Martial Methodologies : by Jamen Zacharias

Martial methodologies, I feel, should lead towards potent and effective manipulation of force and energy, as well as an increase in intelligent behaviour, rather then the collection of techniques, the stock piling of drills and reliance on the attributes of the lower impulses. By this, the ‘control of force’ becomes possible and by default, the ethically minded are in a greater condition to direct force and energy according to the precepts of justice and nobility.

Training to express the ego, or to bring forth so called ‘street justice’, is not the goal, yet when one gains an expertise in the manipulation of force, like any other power or weapon, the potential to do harm exists.

This is why science and the precepts of true divine guidance, must go hand in hand. They are not in conflict with one another, but rather exist to co-exist, to work in harmony and to achieve height’s unattainable if left to themselves within any individual or society.

Martial Arts, I truly believe, even with all of its gains, all of its advancements past and present, are still, yet to achieve its highest potentialities.

This is because we as human beings, the vessels from which these wondrous sciences and arts immerge, have yet to discover ‘collectively’, our deepest, most noble motivations. When we do, ‘we as a society’, will bring these profound advancements forth.

– Jamen Zacharias, Author “The Science of Offsetting“

 Originally posted on Facebook December 3, 2013

Roundtable Discussion 017: What is a “Fake”

There always seems to be controversy, not just on the campaign trail, but in the dojo. On the internet, it’s an epidemic. And although this is a subject that may get pushed under the rug by most, none-the-less, it is an important subject to tackle. So, consider this tackled.

[related article: Wretched Hive…]

What makes someone a “Fake” and another person “Legit?”

JOYCE:  Alright “McLovin”, organ donor from Hawaii.

So you’ve sold yourself as another.  Whatever it takes to get ahead right? We all need to make a living or it’s all for the greater good, right?

Well, we know in our heart-of-hearts that this isn’t so.

In our lives we have choices.  We choose who we are, we are not just “what we are.” I honestly think that many people have a problem with this.  Perhaps they made a choice to be a person that they aren’t, perhaps they padded their resumé, they misled someone or allowed another person to get the wrong idea.  Whatever it was, deep inside yourself they know it’s wrong.  Now maybe they’ve left that in the past and decided not to dwell on the poor, immature or wrong choice.  We are imperfect.  Many of us are improving.  Let’s cut some people some slack.

In the world of Martial Arts, the term “Fake” gets thrown around a lot.  Some people go right into fact-checking (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing), however the quality of a martial artist can never be (and should never be) attributed to his or her bloodline, martial art lineage, or popularity – but rather by their dedication to the art and practice and the content of their character.

Recently, there have been many comments that (as website founder & moderator) I had to delete due to meanness and vulgarity.  Other comments, although very negatively directed to certain individuals, I’ve allowed to be posted.  People have the right to make up their own minds about people, and although here in West it is customary to have a certification, I don’t hold any of this mandatory.  I’ve seen plenty of martial artists who have learned from books and tapes.  I’ve seen others who have learned from someone else of no particular lineage and who has not garnished the least amount of fame.

Not all of the forum and YouTube “Haters” are bad.  I DO believe they could be doing something much more constructive with their time, however, I believe that some -not all- all genuinely trying to warn others.  But learning is a process and if the falseness of the teacher is not blatantly apparent, someone may make the mistake of learning “wrongly”.   On the other hand, blame and ridicule is a process also and as Morihei Ueshiba 植芝 盛平 said,

“As soon as you concern yourself with the “good” and “bad” of your fellows, you create an opening in your heart for maliciousness to enter. Testing, competing with, and criticizing others weakens and defeats you.”

My opinion may seem to be too lenient or forgiving for some.  But this is just the truth of who I am.  Take it in and accept it, or leave it and move on.

KENNEDY:  To me a fake in this context is someone who claims to be someone.or something they are not.

If they make objective claims that can be objectively measured, then “fake” or “legitimate” can be determined.

If their claims are subjective, even if outlandish, they cannot be measured and are a matter of perception.

For me, the issue is integrity. Just tell the truth about who you are and where you came from – and let your skill do the real talking.

VAUGHN:  To me a “Fake” would be someone that passes himself off as being well knowledgeable in a certain discipline or field but doesn’t have the credentials to back it up (e.g., certificates of rank, instructor certification, military experience, etc.) Having said that though, I would like to add the stipulation that what ever training or certifications held must be current.

If you know for a fact that a particular martial artists or so called self defense expert is holding seminars promising to turn people into unstoppable forces of nature with the ability to protect themselves and their families, all while not having a shred or documentation or real world experience to back up his claims, then yes by all means call that person a fake. However, if you simply don’t like his style of self defense, method of application or particular way of teaching, then that seems to be more of an issue with yourself then with the person you are calling a fake.

