Live Not OnLine
Geoffrey Hinton just resigned from Google, where he was a leader in the development of Artificial Intelligence. He resigned so he could speak freely. One of his concerns is that AI will flood the internet with fake videos, photos, and news, so that people will “not be able to know what is true anymore.” We are already […]
Making History
They say the modern world is in an advanced stage of decline. We don’t need to decline with it. We are not helplessly riding an arc of history. History is not a thing. History is what people do. We can think in accord with accepted norms or contrary to them. Or neither: we can make […]
On the Street
Martial arts training can sometimes get trapped in an inward frame of reference – what we do, how we do it, what my teacher says to do to get the next rank, and so on. It is possible for martial arts to drift away from practical demands, and a genuine self-defense frame of reference. That […]
Breaking Good
Once your opponent’s balance is broken you can neutralize his threat. He may break his own balance by error or lack of skill. Or you can break it for him. Our balance will be attacked. We cannot afford to lose it. We need to maintain it or to recover right away. We have control over […]
How Things Get To Be The Way They Are
The first day of after-school karate at the elementary school was, in the beginning, not quite chaos, but it was not the orderly, focused, respectful atmosphere of the dojo either. The kids there for the first time lined up when I told them to, but they wiggled and talked and did what they do after […]
Self-defense vs. Protection Rackets
Kids need love and protection. They may wander off. They may get frightened or hurt. They want someone who can do protect them. Families do that. Part of growing up is the transition from wanting protection to providing it. As a teenager you learn to look out for yourself. You take care of your body, your dignity, […]
山林 Yamabayashi Shorin Ryu Karate
Our style is Yamabayashi Shorin Ryu Karate. Yamabayashi means Mountain Forest. It can also be pronounced San Rin. Name In 2017 I formed Mountain Karate Dojo, where we practice Mountain Forest style karate. Our dojo is in a region of mountains and forests; their strength, stability, endurance, adaptability, vitality, variety and resilience inspire us. Sources Yamabayshi […]
The Dojo and the Crime Scene
Amid all the shouts of f*ck the police there are millions of people who call the police, every day. For help. Most of them are calling because they are afraid or have been hurt, or their stuff has been stolen. They are calling for help. Often, they call for protection from drug dealers […]
Gradient of Competence
There are a lot of pop culture references to traditional karate that make fun of it. From the Karate Kid movies to Seinfeld to Jim Carrey to Friends and on and on, karate dojo’s are mocked, and karate teachers are presented as pompous, self-regarding goof balls. A healthy dojo is a training environment. To […]
Martial Arts & Martial Law
Operating in the dark is a challenge. Darkness may be helpful. Sometimes it is necessary. But it’s difficult to orient in the dark; harder to detect obstacles, threats, targets and the path we need to take. Which is a lot like training now. Isolated from the dojo, separated from friends, from the normal routines and […]
Training in Time of Plague and Panic
We train to detect threats before they emerge, and to deal with them effectively if they do. Threats are always present in our environment, sometimes in the distance, sometimes up close. Opportunity is around us too. At our Tuesday evening class on September 11, 2001, pretty much every member of the dojo showed up to train. […]
“Group Flow” in Kata
Researchers have identified a phenomenon they call “group flow” which emerges in the performance of well-trained groups. In traditional martial arts we know it well. When members of a team, band, military unit, business or dojo “cooperate, agree on goals, skills and patterns of action”, then “group flow,” or group cohesion, emerges. Pioneeered by psychologist […]
Ranks and Titles
Ranks and titles have value Ranks are a tool. They can help us preserve the knowledge of the past, and focus on our challenges in the present. Ranks reward effort. They can be a mark of achievement and respect. It shows a newer person where to turn for advice, and who to imitate. Ranks help […]
An Ecstasy of Sweat
It’s good to get together with a few or a few hundred of your closest friends and train real hard for a long time, together, everyone doing the same thing, in their own way, at the same time, of their own free will. And together, in an ecstasy of sweat, burn out all the junk […]
Mountain Karate 