I recently heard Yoda say this on Star Wars: The Last Jedi - Pass on what you have learned. Strength, mastery, hmm… but weakness, folly, failure also. Yes: failure, most of all. The greatest teacher, failure is. Aside from being a martial arts instructor, I run a tutoring center at a college and I also … Continue reading Re-framing Failure: Learning from your losses.
Author: The Philosophical Fighter
Guns Don’t Keep You Safe – Reblog
This is a great article about the fallacy of guns (or any weapon) being a magical tool of safety. Training and no weapon is better (and safer) than a weapon and no training.
Readings: Old School Jiu-Jitsu – Manifesto
If you haven't picked up Old School Jiu Jitsu founder Brian Jones's book, Manifesto, you are missing out on a gem. Jiu Jitsu is about fun, fellowship, and food for thought, but the core principle of Jiu Jitsu is fighting. An excerpt from the first few pages lays out the thesis: "Jiu Jitsu training provides … Continue reading Readings: Old School Jiu-Jitsu – Manifesto
Reading and Literacy (and Maybe Even Humanity) – Reblog
“If you haven’t read hundreds of books, you are functionally illiterate, and you will be incompetent, because your personal experience alone aren’t broad enough to sustain you.” – Jim “Mad Dog” Mattis
Self-defense trainer and man of letters Greg Ellifritz (Active Response Training) recently wrote an instructive blog post on “Institutional Memory.” It was occasioned by an essay by Chris Cerino (of “Top Shot” fame) titled A Short History Of Pistol Shooting Techniques.
Gratuitous photo of me drinking beer with Chris Cerino at the Wild Beaver Saloon, Indianapolis, IN. Photo by Sandy Yamane
Cerino’s article recalled for Ellifritz a conversation he was having with fellow trainer Tom Givens about how few contemporary gun trainers are “fully aware of the history and evolution of the art.” The “institutional memory” — the collective knowledge and experiences — of the gun training community has been or is being lost.
To wit: Karl Rehn of KR Training has been working hard on a book on the history of handgun training and technique, as well as an historical handguns class, but what he…
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Passing Guard: Pressure is Persuasion
“Pressure is persuasion,” I yelled to one of my students as he tried to pass his opponent’s guard. The tournament official next to me looked at me funny and smiled. “I like that,” he said. Afterward, the official and I had a conversation about persuasion and martial arts. Part of my professional background is in … Continue reading Passing Guard: Pressure is Persuasion
Keep your head up.
We were just kids who wanted to wrestle. It’s hard to believe where we all are today. It seems like a different world. As we progress through our journey in martial arts, we face many obstacles such as learning curves, harder techniques, and tougher opponents. The young men in this picture faced obstacles over the … Continue reading Keep your head up.
Building a Legacy
I know it's been a few months since my last post, so I wanted to touch base. I haven't given up opining—quite the contrary. I have had numerous things on my mind lately, much of which I am eager to share with you in the coming months. In my last post, I mentioned that I … Continue reading Building a Legacy
A Lesson Learned
If you ever wonder what I do when I am not training or waxing philosophical on a mat, here is one thing I do in what little spare time I have: write. If you read this blog, you already knew that. I write for local newspapers and magazines as well as research papers for graduate … Continue reading A Lesson Learned
Pull the trigger and eat the frog.
Judo coach Hap Wheeler always has words of encouragement for his students as they maneuver through techniques against unwilling opponents: “Pull the trigger.” I hear him say this phrase in my head often when I hesitate to do something. My last post was about fear and how to use it to do new things and learn … Continue reading Pull the trigger and eat the frog.
Are You Using Your Fear Properly?
If not, here’s how you can make the most of it. "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - … Continue reading Are You Using Your Fear Properly?
The Philosophical Fighter 