Are we allowed to do disagree on which style or technique we think is the most effective? Yes, and I think we should, that’s part of what makes the martial arts/self defense fascinating for me, but do so in an open discussion and with an open mind. If you do feel the need to label someone a fake at least be willing to back it up with some “proof” before you just throw it out there for everyone to see. Even better, take your complaints directly to the person in question and give them a chance to defend themselves if they are “legit” or stammer and stutter if they are indeed a “fake”.

LEE:  When you speak about the Martial Arts, it is an Art, in order to understand what is fake & what is not fake in the realm of Art, you must have an understanding of what Art is. Art is creative self-expression. 2pac was an Artist, Bob Marley was an Artist, they create something original. If you copy them, you are a fake. If you are not original, you are a fake. If you follow any system in the Martial Art & you are not self-expressive, you are a fake. If you plagiarize, you are a fake.

If you develop your own from your inner heart, you are real. Being fake is any expression that is not your expression. There are very few that are real, that is why the real stand out from all the rest. In Art, being real has nothing to do with certifications. Vincent Van Gogh may have painted something original, somebody that creates a carbon copy of his painting, is a fake. There is fake jewelry & there is real jewelry, an experienced jeweler will know the difference.

In order to determine the difference between fake Martial Arts & real Martial Arts, you must know what real Martial Arts is, if you do not know what real Martial Arts is, you will not know what is real & what is fake, what you deem as real may actually be fake. The stunts and “Martial Art” actors in the movie “Matrix” are fake, they do not live the Martial Way, they are practicing it for the time being for entertainment purposes. Bruce Lee & Jet Li are two individuals who lived & breathed the Martial Arts, it is their way of life.

All “Martial Arts” that do not involve the integration of the “Spirit” is fake. A certified Police Officer who is corrupted, is fake. He may have the badge, the gun, the vest, the car, & his police buddies backing him up, but he is still fake. All corruption of the pure is fake.

A real human being is hard to come by, most of what we deem as real, is actually fake. Most human beings are carbon copies, they are machines, they are not real, they are fake. If you are a fake human being, you cannot practice real Martial Arts. You can only practice real Martial Arts if you are a real human being. Being a real human being is not easy in modern society. The school will turn you into a fake. Your friends will turn you into a fake. Your girlfriend will turn you into a fake. Your employer will turn you into a fake.

You are afraid to express yourself, you are afraid to be yourself because you seek the approval of others, anytime you seek the approval of others, you are being fake. Being real, is just expressing yourself truthfully from within as is. Few people in this world will ever have the courage to express themselves truthfully. For the most part, when they do, they will be attacked by the society, because the society in itself is fake, all the fakes will greatly despise those who are real, they will seek to kill the real.

That is why Jesus, Socrates, Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X, 2pac, Bruce Lee, Gandhi, John Lennon, JFK, etc. were killed. The society hates the real, they want to kill the real, they want to turn everybody into fakes, & that is why you will rarely ever encounter a real Martial Artist, most of all of them will be fake.

LARA:  Making false statements. Having no traceable lineage. Claiming it is secret and such actions show a “Fake.”

I have respect for all arts.  I do not have any respect for “Fakes” as they do nothing but spread misinformation and run a cult of ego to fool others into some kind of hero worship.

For me this is simple. No real rank. No lineage. No good.

KUO:  Fakes are people who represent themselves as being more of an authority than they really are. They do not have the training or experience to back up what they are teaching. The worst type of fakes are those who knowingly disguise their lack of credentials and still pass themselves off as an authority. The less nefarious (but still problematic) fakes are the unwitting fakes: these are the people who don’t know that they can’t back up what they are presenting. The unwitting fakes are at least forgivable if they attempt to rectify their errors when they are called out.

The word “fake” gets thrown around a lot in the internet age. This has been both a good and bad thing. On one hand, the truly erroneous stuff gets shot down quickly. But on the other hand, the veil of internet anonymity draws out some people’s inner jackass. Without full perspective and substantive evidence, they make accusations against other people’s legitimacy and then interleave their accusations with personal attacks and insults. The keyboard converts people who might otherwise be civil and more reflective in a face-to-face interaction into quick-draw internet mud-flingers; in this manner, the attackers are themselves acting as fakes.

That we are even having a discussion about fakes is a reflection of a basic human failing: an inflated ego. For people to want to teach something that exceeds their competence levels means that they feel a need to stroke their egos and sense of self-importance. Likewise for the vitriolic keyboard warrior, accusing someone of being a fake without evidence or civility is akin to strutting around and beating one’s chest in the safety and comfort of one’s home; it’s a useless activity that only reinforces the attacker’s ego, but contributes nothing useful for anyone else.

