so, i never got around to part two of that style post.
which i wish i could have, because i don't want part one to affect how you read this post.
so before i tell you what is official,
i will tell you that you need to move with what you believe in.
and what you believe in has to have real value and substance.
deciding what has real value and substance is the tough part.
you have to truly understand why you give things merit.
you cannot just accept what anyone says as a truth.
if possible, research and prove it to yourself.
i think that's enough of a preface.
so i just got back from the philippines last weekend.
i spent two weeks (one on the beach in batangas, the other in metro manila)
training my arms off and trying not to sweat to death.
it was an amazing time in amazing company at amazing places.
i came away with a bunch of great experiences,
and a ranking in the system of first level instructor.
so it's official! i'm an official representative.
of a system that i believe in.
that has value and substance.
that i have been teaching and will continue to teach.
that i have been training in and will continue to train in.
it's a lifelong journey and this is just a milestone.
i'm moving forward.
oh if i haven't shared it with you yet,
let me know and i will.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
the power of style. part one.
it is easy to be so enamored by a style,
that the style is the only thing you can, or want, to see.
and why not? beauty exists for us to fixate on.
all great works of life and nature are,
in the context of all noteworthy human experience,
amazing and special and deserve that recognition.
in terms of human-made art it can be easy to appreciate all kinds.
but infatuation, love, and commitment are stronger feelings;
these feelings are less likely to be shared across the field.
this is because these emotions require a better understanding,
a true and deep knowledge, of what they shall elevate on their shoulders.
you see this in every field of every kind of study: the specialists.
they have discovered in their study that very specific passion..
once a disciple is converted, they become their obsession.
they delve into that quest for knowledge and understanding.
they become representatives and advocates for the style and its virtues.
they become experts in knowledge.
hopefully they become experts in application.
all for a style.
all within context.
to be continued..
that the style is the only thing you can, or want, to see.
and why not? beauty exists for us to fixate on.
all great works of life and nature are,
in the context of all noteworthy human experience,
amazing and special and deserve that recognition.
in terms of human-made art it can be easy to appreciate all kinds.
but infatuation, love, and commitment are stronger feelings;
these feelings are less likely to be shared across the field.
this is because these emotions require a better understanding,
a true and deep knowledge, of what they shall elevate on their shoulders.
you see this in every field of every kind of study: the specialists.
they have discovered in their study that very specific passion..
once a disciple is converted, they become their obsession.
they delve into that quest for knowledge and understanding.
they become representatives and advocates for the style and its virtues.
they become experts in knowledge.
hopefully they become experts in application.
all for a style.
all within context.
to be continued..
Friday, February 17, 2012
falling off, moving forward
i have numerous bookmarked blogs in a folder in my browser.
turns out several of them are no longer active.
kind of like how mine can get sometimes.
i wonder if we are just the uncommitted bloggers.
it isn't part of my daily ritual.
i don't need to write.
and i also don't have any clear obligation to either.
how many blogs do you suppose are online,
that have only a handful or less of regular readers?
probably the majority. i'd guess.
anyways,
you can rest easy that when i'm not here writing
i am doing useful and fulfilling things out in the real world.
falling off of blogging means moving forward with life.
i am continuing to teach the kali group down in brooklyn.
i also have several private students with specific curriculum needs.
those lessons are very rewarding for me,
because it challenges my ability to express specific parts of combatives
while still imparting a clear and complete structure for application.
if that makes sense.
skills and concepts are tools,
but to recognize the context in which to use the concepts and tools
is to apply the knowledge.
i'm also riding my bike more.
still not every day: not ideal.
but 15 to 20 miles here and there are very good for me.
the last 15 being through manhattan and brooklyn.
not the most relaxing kind of ride, but a necessary reconnect.
the 20 before that up and around westchester.
half of it on relaxing trailway and a small portion of dirt trail.
the other fraction on terrible shoulder-less barely-suburban road.
tomorrow i'm shooting for 30 out-of-traffic miles.
oh and all of this has been on the cross bike.
i'm learning to like gears.
and clipless pedals.
and kit with chamois.
look at how far i've come.
