Dog Brothers Public Forum

Today, I am grateful for a unique training opportunity!

Thank you Karsk, maija, and Guro Crafty for your followup posts.

I had the opportunity to discuss the same issues with a close friend recently and we had a nice, lengthy conversation about character, people, and values.  Karsk, there have been some REALLY good moments in the past five years.  I really love helping people acquire knowledge.  I started as a high school teacher and moved to junior high when I finished my masters because a position opened up that was in the area of my graduate work.  I had a former student from the high school visit my school site recently.  I knew him as a freshman, and there he was a senior, ready to graduate.  He told me that he had really enjoyed my class and that he was happy that I had stayed in the district.  That was nice.

It's just been a hell of a year.  My school site has new leadership.  We had a student that was stabbed (he lived, the knife missed his heart by a quarter of an inch).  Many key members of the staff quit, retired, or are changing schools and districts because the climate of our site has been so poor.  I am working on a doctorate in educational leadership as a teacher in an environment where the leadership seems to be moving the school in a bad direction.  It's very discouraging.  Many of the members of my staff (myself included) have commented that their stomachs are in knots everyday driving to work.  Being a teacher really fits into the needs of my life (family, training, graduate school), but I would like to do it somewhere else.  I have been on interviews, but I have not been able to find another home outside of my current position.  I am still working on it, and there is a lot of summer left!

So, I know that this is a thread about fatherhood.  Maija, that's very good advice: as my boy grows, he will be doing a lot of traveling.  I am always amazed at how friendly folks from around the world seem.  Again, I have meet many of them through DBMA and martial arts training, but even in my own non-martial arts related travels, it's good to get what my wife calls "new air" on a regular basis.

Also, not to whine, this has been a year when I have ended what I have considered to be my closest friendship for 15 years.  I am about to turn 30 in a few weeks so that is a very significant amount of time for me.  This was someone that I met on my first day of high school.  To make a long story short, that friend's girlfriend got into it with my wife when my wife was pregnant.  This resulted in a feud that went on for over a year and a half.  As a matter of fact, the last contact that my former friend had with me was an accusatory text message that he sent on the morning of the second day of the three day Gathering in April.  What I have come to realize is that I have paid my debt as far as the friendship goes.  I am sad it happened.  I know that I am partially at fault for what happened.  What I have also come to realize is that this person and his now fiance are living very different lives than my wife and I.  The main realization that I have come to is that I have a responsibility to my son and my wife to free myself from any guilt or sadness associated with the end of this friendship.  This person and I simply do not have matching definitions of "obligation" or "work ethic".  Neither of us has to be the bad person.  We are simply on different paths.  I realize that "people drift in and out of your life", and that I have been told this since I was very young.  However, like all younger people, I believed that I would be the exception.     I have decided that this person and his significant other are not good people to have in contact with my child.  It doesn't have to be a bitter thing, (like we ALL were making it) it just has to be called what it is (over)and it has been.

So, a bad teaching year, the end of s significant friendship, and working on a degree in leadership in an environment devoid of authentic, character-based leadership made me a bit sad, and pessimistic for a few weeks there.  Also, I fractured my foot a few weeks ago (at work of all things, a cherry on the cake of the 07-08 academic year) and working out has been hard.  I have been doing a lot of teaching and not much training.  Tonight, I just got out to my garage for the first time in a few weeks for some circuit training, kettlebells, and a nice walk.  The orthopedic doctor told me to get off of my crutches.  However, it is going to take a few weeks to rebuild my body.  My psyche also needs some rebuilding this summer.  So my previous posts on this thread are me being a bit melancholy.  I appreciate all of the folks out there offering kind words and positive energy! 

My son is working on walking and talking and I am so happy to be home with him this summer.  I need to focus on that, and trust in the feeling I get in my heart, my head, and my soul every time I look at him.

Karsk,

I was thinking of pulling my posts from this thread.  I was worried they might sound too whiny.  I have a lot to be thankful for, and sometimes I lose sight of that. 

You have written on these boards before about knights and knighthood and your insight always seems to fit in to the topic at hand, as you have done again here.  I suppose I am struggling with how much hope to maintain that sometimes people can be good and the world can be a good place. 