Ultimately, the question of whether or not someone is a fake is not the most important consideration. Information is being freely shared. To borrow a Bruce Lee quote, we can “adapt what is useful [and] reject what is useless.” We can draw upon shared material to find resources to build ourselves up. Or we could make a choice to use the material as a source to tear others down. Personally, I prefer the constructive approach.

– Combative Crew

Martial Artists and ‘The Ego’ : Sifu Lee

A Martial Artist does not forever enhance this ego, he enhances it, & then he destroys it. He raises himself up, & then he lowers himself back down. He understands both.

He understands the ego way & he understands the way with no ego.

He knows how to be hard but he also knows how to be soft. He is gentle & sweet but he can be fierce when it is called upon for him to be fierce.  He does not enjoy seeing others suffer but he understands that at certain times others will need to suffer in order to grow.

Freddie Lee

[via FMK’s Facebook Profile]

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Mindfulness Inside Out

In a prior post, I wrote about the value of thinking inside the box. Working from within the box, we can come to recognize the bounds of the box and begin to understand the framework it establishes. It is after coming to understand the box that we can begin to think outside of it. In a similar fashion, mindfulness training takes an inside to outside developmental route. Though there are a lucky few people in the world who can immediately reach enlightenment and perceive the world with unclouded vision, most people will need to journey through a path of self-discovery first.

Our minds are partly formed via luck of the genetic draw and partly forged through environmental and societal influences; our life experiences and interactions with family and community shape our identities. Starting from childhood, we discover patterns of understanding in our everyday existence and use our life experiences to form a framework for understanding the world. Formulating patterns from our experiences allows us to establish coping strategies to survive life. For example, we learn or are taught early in life not to touch hot objects or stay out of the path of large moving objects. On the other hand, we also develop mental frameworks which only serve to color our perceptions. For a multitude of reasons, we may come to like or dislike certain foods, people, style of clothing, etc. The mental constructs we forge become filters through which we perceive the world.

These mental constructs that we form obscure the true nature of the world we perceive. Our sense of self–our egos–assign labels and values to things based largely on preconceptions. By relying on preformed labels and values, we bias our perceptions. We can’t see with fresh eyes, listen with attentive ears, or taste with a cleansed palate. We constrain ourselves in what we allow ourselves to perceive. Our preconceptions form the walls of box which limit our ability to see things as they are, and our egos become the guardians of those walls.

Due to the imperfections of the mind, we are prone to revert to thinking inside the box. In mindfulness training, we strive to expand our awareness to perceive the world as it truly is, but the constraints of our boxes hinder our growth. Often, we may not even know that we view the world through tinted lenses. Part of the challenge in mindfulness training is to focus our attentions our thoughts so that we can come to recognize the mental boxes which bias our perceptions. After recognizing the box formed by our preconceptions, we can begin to understand the box and recognize the walls which trap us.

Recognition of the box and acknowledgement of our egos is prerequisite to breaking down the walls of mental ensnarement. Mindfulness training teaches us to recognize our mental boxes so that we may learn to look past them and perceive with greater clarity. Mindfulness starts from within and expands our awareness outward as we learn to let go of the mental frameworks that our egos so closely guard.

Johnny Kuo

One-On-One with Freddie Lee: Competition

Competition fighting is all about egos.  Without an ego you would not be in competition. That is the fostering of the opposite of what the spiritual side of martial arts should really be about, which is to destroy the ego, not foster it in which to make it stronger.  Competition fighters are extremely dedicated athletes; they are great athletes likened to football players, basketball players, gymnasts, etc.  They have come close to perfection of the physical aspect of the martial arts, but have denied the mental and spiritual aspects which are just as important if not more important.  There are great people in all fields of study, great psychologists, doctors, teachers, etc.  Educators are contributing something that is much more valuable to the society than a brute that can be put in the ring like an animal for a crowd to watch in a fight.  How in any way is that to benefit the society other then to motivate more humans to do the same?

As for basketball, baseball, and various other sports, it’s a game and people are not playing it to hurt one another.  But in competition fighting, people are doing whatever they can to hurt one another.  The more they hurt one another the better.  What is the sense in that?  If people really want to hurt one another then why not just go to war?  But yet war and gun violence is discouraged but yet televised public displays of individuals bashing one another with fists and feet is somehow accepted.

Competition tournament fighting just serves to reinforce and develop the ego in man that should be eliminated.  Being drawn into competition fighting is basically going backwards rather than forwards in the progression to spirituality.  If some great fighter can beat up another man, what does that really prove?  One man is just proving his physical excellence over someone else, but why is that important?  Does an adult male need to prove his excellence over a toddler by putting the toddler in the hospital?  Does an adult male need to prove his excellence over a woman and rape her against her will?

