MasterPain

Actually, any decent grappling school will require you to do cardio as a warm up or outside of class. If 5 minutes wears you out, you're muscling through things and not breathing properly. Any high level grapplers tend to be able to have a conversation as they roll.

The great widsom to be gained here, and this goes for all of us, is that when your sparring partner suggests that you stop due to looking disoriented, agree to stop.

I live in the only state with no concealed carry. I'm stuck with a pocket knife. The thing with escrima is that it's a broad term, like karate. Cinco Teros Escrima has one form that includes the entire system. Here's a nice performance of it.

This stuff. And Spaceman Craig inverted guarded me. I helped him figure out how to transition into a triangle from it. Thanks, Alex.

The traditional Filipino machete was used by a friend to defend himself in his home against a pit bull a couple days back. We have spent a good deal of time with escrima over the years, and while we have fun with it, it's mostly been trained in a practical and realistic manner. Nobody expects to face down a dangerous animal in their apartment, but these things happen. A kama or a bo may seem obsolete and out of another time, but the damage they can deal is still very real. XMA is fun to watch, but if you're going to train a weapon, you should learn to use it effectively first.

Pit bulls are a friendly breed, when not owned by morons. Usually people with mean ones abuse their animals. The owner should be arrested for criminal stupidity, if only there were such a crime. Also, people were shot in Effingham a couple days ago. These things happen, so yes, paranoia can be good.

I'm not familiar with this; first time I've heard of it. But, I'm not a big fan or believer in things like destiny, karma, or other things like that.Could you expound on the concept a bit more? I was kidding, the idea comes from the Ultimate Warrior. It's a convoluted idea from a comic book about an 80s pro wrestler. Like you, I'm not much of a believer in destiny.

Samurai History Class.......... Steve has the most awesome job ever. I plan to get his book soon.

No, not at all. I wanted to share the story, and your comment made me laugh, so I worked it into my telling of it. I am not easily offended, and mean no one any offense. Anyway, I feel mushin is a valuable concept that should be studied by all serious martial artists.

No, Tallgeese mentioned a book called Living the Martial Way. That reminded me of the Tea Master and the Samurai, which is a very old story, meant to convey the value of Mushin. That book was where I first heard this story. It has been told and retold several times, usually with small differences, but always with the Tea Master meeting the Samurai, sword raised with his heart and mind clear and free of distraction and attachment to preconceived ideas.

I got that idea from you in the Ninjitsu thread. It had to be worked in there. The basic story is unchanged though.

I then immediately hugged my mommy.

The book where I first read this story was given to me for Christmas in 98. The story stuck with me, and I felt that if I was to tell it, I should do it in my own fashion.

I was reminded of this story in another thread, and thought it would be a good idea to give my own retelling of it. First off, the Tea Master is not just some dude who knows how to boil water and steep some Lipton teabags. In Fuedal Japan, the Tea Ceremony was Serious Business, and a thing of simple beauty. And this guy had mastered it. Before you make fun, remember that modern Western society has made Bieber rich, so take that to the bank and smoke it. Anyway, he was going to the Wal-Mart to buy some tea. Now the samurai, being a post Tokagowa era samurai was not so much a soldier as a guy who played with weapons, wrote bad poetry, and got a check from the government. Think of guys on the Springer show for reference. he was going to the Wal-Mart to buy some mats to roll up and cut in his backyard. Well, they bumped into each other in the discount aisle, and the Tea Master bumped the samurai's sword. This sent the samurai into a full-on nerd rage. It was as though someone deleted his level 60 night elf mage from his WoW account. He told the Tea Master that he was going to kill him, but he would do it at noon the next day in the parking lot so he didn't have to miss Jersey Shore. And if he didn't show up, he'd hunt him down. The Tea Master got himself a sword in the sporting goods section, and went to the Master Swordsman's place over in the trailer park to ask for lessons. Also, he may have wet himself in terror, but that's neither here nor there. The Master Swordsman agreed to teach him for a day, under the condition that he does not claim to be his student before going to a death match with one day of training, a tapout shirt, and a sideways ballcap. After several hours of practice, the Tea Master was still just awful with a sword. The Master Swordsman gave up, and told the Tea Master that he was going to die, and that he should make him some tea for his trouble anyway. As the Tea Master set about the ceremony, a change came over him. His shoulders straightened, his eyes grew calm, he stopped shaking. He was only doing what he had practiced for hours and hours, His Self had fallen away and there was only the ceremony. The master swordsman saw that he was in a state of mushin. "Stop," he said, "Do you want to kill your enemy?" he asked. "Yes, but you said I was going to die." replied the Tea master. "Well, You are going to die, you're a terrible swordsman, and there is nothing we can do about that. You're like the William Hung of swordsmanship. I mean, your just awful. I had no idea someone could knock the wind out of themselves with a hilt drawing their sword. And is your hair shorter than it was? You are going to die at noon, but if you want to kill your enemy, then do what you are doing right now." "But I'm doing nothing." "Exactly" said the Swordsman, "when you meet him, do so in the state of mind you have now. Just raise your sword, and do nothing but cut and die." When he met the Samurai, he raised his sword above his head and waited. The samurai no longer saw a frightened, shivering man, he saw a calm man ready to kill and die. The Tea Master had transformed, like Goku turned blonde, into Death Incarnate. The Samurai said "I cannot defeat you", turned and left. He also may have wet himself, but that is neither her nor there.