I too had my father tell me in my youth that most people in the world as a$$holes and that I need to be careful.  I like people and I don't really want to live my life expecting people to be at their worst.  I again wrestle with what to tell my 14 month old son when he grows older.  How much reality do you arm your children with?  How soon?  Do I keep the chain going and tell my boy that most people are not to be trusted?  I realize that these are questions that are very old, but I intend to keep asking them, for myself and for my boy, and for all the folks out there who believe in character and authenticity.

Thank you for your insight, and for the passage, which I did NOT find too heavy.  It was just right actually.   

Woof Crafty and Tom,

"I know a lot of mean men who treated women like dirt and seemed to keep sleeping with a bevy of beautiful ladies."

But YOU are married and have begun having a family.  Why does this matter to you?

That's fair.  Within that, I see people hurting one another, back and forth.  Good folks looking for love, and some just looking for the lovin'  .  Crafty, you are correct.  Many of the things I am bit&^ing about because I am sticking my snout in where it doesn't belong.  I am happily married.  I just wish some of the folks out there would stop hurting one another, or find what they are looking for.  I guess I just wish people happiness.  I realize how naive that must sound.

Welcome to the human condition

Again, I suppose that I just wish it weren't so.  I realize how naive that must sound.

I think you may have heard me talk about my personal rules of engagement in the street (i.e. interaction with the anonymous) :  If he says his dick is bigger than mine, I say congratulations.  If he says he used it to fcuk my mother last night, I wish that he had a good time, for WHAT YOU THINK OF ME IS NONE OF MY BUSINESS.  As Guro Inosanto more pithily puts it "BE THE TEMPERATURE, NOT THE THERMOMETER."

This reminds me of Gandhi's "You must become the change which you wish to see in the world."  The first time I read that quote, I too came back with a "well, duh" moment.  As for learning about people and how it is often best to turn a deaf ear, blind eye, etc, I am still trying to develop myself in that area.  I realize how naive that must sound.

Surely you knew when you went into teaching, the the financial returns would be less than you could make elsewhere-- and other returns greater.  So what is going on here?

  That too is fair, Guro C.  My problem is that the other rewards have not turned out like I expected them.  So, perhaps you are right.  It may be time to look elsewhere.  I never expected universal respect or gratitude, and certainly not ease or perfection, but the experience has been very different.  I realize how naive that must sound.

"Dog" Tom, thank you for the quote.

So thank you both for your wisdom and thoughts, and excuse my naivete, which is paramount.      Thank you for letting me whine and pant, and thank you both for your insight. 

Today, I am grateful for a new computer, which is set up and running very well as I type this!

I am grateful for the weekend that I just spent with my family (wife, son, sister in law) in Las Vegas.  We stayed at Circus Circus and it was a nice, family oriented time.

Today, I am grateful that it is the last day that my students will be on campus.  Let the summer begin!   

Has the R1 completely been played out, worn out it's welcome, ect?  Just as a suggestion if the HOC doesn't end up working out, or am I just typing to type?

I have a question for Guro Crafty, relevant to this thread:

Guro, in your tenure as the ringmaster (and as a fighter), have you ever seen a straight blade trainer vs. karambit trainer fight at any of the Gatherings where:

1. The karambit was used in a manner that was unique to the shape/attributes of a karambit?
or
2. The karambiteer (tell me that's not a real term in FMA, because I wrote it just to be silly) immediately dropped down to the ground and you had a bladed standing fighter vs. bladed Silat type ground fighter situation?

Guro, if you have ever seen 1 or 2 in the context of a Gathering, what was the outcome?  Thank you.  GD

If that is the general feeling, that seems reasonable to me.  The hunt is still on!

Maxx,

I'm going to interject here, before Karsk can get back to you.

IMHO, your friend should fight with the same training axe/tomahawk (what are we calling it at this stage?), but before each fight, it should be decided if the tool is meant to represent a blade, or a (very) blunt impact weapon.  So, if it a bladed simulator, as agreed on before the fight, if your friend lands a good shot, just like in the knife fights at the Gatherings, it's over.  If it is decided upon that it is a blunt impact weapon,

1. it should offer a good wallop to put your friends on an even keel with his opponent.
2. your friend and his opponent need to look at seriously evaluating that "damage" that was simulated, if the tomahawk was meant to simulate an axe tip that had to be put into combat before it could be sharpened.

