In the first post I wrote for this blog, I noted that no matter how boring drilling may seem, it is a useful method for honing your skills. Looking back at that piece, I didn’t offer much evidence to support my conclusion. In this post, I aim to briefly review Daniel Willingham’s Why Don’t Students … Continue reading Readings: On Drilling and Expertise – Cognitive Science in Martial Arts
Book Reviews
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Readings: Principia Ethica by G. E. Moore
Forgive me for this post, but I will go deep into philosophy here in an attempt to explain a major influence on my views of ethics. The study of ethics is one central element or study found in philosophy, and is often something the ‘real world’ covets yet knows little about. In a philosophy class, … Continue reading Readings: Principia Ethica by G. E. Moore
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Readings: Thus Spake Zarathustra (Nietzsche for Martial Artists)
If you’ve ever read anything by or about Friedrich Nietzsche, you may be familiar with his concepts of will to power and the ubermensch (overman). These two key terms express Nietzsche’s defining characteristic: becoming. His book, Thus Spake Zarathustra, is a series of speeches and interactions of the prophet/hermit Zarathustra with various people and animals. Zarathustra … Continue reading Readings: Thus Spake Zarathustra (Nietzsche for Martial Artists)
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Readings: The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
I first learned about Thomas Kuhn’s 1962 game-changing book, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, in my undergrad “History of Science and Technology” class. After reading the book, I see how Kuhn looks at science, not as necessarily a truth-seeking endeavor, but more of a rhetorical process. Scientists aren’t discovering truth, but studying and advocating for better … Continue reading Readings: The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
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Readings: Thinking, Fast and Slow (and What That Means for Martial Artists).
Daniel Kahneman is a Nobel Prize winner in Economic Sciences (decision making) and a former professor of psychology at Princeton University. His 2011 book, “Thinking, Fast and Slow,” is still a popular book for people trying to figure out how our cognitive selves operate. Though he is intelligent and highly educated, he can take the … Continue reading Readings: Thinking, Fast and Slow (and What That Means for Martial Artists).
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Readings: Malcolm Gladwell’s “Blink” and Jocko Willink – The Bigger Picture in Combat.
“When you go into combat mode, you see less.”
Readings: Man’s Search For Meaning (Suffering and Success)
In many ways, Viktor Frankl’s “Man’s Search For Meaning” is a memoir and a treatise on human tenacity. In one way, it tells of Frankl’s hardships in the Nazi imprisonment camps, Auschwitz being the worst. In another manner, the book gives us insight into how we can endure in the hardest of times and the … Continue reading Readings: Man’s Search For Meaning (Suffering and Success)
Readings: The Tipping Point (Changing Your Environment, part 2)
In my last post, I mentioned James Clear’s book, Atomic Habits. Before reading that book, I read Malcolm Gladwell’s book, The Tipping Point. The two books were written over 15 years apart, but they both discuss elements of our environment and how those elements shape who we are and how we can change, for better … Continue reading Readings: The Tipping Point (Changing Your Environment, part 2)
Readings: Atomic Habits (Changing Your Environment, part 1)
Have you ever wondered why it’s so hard to keep up that workout routine or why you can’t stay on top of your diet? Maybe you can’t seem to make that work deadline because social media or video games rob you of much needed time. We often think we can change our habits through willpower … Continue reading Readings: Atomic Habits (Changing Your Environment, part 1)
Readings: The Obstacle is the Way – The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph
Continuing with a previous post about failure and how it can lead to successes, I want to discuss a book I am reading. For Christmas, I received Ryan Holiday’s “The Obstacle is the Way: The Timeless Are of Turning Trials into Triumph.” I have been a follower of Holiday’s blog, The Daily Stoic, and I’ve … Continue reading Readings: The Obstacle is the Way – The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph
The Philosophical Fighter 