...
you don't really need to know any of this.
but i suppose i write for the off chance that you do come back here,
so that maybe i can make it worth the click.
turns out several of them are no longer active.
kind of like how mine can get sometimes.
i wonder if we are just the uncommitted bloggers.
it isn't part of my daily ritual.
i don't need to write.
and i also don't have any clear obligation to either.
how many blogs do you suppose are online,
that have only a handful or less of regular readers?
probably the majority. i'd guess.
anyways,
you can rest easy that when i'm not here writing
i am doing useful and fulfilling things out in the real world.
falling off of blogging means moving forward with life.
i am continuing to teach the kali group down in brooklyn.
i also have several private students with specific curriculum needs.
those lessons are very rewarding for me,
because it challenges my ability to express specific parts of combatives
while still imparting a clear and complete structure for application.
if that makes sense.
skills and concepts are tools,
but to recognize the context in which to use the concepts and tools
is to apply the knowledge.
i'm also riding my bike more.
still not every day: not ideal.
but 15 to 20 miles here and there are very good for me.
the last 15 being through manhattan and brooklyn.
not the most relaxing kind of ride, but a necessary reconnect.
the 20 before that up and around westchester.
half of it on relaxing trailway and a small portion of dirt trail.
the other fraction on terrible shoulder-less barely-suburban road.
tomorrow i'm shooting for 30 out-of-traffic miles.
oh and all of this has been on the cross bike.
i'm learning to like gears.
and clipless pedals.
and kit with chamois.
look at how far i've come.
...
you don't really need to know any of this.
but i suppose i write for the off chance that you do come back here,
so that maybe i can make it worth the click.
Monday, January 23, 2012
preparedness
"Being prepared for any crisis, whether natural disaster or social upheaval, is as natural and logical as exercising and eating healthy foods. Taking care of yourself physically doesn't mean you're a hypochondriac. Having fire extinguishers and smoke alarms doesn't mean you have a phobia about fire. Being ready to protect yourself and your family doesn't make you paranoid.
Whether the fight is verbal or physical, the first law of human conflict is to be able to predict where the attack will come, and already have a counter in place for it. If your lifestyle and values are subject to deliberate or accidental misinterpretation, be prepared to defend that lifestyle and those values as surely as you stand ready to protect yourself and yours."
-Massad Ayoob
from this article on backwoods home.
Whether the fight is verbal or physical, the first law of human conflict is to be able to predict where the attack will come, and already have a counter in place for it. If your lifestyle and values are subject to deliberate or accidental misinterpretation, be prepared to defend that lifestyle and those values as surely as you stand ready to protect yourself and yours."
-Massad Ayoob
from this article on backwoods home.
finally snow
it last snowed two and a half months ago. around halloween.
weird winter.
snow is nice. streets become quiet.
away from the city the landscape stays pristine and white.
further out, rides like these are possible.
gotta tune my mountain bike and get out there!
weird winter.
snow is nice. streets become quiet.
away from the city the landscape stays pristine and white.
further out, rides like these are possible.
gotta tune my mountain bike and get out there!
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
oh yeah. in november '11 i did a cross race.
that's me on the left, and frank on the right.
at the start of our first cyclocross race.
i'd raced alleycats on my track bike.
i rode mountain bikes before all this 700c business.
i even had a SSCX bike for a couple years and took that to the trails.
it spent a bunch of that time set up fixed too. that was fun.
but i had sold that bike to fund a disc CX riserbar bike.. aka a hybrid,
which ended up being my do-it-all rig.
i never planned on racing. especially being back east, off the bike, and out of shape.
especially in cyclocross, a discipline renowned for being painful and vomit-inducing.
when i goaded my good friend frank into getting a cross bike,
all i wanted was a partner to ride trails with.
i should have known that he'd want to race it; he was an ironman racer.
and i couldn't disappoint him; he had purchased cause i had told him to.
so i bought a clipless setup (i was a clips n straps or flat pedal guy), trained barriers one night,
and went out to staten CX to play in category 4.
to my surprise, i didn't get dead-fucking-last!
i started mid-pack, got passed a few times,
and i even beat my ironman friend by one (1) spot.
74/100 for zero training and having rode maybe 10 miles that month,
i was happy. and amped to race more than just once next season.
then i can have some goals (gasp!) to shape training (gasp!) around.
i thought bike riding was supposed to be fun.
but there will always be weirdos like this:
see you out there in the dirt!
at the start of our first cyclocross race.
i'd raced alleycats on my track bike.
i rode mountain bikes before all this 700c business.
i even had a SSCX bike for a couple years and took that to the trails.
it spent a bunch of that time set up fixed too. that was fun.
but i had sold that bike to fund a disc CX riserbar bike.. aka a hybrid,
which ended up being my do-it-all rig.
i never planned on racing. especially being back east, off the bike, and out of shape.
especially in cyclocross, a discipline renowned for being painful and vomit-inducing.
when i goaded my good friend frank into getting a cross bike,
all i wanted was a partner to ride trails with.
i should have known that he'd want to race it; he was an ironman racer.
and i couldn't disappoint him; he had purchased cause i had told him to.
so i bought a clipless setup (i was a clips n straps or flat pedal guy), trained barriers one night,
and went out to staten CX to play in category 4.
to my surprise, i didn't get dead-fucking-last!
i started mid-pack, got passed a few times,
and i even beat my ironman friend by one (1) spot.