This would fit right into the spirit of DBMA research, as long as the weapon was evaluated in an honest way.

Thanks, Maxx.  I just plain old couldn't find it, or I was looking right at it and didn't see what I was looking for.   

Today, I am grateful for days like yesterday.  It was Thursday and I spent most of the day wishing it was Friday.  Work was decidedly...work, and then it was over.  Even training just sort of was...

BUT, no one in my family was sick.  There were no maintenance issues in my home.  My car was running just fine.  It was REALLY hot, but that led to a feeling of anticipation for summer and summer vacation.  We need to appreciate those days that feel mundane, but in reality are good days, because everything is as it should be.

Just to return to the subject,

Maxx, remember that feeling of being worn out the first time we worked together, and you were already in good shape?  It's a different kind of energy than

I have it and I'd have to say its more than just sweating and burning.

I agree, medicmatt.  While I have not seen Guro Lonely's DVD, I think everyone can appreciate having workout options that are specific to FMA.  Also, (again) Guro Lonely is arguably one of the DB's best fighters, so why not "borrow" from him? 

Today, I am grateful for the sense that the world can sometimes feel small, in the sense that it's nice to run into good people that remember you and that you in turn remember.  I'm grateful for the feeling that sometimes I make a favorable impression and that people like seeing me.  It's nice to meet good folks that you keep running into here and there.

Today I am grateful for the sum total of my 29 years on this Earth.  I am grateful for the people that have passed in and out of my life.  I am grateful for the places that I have been, and the places that I have not yet had a chance to visit that are calling me.  I am grateful for all of the things that have happened to me, great and terrible, because without them, I would not be who I am, and I am actually starting to like myself a bit after all these years (I don't mean that in an arrogant way).  I am grateful for the things that I have had the chance to do.

I know that nothing is guaranteed, but if live expectancy keeps going up, hopefully I will two more whole sets of the years that have gone by.  That's a long time!  I know that it flies and it crawls, simultaneously it seems, but I  am grateful for the promise of time.  If it turns out that it is my time sooner than that, than I am grateful for the time I had.

I like your question, cfr.  I will answer your question to the best of my ability.

The DBMA power strikes are a great block of material to teach for anyone of any level.  When I teach them, I always put an axe handle into play, because it forces the practitioner to complete the swings with their body, and not their arm.  What you will find over time, is that you start to do all of your stick strikes with your body behind them. 

Indeed, all of your martial art should be coming from your body.  As you mentioned in your first post, the boxer will improve their strength and power over time.  That is because their form will improve and they will begin to throw their punches with their body.  You really need to do this in all martial art, but some arts just get you there faster.  A nice Thai pad workout will gas you pretty good if it lasts long enough, regardless of your level.  After your strength and speed have diminished due to lack of energy, the only way that you will generate power is through good form.  Good form demands that your body be behind your strikes, whether there is a stick in your hand or not, and even when you are kicking or grappling.

So you could say that learning to generate power with a stick will help your empty hand and vice versa, if you can begin to focus on generating power from your body, regardless of what kind of martial art you are practicing.   

"Dog" Tom,

I almost hate to write this, but the little smart a$$ who lives in my brain and writes all of my one liners won't let it go:

At the August Gathering, will you be prowling the fighters' area, calling out all of the BJJ practitioners by telling them that they have a "Gracie superiority complex", and that they have wasted thousands of dollars learning BJJ when only a few submissions are necessary, and that most of them would not make the local high school wrestling team?

Because that would be hardcore.  You'd be the Clubber Lang of the summer Gathering.   

Today, I am grateful for the world right outside of the room in which I work.  I know it is waiting for me when I finish my workday.

Today I am grateful for the promise of a new opportunity that has come my way.

I don't know if this is too warm and fuzzy for DBMA.  I know that constantly dwelling in nothing but hard, cold reality can often lead to fatalism, so I'll try this:  

Recently, I was reminded many cultures in the world teach that a daily expression of gratitude can serve to "build up a storehouse for when adversity comes, because you know it is going to come", as a peer stated so powerfully last weekend.  

So, this thread is quite simple: try to post one thing a day for which you are grateful.  It can be big or small.

Today, I am grateful for my health and the ability to walk, run, and challenge myself on a physical basis.

