At a family gathering, a young woman was asked why she cut the ends off the ham she had brought to the meal. “My mom always cut the ends off,” she replied. The young lady asked her mother later why she cut the ends off the ham. “I’m not sure, but my mother used to … Continue reading Family Traditions: A Recipe for Realization
Photo by Chi Lok TSANG on Unsplash What does it take to stand up for your beliefs? Have you ever asked yourself what you would do if you were faced with giving up or fighting back? We are witnessing an interesting phenomenon in our country and our world right now. People are fighting back, sometimes … Continue reading We Were Meant To Be Courageous
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 #5: Man’s Search For Meaning (Suffering and Success)
It finally came. The day we had all waited for. The studio has reopened for us to get back on the mat. Now we can all take a deep sigh of relief… cautiously. As we reopen and resume our martial arts training, what does it look like? Is it perfectly identical to the way it … Continue reading Resume and Remain: Fighting Back After the Pandemic
JD lists some of the most important things you can do to be prepared for uncertain and unsettling times. For the full explanation of each item, check out his blog. It's full of important information. Here is his list: First, immediately develop a communications plan… Second, immediately collect open-source intelligence (OSINT)… Third, check … Continue reading What You Should Do Right Now — Tactical Training Systems – Reblog
Philosophy from a video game. “Finish him,” was the famous phrase heard on Mortal Kombat 3 when it came time to obliterate your opponent. You might remember the drunken wobble Raiden does just before Sub-Zero uppercuts him into oblivion. Good times. As a kid, another part of the game always stood out: the opening credits. … Continue reading What Mortal Kombat Taught Me About Knowledge
How many times have you seen the memes on social media displaying how nature differentiates apex predators? There’s one with a black snake that looks like a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt. Then there’s one (see inset) about people with cauliflower ears. These memes make for an interesting discussion. What about your appearance indicates you know … Continue reading 2 Reasons to Improve Your Body Language
“No fair,” cries my son when he thinks his sister got a bigger piece of candy. “No fair,” he cries when I tell him he can’t go outside and play until he cleans his room. I politely remind him that sometimes, life isn’t fair. We see this often with children, but we don’t recognize it … Continue reading Why Me?: Unfairness and Life
Sun Tzu and Spying on the Enemy In a recent webinar on Tactical Communication put on by the Verbal Judo Institute, the instructor often cited Sun Tzu’s Art of War. In Verbal Judo, one of the key parts of de-escalation and tactical communication is empathy. Several definitions are floating around, but in essence, empathy is … Continue reading How You Can Learn Empathy from a Book About War
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 #4: The Tipping Point (Changing Your Environment, part 2)
