it were all lies, he would have been fine. Post some bravado, black humor or something that can be twisted to cast you in a bad light and some attorney will do that twisting. In the end, officers need to look at what they say on the internet as if they were saying it in front of a news camera.

“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”

Another passage from the Budoshoshinshu:

It is essential for men who would be warriors, even if they are of low rank, to select a respected instructor of military affairs, receive instructions in the martial arts, and to come to a deep and detailed understanding of even the secret principles of military strategy. Although it may be thought by some people that the study of military principles is unsuitable for a warrior of low rank, this is a great misunderstanding caused by a lack of inquiry. The reason is that, in both past and present, among the men who were looked to as territorial or provincial leaders or received fame as great generals, there were any number who rose from obscurity and isolation to do great things. This being so, there could be warriors from this time forth as well who could come up in the world from low ranks and become generals.

Thus, it is desirable that even a warrior of low rank be given the knowledge and virtues of one of high rank. If a man will take a liking to and enter military studies, he will develop both wisdom and ability. By these means, a man who is clever from the beginning will become increasingly so. There will also be a good effect for the man born a bit thick-witted, for if only he will study the martial arts for many years he will not be so slow after all. If this is so, there would appear to be nothing that surpasses the martial arts in the studies of a warrior.

However, when a man abuses or practices amiss in the martial arts, he will be arrogant about the extent of his own ability, look down upon those around him, speak nothing but unreasonable and high-sounding theories, leading unpracticed youths astray and injuring their casts of mind. Although such people speak words that seem just and correct on the surface, their innermost feelings are largely covetous, and their real intentions founded on measuring what will be profitable for them and what will not. Thus, their character gradually grows worse, and later they lose all sense of what it means to be a warrior. This is an error that comes from going only halfway in the discipline and practice of martial studies.

At any rate, if one is to study military matters, it is essential that in his practice he should not stop halfway, but by all means at one point or another, go as far as the secret principles of the martial arts, at last returning to his former “foolishness” where he will have serenity of mind. It would be extremely regrettable, however, for those of us who do study, to pass our days in going only halfway in military investigations, letting the deepest principles of the martial arts slip through our grasp and becoming confused in our own halfwayness, and finally leading not only ourselves but even others astray in an unavoidable sequence. What was stated here as “returning to foolishness” means something like one’s state of mind while he has not yet studied the Way of the Military. Generally, phrases circulated like “mise smelling too much like mise” and “a martial artist that reeks too much of the martial arts” come from old times and carry the meaning of “intolerable.”

In other translations, “martial arts” is replaced with “military arts”… Either way, I read this passage as stating that the warrior needs to study the “deeper issues”; strategy, tactics, logistics, and advanced “military craft”, not just the “physical arts” of weaponcraft and unarmed combat technique. The author states that this is because the warrior never knows when he might be expected to take charge, or when the opportunity to lead or become a general may arise. There is also a warning regarding becoming a “talking head” that likes to spout theory but avoid practice. Its much easier to be a “topic expert” (or in this day and age an “internet warrior”) than it is to be a true  “practitioner”.

The way I interpret this passage into modern applicability is to consider all the “modern trappings” of (non-service/military) “warriorship”; OODA, weapon tactics, color-codes, theory, opinion, philosophy, internet martial pundits and warrior “gurus” and consider this passage in light of them. There are more people out there claiming to be authorities on these issues now than ever before and the true “warrior” has to be knowledgeable of these issues yet avoid the glamor and ease of becoming a “paper tiger” or “theory tiger” as the case may be. The goal is to improve ones survivability, combat effectiveness and proficiency, not to be able to out argue somebody on the internet or give the impression of superiority and expertise because you can speak or type a good game.

“We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons.” -Jim Rohn

In light of some recent events, this post came to my mind so I decided to re-publish it.

If one would seek good companions, he will find them among those with whom he studies Learning and calligraphy. Harmful companions to avoid will be found among those who play go, chess and shakuhachi. There is no shame in not knowing these later amusements. Indeed, they are matters to be taken up only in the stead of wasting ones time completely.

A person’s good and evil are dependent on his companions. When three people are together there will always be an exemplary person among them, and one should choose the good person and follow his example. Looking at the bad person, one should correct his own mistakes.

-Hojo Nagauji (1432-1519 A.D.)

Hojo Nagauji was a “Fighting Samurai” and general of the late Muromachi Period. Some of his writings, namely The Twenty-One Precepts (of which this is a quote), are amongst the foundations of what we know as Bushido.

I find this passage interesting. In it he is advising his retainers to really consider who it is they associate with. He tells them to associate with people who are studious and avoid those who want to spend their time gambling, gaming and carousing. Furthermore he suggests looking for the “good example” in every crowd and avoid being like the bad example.

To apply this to our times does not take much re-contexing, as a matter of fact there are numerous sayings from various cultures that state the same:

Be honorable yourself if you wish to associate with honorable people.
-Welsh Proverb

Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation. It is better be alone than in bad company.
-George Washington

I think this sentiment echoes a few of my previous posts; namely my “magic self-defense formula” and Col. Grossman’s “screw golf” sentiment.

We (including myself) have all been in those situations where we have been out on the town with our friends and gotten a little too drunk, done something too stupid or just made too much of a spectacle of ourselves in public. I do not want to come off as a prude, but too much of that sort of thing leads to nothing but trouble and does nothing but lead one from “the way”. If you associate with people who lead you into those types of situations it is time to consider the value of those people and its time to consider your own reasons for associating with them. I’m not suggesting that one needs to swear off alcohol or “going out” entirely. Even Hojo Nagauji did not say that. But he did say that “playing” was only to be considered over completely wasting ones time. If one desires to be considered a “professional” or a “warrior” then there are numerous things you could be doing to improve your skills and your survivability (“screw golf”) other than idle drinking. If drinking and partying is occupying more of your heart and mind then “the way” is, then I believe that you are living in a fantasy world where you want to “say you are… rather than BE.”

In the end, what I am suggesting is being “mindful” in everything you do. If you want to go out and enjoy yourself every now and then by all means do so. But do so “intentionally”. Likewise consider the people you associate with; are they examples you wish to emulate? Do you want other people to think of you the way they think of them? Are they worthy of respect? Are you?

In my opinion, if you find yourself getting “wasted” as routine entertainment, if you like to associate with criminals and “loser’s”, or if you are consistently acting in an undignified manner in public, you are debasing yourself, asking for trouble, and are far from the path of a “warrior”.