74/100 for zero training and having rode maybe 10 miles that month,
i was happy. and amped to race more than just once next season.
then i can have some goals (gasp!) to shape training (gasp!) around.
i thought bike riding was supposed to be fun.
but there will always be weirdos like this:
see you out there in the dirt!
Monday, January 16, 2012
2012 begins
and what did i take with me from 2011?
like every year before, it came with experiences
that change the shape of what it means to do good,
and the idea of who and what i do right by.
i didn't realize what that even meant for me.
not until i considered what my highest values were,
or that they could change over time.
throughout life everyone will gain some things and lose others.
last year, in order to move forward with one teacher, i had to leave another.
that also meant leaving a brotherhood that for a time meant a lot to me.
i didn't feel like i had a choice.
my pursuit of higher knowledge could not be put into question,
but in its wake i was exposed to others' feelings that made me see their truths.
i crossed the bridge and cannot turn back.
here, the highest value is knowledge.
in 2011 i also left behind what had become my west coast home.
oakland gave me four brilliant years of sun and rain and friendship and paths.
i met many likeminded people who i hope to know for many years.
the weather was fantastic and a winter of rain was easier to endure.
my bike rolled out with me every day, and i got used to it.
...
some day i will ride oakland daily again.
until then, here i am, back in new york!
with much of the family and many old friends,
in the hometown landscape that i used to hold more highly.
i know the city well, so well that what i love and hate about it
are clear to me and that clarity amplifies the love and hate.
so it is as good, as it is bad, to be back.
new york is the city of ambivalence.
that doesn't mean these next years will be happily unpleasant!
these next chapters simply have a more complex landscape to flip through,
and the challenges will be as difficult as the rewards will be worthy.
2012 will see developments, progression, and maybe some big decisions too.
within the past several years, many of my written entries have rounded back,
to the idea that everything anyone does should be done with consideration.
that the right reasons be the cause,
and that even if there is no goal,
there should be progress.
i hadn't in those entries considered the greater values at the roots.
knowledge, justice, ethical responsibility and personal responsibility.
i need these to be strong in my mind, to encourage them,
and move forward with them.
like every year before, it came with experiences
that change the shape of what it means to do good,
and the idea of who and what i do right by.
i didn't realize what that even meant for me.
not until i considered what my highest values were,
or that they could change over time.
throughout life everyone will gain some things and lose others.
last year, in order to move forward with one teacher, i had to leave another.
that also meant leaving a brotherhood that for a time meant a lot to me.
i didn't feel like i had a choice.
my pursuit of higher knowledge could not be put into question,
but in its wake i was exposed to others' feelings that made me see their truths.
i crossed the bridge and cannot turn back.
here, the highest value is knowledge.
in 2011 i also left behind what had become my west coast home.
oakland gave me four brilliant years of sun and rain and friendship and paths.
i met many likeminded people who i hope to know for many years.
the weather was fantastic and a winter of rain was easier to endure.
my bike rolled out with me every day, and i got used to it.
...
some day i will ride oakland daily again.
until then, here i am, back in new york!
with much of the family and many old friends,
in the hometown landscape that i used to hold more highly.
i know the city well, so well that what i love and hate about it
are clear to me and that clarity amplifies the love and hate.
so it is as good, as it is bad, to be back.
new york is the city of ambivalence.
that doesn't mean these next years will be happily unpleasant!
these next chapters simply have a more complex landscape to flip through,
and the challenges will be as difficult as the rewards will be worthy.
2012 will see developments, progression, and maybe some big decisions too.
within the past several years, many of my written entries have rounded back,
to the idea that everything anyone does should be done with consideration.
that the right reasons be the cause,
and that even if there is no goal,
there should be progress.
i hadn't in those entries considered the greater values at the roots.
knowledge, justice, ethical responsibility and personal responsibility.
i need these to be strong in my mind, to encourage them,
and move forward with them.
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