There is value here.

Living the Martial Way, I'm going to dig that out and read it again. Great read. That's where I first heard the story of the Tea Master and the Samurai.

That is a great rundown of the last couple decades. i don't know which is more annoying, the jumping leaning helmet tap technique or "tapout culture." People from both sides are smug toward each other. But people with high levels of real skill in MMA and more traditional arts tend to respect what the other is doing.

Eat more donuts, develop good takedowns and side control. Then take them down and lay on them while talking about cheesecake. That's what I do. Or you could take GOOD advice, and listen to the other guys. Though I will say you should always look for dominant position. For the mental aspect, think of what you least favorite fighter does in training. I remind myself that Tito Ortiz would keep going. That makes me angry and indignant enough to push myself harder.

Musashi said that the Way of the gods and Buddhas is good, but it is not the Way of the warrior. He also said that the way of the warrior is to cut the enemy down. So, maybe the Way of the Buddhas is a little less psychotic than the Way of the Warrior. Enlightenment consists of giving up greed and living with compassion for all beings. Other schools of thought hold greed to be less of an evil and more of a driving force for accomplishment. One could counter that compassion should drive one to do well in order to better be able to serve others. Confucious, who was kind of an elitist, would tell you to know your role. Bill and Ted, great philosophers of my time, would say to be excellent to each other. Try to be a decent person and you will be more enlightened than most people. The empty mind concept, as it applies to martial arts, is all about practice. Train until fighting is as natural as walking and you have Mushin.

9/8 Got cardio workout by being in a car going to St. Louis airport. Unfamiliar places scare me.... then contracted a nasty cold- leading to today's workout. 9/9 Strenuous physical activity searching for lost tv remote.

If you want to do Ninjitsu, stay off of that other forum. They will mock you mercilessly. They consider all Ninjitsu a fraud. That being said, there are more applicable arts for the modern world, but if you are getting what you want out of it, who cares what the Bullies think.

How is there no mention here of Destrucity, The truce between one's destiny and one's reality?

That was somewhat incoherent. Should I call you a doctor?

Thanks, I missed this somehow. I teach kicks with a pre-pivot, and have kicked this way for some time. During the summer, we train some at the state park just outside town. The regular pivot on the supporting foot just doesn't work well under all conditions, and not failure to pivot is dangerous for your knees. I was explaining the importance of pivoting on a round kick to a beginner recently. I told her that if she did not pivot the bottom foot and missed her kick, she could twist her knee badly, and would be crying on the ground like Nancy Kerrigan. I was met with a blank stare, which made me feel old when I realized that a grown woman was still learning the etiquette required for having a tea party with her dollies when that happened.

I think the theory is correct. A lot of TMA are fairly recent creations, really. People learn to operate under a ruleset rather quickly.