"The Author, it must be remembered, writes from his own standpoint!"
My personal "Interpretive" Lens!

"One thing has always been true: That book ... or ... that person who can give me an idea or a new slant on an old idea is my friend." - Louis L'Amour


"Providing a first step on a path to self-reflection." - C. E. James

"Read not to contradict and confute; nor to believe and take for granted; nor to find talk and discourse; but to weigh and consider..." - Francis Bacon

"What is true today may be reevaluated as false not long after. Judgements are frequently based upon a set of "temporary" circumstances surrounding them. Conflicting ideologies can exist simultaneously. Antagonistic dualities are complementary aspects of a unified whole: are seen as mutually dependent mirror images of each other." - Nahum Stiskin

Warning, Caveat and Note: The postings on this blog are my interpretation of readings, studies and experiences therefore errors and omissions are mine and mine alone. The content surrounding the extracts of books, see bibliography on this blog site, are also mine and mine alone therefore errors and omissions are also mine and mine alone and therefore why I highly recommended one read, study, research and fact find the material for clarity. My effort here is self-clarity toward a fuller understanding of the subject matter. See the bibliography for information on the books.


Note: I will endevor to provide a bibliography and italicize any direct quotes from the materials I use for this blog. If there are mistakes, errors, and/or omissions, I take full responsibility for them as they are mine and mine alone. If you find any mistakes, errors, and/or omissions please comment and let me know along with the correct information and/or sources.

Kenpo Gokui

The lines of the ken-po goku-i are set from an atomistic aspect simply because it is the manner in which the brain learns. Its nature is completely holistic and like the I Ching must be in a form that promotes learning and understanding so a person can see, hear and grasp the nature of a holistic system. The gokui is a method to teach us how to be holistic. Its terseness is the best that can be done to convey its holistic meaning.

A person's heart is the same as Heaven and Earth while the blood circulating is similar to the Sun and Moon yet the manner of drinking and spitting is either soft or hard while a person's unbalance is the same as a weight and the body should be able to change direction at any time as the time to strike is when the opportunity presents itself and both the eyes must see all sides as the ears must listen in all directions while the mind must grasp all the tactile, olfactory and gustation data not seen on all sides and not heard in any direction


Master Zeng said, "Am I preaching what I have not practiced myself?"

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Yang-Yin Symbol

Take a look at it sometime, a close look. Often when I present some philosophical meanderings I refer to three, heave-man-earth, etc. but is there a "third" part of the symbol?

You have the "white half" then the "black half" and then the "two smaller white and black" within the other white and black halfs. It is referred to as the Yang-Yin symbol with only two descriptive words, "yang and yin." So, is there a third?

Yes, there is. I can think of two right off the top of my head. Yang (obvious), Yin (again, obvious) and void (not so obvious). How is void symbolized in the symbol? Ever notice that the majority of the symbols are enclosed in a black line that forms a circle? The circle denotes a few things but it is a "third part" of the symbol.

If yang-n-yin balance out it becomes the full circle but as nature, universe, intended the smaller white and black in the yang and yin fields are a seed that give birth to the next cycle keeping the cycles, rhythms and patterns constantly generating new birth-life-death of the myriad things of the great Tai Chi, the one.


Submissive-Assertive-Aggressive (Heaven-Man-Earth; balance)

I really do see the number three a lot of late. Heaven-Man-Earth, fundamentals-Kata-kumite, etc. so when I read or study something and this "three" rears up in my face I gotta pursue it a bit.

It seems to me that these three fit into the world of martial systems.

Some folks are a bit timid or submissive in attempt to avoid conflict. They sometimes reach a point in that life where they want to seek out the means to overcome and create a more assertive life - karate classes can be what springs into their imagination and they seek out instruction.

Some folks tend to lean toward a more aggressive life style only to discover just how dysfunctional that can be along with all the stress driven repercussions one can encounter as an aggressor. To temper such things they may walk by a dojo, see all the pajama clad folks shouting "kiai" and punching and kicking and grappling all of the floor. They say, hey I like to mix it up and this looks like fun. In many cases once they are immersed in the system they find it a bit calming and tend to temper, no pun intended, their heated lifestyle into a more assertive form with less-n-less need to be aggressive.

Some folks walk that middle road but can't seem to bring themselves out of an assertive style to accomplish some goals that need a bit less assertiveness and a little submissive mix or a little more aggressive mix to achieve some goals. You might think that always being of an assertive nature would be a balanced way but in reality one needs to be mostly an assertive style with a smidgeon of either submission or aggression to bring about a state conducive to a good life. They find that in their karate training then can branch out and get all three so they learn to mix and match accordingly.

Too much submissive or aggressive tends to be off kilter causing more problems then one might think that style would gain but remaining in the middle is a bit boring and unproductive in many cases. A good balanced martial system provides the tools to teach one to achieve a fluctuation, as need, between a bit of one or the other mixed with a bit of assertiveness to achieve an enlightened balanced state - healthy to physical-mental-spiritual balance, don't you think?

One Wholehearted Way? or ?

We have brains, hopefully. Our brains tend to work in certain ways, generally, according to cultures, times and locations. Our brains quantify everything our senses perceive in the world. It is integrated into every single facet of human life. It is a part of the function of our brains like DNA to life itself.

Our brains encode, it takes information and places it into units of quantity. Along with language influences of the brain we, the brain that is, assigns numeric labels to allow us to understand concepts such as 1, 2, 3, etc. We even assign emotional effects value as numbers. Numbers are symbolic and perceived as lucky or unlucky, i.e. 13 to most Americans is perceived as unlucky. You won't find a thirteenth floor in hotels, etc.

Such beliefs are passed down from father to son, mother to daughter, family to family, and generation to generation. Beliefs are based on myths and the more frequent they are repeated the more difficult they are to ignore, change or get rid of.

Numbers, we give greater value and credence to numbers as they grow. "Five" bucks is of greater value than "one" buck. We see larger numbers as if they validate our belief that the greater the number the more impressive it is so it just goes to say that our thought that having five black belts is of course a greater achievement than one black belt. Having five or six different styles or systems in our resume for martial arts has the ability to "impress" others as a greater achievement than just "one system."

Once this is established then it is a race to see how many and how fast you can accumulate black belts, styles or systems and of course trophies. We are programmed by our brain functions to assume greater of any thing tends to mean "more."

Here endith the lesson ;-)


Christmas Wish List Karate Justsu Do

Recently I read a blog that had the most excellent list for Christmas and it got me to thinking of what I would like or wish for Christmas, for me and for all karate-ka.

Here is my list:

1. The true essence of Okinawan Karate Jutsu Do be experienced, embraced and practiced by every single karate person in the world.

2. The true spirit of Okinawan Karate Jutsu Do be experienced, embraced and practiced by every single karate person in the world.

3. The entire karate community joins hands and comes to a mutual understanding that spans the reality gaps that exist and achieve true enlightenment toward a system that embraces the uniqueness all styles and branches for a wholehearted community of karate-ka.

I could ask that this be also the 2012 New Year's resolution that all karate-ka in all parts of the world embrace for all time. Oh yea, and world peace would be kind of cool too.