Have you learned any thing??

[Zero]

See it is true about all the awesome stuff people are like.. I would not even have dreamt of a sausage related learning here lol.. And you work in Mayfair and live in SE and so that suggests you are possibly *not* the ambassador.. which is a pity because I could have totally helped you eat your Ferrero haha.. And NZ always seemed like the idyll to me though that was probably based more on 1990s Michael Palin than any thing real life.. or maybe every one takes a bungee jump before work? :D Jx

Ok, so I am going to be biased but NZ is absolutely an awesome place to live in or to travel through, particularly if you are into the great outdoors and love the sea. Great forests and ocean action awaits and it is all so accessible. Palin got it right...I recommend you go check it out some day, it's only a paltry 13 hours flight or so from the US anyways! : )

And, we surf before work or skin possums, the bungee and skydiving is all done after work naturally. :)

 

[Orange Lightning]

@Orange Lightning, regarding MA “facts” and the case for empirical proofs maybe there is a further caveat too.. what is empirically proven for one martial artist cannot be taken as authority by another.. is that true or not do you think??

I am just asking as I have not read your empirical proofs -though forgive me I have probably missed them elsewhere? I wonder what proofs of your own you discovered and why,it seems, you feel it is true what has been told to you that your own empirical proofs are not as worthy as those of supposedly educated or expert others in MA? Thank you Jx

Well, there are no absolutes. Between styles, and even person to person, there are almost certainly different truths. I haven't written any of these "truths" anywhere for this reason. It's almost impossible to explain them because there are always going to be exceptions to the statement. I often find these things are....small. Very small nuggets of truth. Whether they just be physics or saying something like, " In this scenario, if this happens, and I do this, that happens.". And in that tiny context, and very well may be a perceivable fact. But that's just the thing of it. It's going to be different for everyone.

Here's the caveat about "truth". It's 2 sided coin. Or a multi-sided die perhaps. Multiple opposite opinions, all simultaneously true. What may be true for one martial artist or style could invite the disadvantage, or rather, lack of advantage that the other option has. And the reverse is true. The other style or martial artist has chosen specific truths to wield, fully aware of the pro's and con's. Perhaps aware of the other method's pro's and cons, you stick to your guns. You can't use both at once, so you midas well use the one that enables you the most. Although, you could switch between them, if you wanted.
Kind of comes full circle with what I was talking about earlier. Metaphorically, these nuggets of truth shine light on the dark unknown of a situation. This allotment of truths, to me, is style.

I don't think I understand this last question. Could you reword it?

@Argus - Thanks Argus. Very good to hear.

 

[Flatfish]

@Flatfish ok I understand how you mean.. Can you say, how do you think this could help when trying to deal with someone at work that was bullying? I mean would a feeling of confidence from practicing MA help us to deal differently than if we had not? thank you, Jx

Hmm, interesting question. Honestly I don't have to deal with bullies much at work seeing as I am in a "sophisticated academic environment (LOLz)" but maybe two recent events might be of interest:

A) I have a new boss who is very stingy with resources to the point that she won't "invest" in efforts to improve the quality of the work that is being done. I asked her to help with matching some resources on a grant that would bring in a significant amount of money and she flat out refused. In the past I would have let it go, being too worried to get in trouble etc. This time I went straight to her boss and got things straightened out. Would not have happened a year ago and frankly it did not bother me one bit if had she gotten mad at me.(I actually don't know if she did or not, whatever). I think that is newly won confidence. Also, I have been in this job for 10 years so not unfamiliar with how things work.


B) My 8yo daughter who trains with me, has made some huge strides this year figuring out how to deal with people. She has always been a follower with not much self esteem. She has recently figured out to stay away from the popular girls if the popular girls are being little witches and find some real friends. But more to the point, for the end of the school year they put on a little talent show and she got dolled up in her Dobok, performed one of our forms and broke a board in front of 50-60 people. Two days later she told me that she stood up to a bully at school, not for herself but on behalf of some other girl who she doesn't even know. I'm sure simply growing up is part of that but I would like to think that her MA training contributed as well.

 

[Xue Sheng]

I am interested to know of any one here..

What has doing your MA taught you about your self as a person?

And if the answer is not a thing or you do not much care or MA has no business teaching me about my self as a person, I would also be interested to know because I am not certain whether other practitioners stop to evaluate personal self learnings from their MA or is it just me..

Thank you very much for your input, Jxx

Something else I learned, not directly from martial arts, but in a way it is because I train martial arts I came to this and it does directly apply to martial arts, particularly when you are talking conflict.