If person A is a better fighter than person B and overpowers person B in a ring fight, what has person A really proved?   Person A was able to beat person B on the Monday night fight, but what about Tuesday, Wednesday, and every other following day?  If person B was smart and knew that person A had an advantage over him physically, person B would not have even gotten in that ring fight and would have devised a more tactical way to destroy person A.  Person B could gather a couple of his friends sneak up behind person A and beat him to submission.  Person B could get a gun, knife, or any weapon and batter person A when person A is not paying attention.  But if person B did any of these acts it would be discouraged by the society and it would land him in jail.  But what is so different than that and competition fighting?

Violence is violence, organized or not, no matter if both parties agree to participate in the violence it still is violence that the society would be better off without.  If competition fighters are admired by the society then street gangs and thugs should be admired as well.  Gangs and thugs on the streets have basically an agreed organized form of violence of which many times involve gun violence, but yet this is discouraged by the society.  But say they did not use guns and they all just got together in the streets and started fist fighting one another, what difference is that compared to competition fighting?  On the streets they would all be put in jail for disorderly conduct but yet when televised to the nation, not only are they free from being arrested put they are given money and social approval.  There are laws against organized animal fighting but yet there are no laws against organized human fighting.

It does not matter how much of a great fighter one single person is.  One person with a gun no matter how weak or small can take the life of a competition fighter.  One person with a hidden knife can take the competition fighters life when his head is turned.  One competition fighter cannot overcome a gang of 50 people who are going to take advantage of him and do whatever they want to him.  In the prisons, in the streets, and in modern times, it’s about affiliation, numbers, acceptance, groups, weapons, etc.  One person’s physical ability can never compete against a crowd of adults that are willing to take this person’s life.

Admiring competition fighters is really not too different than admiring a street thug who has no care or worry for his life.  He is willing to do whatever it takes to protect his pride and respect because that is all he lives for.  If someone disrespects him in anyway, this thug will not hesitate to take another person’s life.  Competition fighters are not people that are tough and fearful compared to the people affiliated to the mafia like in the movie “Godfather”.  That is the modern representation of coercive power, not some individual that can just punch and kick effectively.

Some people practice competition fighting to intimidate others.  But a person who has a firearm and is not afraid to use it is more intimidating than a competition fighter.  One who is affiliated with a mafia or a powerful gang is more intimidating than a competition fighter.  An enemy disguised as a friend that is waiting for the right time to batter you is more intimidating than a competition fighter.

Competition based fighting is closer to Martial Sport than Martial Art.  Competition sport fighters have definitely already lost the understanding of being an artist because if they had attained proper mental and spiritual awareness they would not be entering in such competitions in the first place.

One can travel around the nation and win as many tournaments as possible, but what does that prove?  That one is the greatest fighter?  Surely this cannot be true as it is literally impossible to fight a world of billions of civilians.  So really what is the purpose of this brutal journey?

Competition sport fighters have great skill in the ring but what they do is far from reality. In real life, there is a high likelihood there will be multiple offenders. In real life, all sorts of weapons can be used, such as a knife, gun, beer bottle, bat, etc. In real life, there is no judge to stop the fight, in real life, people go to the hospital, people get arrested and charged, and people even die. In real life, you may be fighting for your life spontaneously with no preparation or knowledge of who you will be fighting or when. There are many factors that completely change the priorities of proper training for survival opposed to competition fighting.

A true martial artist is an artist who has destroyed the inner ego from within in which to foster peace and love.  The goal of Martial Art is to develop oneself into a more peaceful individual.  Not a competitive and violent individual that wishes to boast of the effectiveness of his technique by violently destroying a weaker individual.  Becoming extremely proficient in the Martial Arts is likened to being in possession of a firearm or dangerous weapon.  A lethal weapon in the wrong hands is devastating to society.  A lethal weapon in the right hands can be used to protect those that need protection.

Therefore the most practical aspect of Martial Art in modern society is not the perfection of fighting techniques but rather the perfection of the inner spirit that fosters love, compassion, and peace.  Examples of individuals that have achieved the elite development of the spirit are Jesus, Martin Luther King Jr., Gandhi, Dali-Lama, Confucius, Osho, Buddha, and Lao-tzu.  Martial Art should simply be used as a means into achieving true peace of mind.  If one was to ever achieve true peace of mind, a true Martial Artist would never compete with another in order to assert himself.  If one ceases to be competitive and if one ceases to be violent; he will attract peace within his life.  And he would rarely if ever have to result in utilizing his physical ability to defend himself from violent encounters.

Sifu Freddie Lee

FreddiesModernKungfu.Com

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