Guro,

Will the seminar be the same format as the previous one (hours, cost, pre reg discount, etc)?

Guro,

To the best of my abilities, here is what Surf Dog Showed me:
1. Sitting or standing, let your arms dangle palm down, in front of you, but keep your hands a few inches from one another.
2. Put your thumb and forefinger together and extend your other fingers.  Your hands will look like you are displaying a piece of paper.
3. Slowly raise your arms up in front of you, bending at the wrist (fingertips towards the ground), maintaining your hand positioning from the previous step.
4.  When your arms reach chest level, stop raising them.
5. Maintain your finger position, but begin to rotate your palms inward and upward.
6. When your palms feel like they are facing the sky, open your fingers, rotate your wrists outward, so that your palms are facing away from you, and extend your wrists so that your fingertips are pointing towards the ceiling.  You will be extending your wrists so that your palms face outward.
7.  Lower your arms, maintaining the wrist bend from step 6.
8. Relax your hands and wrists when your arms reach full, relaxed extension.

Now, repeat steps 1-8, with you thumb and middle fingers touching for the whole sequence.
Then, repeat steps 1-8, with you thumb and ring fingers touching for the whole sequence.
Then, repeat steps 1-8, with you thumb and pinkie fingers touching for the whole sequence.
Then, repeat steps 1-8, with you thumb and all of your other fingertips (whole hand)  touching for the whole sequence.
You could go on to repeat the whole thing as many times as you wanted to.

Surf Dog showed me this sequence all done in a very relaxed, Tai Chi sort of pace.  The only tension that I felt at any point in my arms was the energy that I was using to maintain my hand positioning from step two.  In the morning on Sunday of the 3 day Gathering, this sequence did not "magically heal" my swollen hands, but it made them relax, open up, and I really felt like the blood was flowing through them after Surf Dog showed me this.  I hope I described that sequence well enough, and if not, forgive me.

Guro Crafty, I'm pleased to hear that you will be at Surf Dog's school again in a few months and I will plan to attend the next seminar!

I was sorry to have to miss the seminar today.  I had made a commitment to meet with an old friend and I made those plans before the seminar was announced.  Surf Dog has been really supportive, attending the last few Gatherings and really making an effort to talk with the fighters.  He showed me a technique from Dr. Gyi's material that really helped my swollen hands during the three day Gathering.  I hope that another seminar will be planned soon so that I can show up, bring some folks, and support Surf Dog and Guro Crafty.

I work at an intermediate school (7th-8th) in southern California.  We have a lot more than some schools only a few miles away and a lot less than others also not that far away.  We have had some terrible incidents this academic year.  School violence of any kind or at any level makes the school environment unbearable.  I have never felt a climate as negative or as fearful than at the present in the educational system of California, and I have lived here my entire life.  I get to meet educators from all over the state and all over the country for that matter.  There is a real sense of the system collapsing in on itself. 

Educators are not perfect.  However, many armchair critics like to bash teachers and education in general.  From my experience, for every teacher who sits at their desk all day and reads the paper, there are three who are doing everything they can to be effective in the classroom.  It's challenging because no teacher, no matter how hard they work can change students' perceptions about the relative value of the education they are receiving.  If the parents pass on the message that it doesn't matter or that "the old man always got in trouble and look how successful he is now", that is what students will bring with them.

I have such respect for all of the law enforcement folks I have met during my martial arts adventure.  I really feel like I am the line right before these brave people, just in the sense that if my students fail to meet me halfway and develop themselves, the folks in law enforcement are waiting for them.  I know that is something a bit cliched or that only a teacher would say, but I have seen it over and over again.  I am aware of a male high school student from a local district located a few miles east of my district.  The school district he was a part of had an amazing academic record and amazing resources.  In a few weeks of starting high school, this student found himself with friends that were all wrong for him.  Within a few weeks he found his way into juvenile hall.  His first day in the facility, he said something stupid to somebody stupid, had a broomstick broken over his head, and was raped.

Sorry to be dramatic.  I have a million stories from only five years of public school teaching that you wouldn't believe.  The educational system in our country is failing our kids, or maybe they are failing it.  I don't know anymore.  What I do know is that (here it comes, another teacher cliche) it is going to take buy-in from everyone to improve it.

My heart goes out to everyone involved in the incident, and everyone involved in that school.