We have too many expectations, we build too many scripts and scenarios in our heads going into everything is it any wonder that we are unhappy, discontented, unsatisfied or confused. Or as it applies to a martial situation what we do does not work. It is rarely If they do ‘A’ then I shall do ‘B’ or if I do ‘B’ they will do ‘C’ in just about everything. Even in Xingyiquan 5 elements that talk about the production and destruction of the 5 elements and associate that with specific postures you still need to train those postures in different orders because, in reality where regulations do not apply, there is no “if they do ‘A’ I do ‘B’. So thinking that way is prone to failure

Same in life; just think about going to meet someone, and all the things you start going over in your head; conversations, response to conversation, things that might happen or shouldn’t happen, etc.

It all gets to complicated and gets in the way of living

 

[Balrog]

I like how you word that.. I think there is a lot implied in how you say you have gotten really good at being a student.. It is like maybe there is a certain student mindset that possibly not all students have?? I imagine there is more to being a student, and a good one, than just a superficial word.. what do you think makes you good at being a student can I ask? Thank you again, Jxx

Hard to put into words. I guess the best way to put it is that I have learned to love learning. It's the constant expanding of my physical and mental skills and faculties that appeals to me.

 

[Transk53]

@Jenna
you put this poetically.. I do not know if you are on any level being literal.. like this sound not too far from how someone who is synesthesic will relate their experience, yes? I understand how you speak of understanding a piece of music though I am unclear on how this analogy translates into dealing with others or the world? can anyone use this way of understanding?? If you could explain I would be grateful.. thank you, Jx

Pretty awful really, my social skills are appalling. My customer service skills make most people cringe and no doubt leave seething inwardly and calling me a big wotsit. I am being literal, but not in the sense of relating to music or reading sheets etc. I have a daily routine that is pretty strict in make up and I can go ballistic at any hint of change, although these days I tend to cope better. Simply because I modified my daily approach. As for the music, I doubt that I could convey in terms that are understandable. Suffice to say to me it is the ebb and flow of my mind and how I relate my thoughts and how I think of the Earth in a completely non hippy way!!

 

[JohnnyEnglish]

I am interested to know of any one here..

What has doing your MA taught you about your self as a person?

And if the answer is not a thing or you do not much care or MA has no business teaching me about my self as a person, I would also be interested to know because I am not certain whether other practitioners stop to evaluate personal self learnings from their MA or is it just me..

Thank you very much for your input, Jxx

I learnt to not underestimate other humans who are smaller and " weaker " looking than me. This does not say anything about a person. I also learnt to know myself much better when it comes to physical things, I know what I am able to do and I know what I will be able to do, which also makes me feel much safer and more self-confident.

 

[D.Cobb]

I learned many years ago that the duality I was living was not getting me any where. I used to be a very angry man. I hated the world and would fight anybody if they reacted to my prompting in a certain way. One day I realised a choice needed to be made. I could be the guy in the karate club, that was loved and respected by all. Or I could be the guy outside of the karate club, that was liked by few and feared by many. On the toss up, I figured the guy outside the karate school wasn't doing too well, and so I made the decision to change.
Then I learned that change is a journey that I will hopefully never reach the end of...

 

[Balrog]

@Balrog, your MA has taught you some valuable skills beyond the mats thank you for sharing.. I want to ask you few things.. can you have respect for some one when they have none for you? And how can we aspire to mastery when like you say, we know there is always some thing new to learn? Thank you Jx

My apologies for taking so long to respond. I'll answer your questions in reverse order.

I am a Master Instructor. To me, that means I've become a really, really good student. I continue to train with my seniors in all aspects: business management and teaching techniques for running my school, weapons training, and of course, my required form and material for my rank. Teachers should never stop learning. They stagnate when they do.

My answer to your question on respect is.....yes, to a degree. I have some people in my organization where I "bow to the belt". I respect them greatly for their techniques and their martial arts skills and I would not hesitate to learn from them. But personally, they are jerks with overinflated egos who think the sun shines out of their butt because they are higher ranked than most everyone else.

In any large group of people, you will always have some who fall under the left end of the bell curve. You just have to find a way to deal with them. I am always courteous and polite to them when we meet at tournaments or whatever, then I find a way to stay distant from them for the rest of the day.

 

[Emilee <3]

I am interested to know of any one here..

What has doing your MA taught you about your self as a person?

And if the answer is not a thing or you do not much care or MA has no business teaching me about my self as a person, I would also be interested to know because I am not certain whether other practitioners stop to evaluate personal self learnings from their MA or is it just me..

Thank you very much for your input, Jxx

I've learned that I can become a far more capable and confident person than I ever expected. I've also learned that martial arts isn't just a hobby, it's a lifestyle. And lastly, that even though I'm super tiny, I can still pack a punch (or a roundhouse kick haha).