SLOW KICKS (100 ea. very slowly with perfect form, 5+ seconds per kick, 20 mins.); MEDITATION (15 mins.) * #cabalfang #WOD #hagakure
* If desired, try The #Hagakure #Meditation: Imagine that you are a tree, looking out at the world, which is obscured by your own leaves. Now picture your leaves falling away, each leaf an attachment, a need, obligation, or desire. As each leaf falls away your view of the world becomes more and more clear. Finally you are looking out past bare limbs. You have no attachments, no needs, no desires, and no obligations. Your view of the world is crystal clear and unclouded.
Meditation on inevitable death should be performed daily. Every day when one’s body and mind are at peace, one should meditate upon being ripped apart by arrows, rifles, spears and swords, being carried away by surging waves, being thrown into the midst of a great fire, being struck by lightning, being shaken to death by a great earthquake, falling from thousand-foot cliffs, dying of disease or committing seppuku at the death of one’s master. And every day without fail one should consider himself as dead. There is a saying of the elders’ that goes, “Step from under the eaves and you’re a dead man. Leave the gate and the enemy is waiting.” This is not a matter of being careful. It is to consider oneself as dead beforehand.
Variations of the process go by different names, and those who teach the process come from many different schools, philosophies, and religions.
If you follow the Fourth Way teachings of Gurdjieff, you might call the process “facing the false self.” If you like the Jungian paradigm, you might call it “facing the persona.” If you are a follower of Tyler Durden, you might call it “facing your khakis.” If you are into Qabalah, you know it as facing yourself at Binah or, if you are doing Qliphotic work, an experience resulting from a meditation on Satariel. Into Alchemy? This is Saturn, Fire, part of your Magnum Opus. And if you are a Christian, this is Humility, the process of shedding your vanity (as in Matthew 6:2, or the entire book of Ecclesiastes).
Whatever you call it, facing your persona is an important step in realizing who you really are. As the bard said, “All the world’s a stage and each of us is a player.” Everybody wears masks. I challenge you to take yours off for just five minutes.
Dim the lights and sit down in your favorite chair. Let your eyelids droop. Breathe slowly and deeply and calm yourself utterly. When you are very relaxed, close your eyes and imagine that you are wearing a mask. Think about it deeply, and imagine that your mask contains all of the things you do and say — to fit in, to be successful, to perform in your chosen fields of work and play, to impress others, and so on. When you have that image solidly in your mind’s eye, imagine that you are removing your mask. Look at the mask. Examine it thoroughly in your mind’s eye. What do you think of it? How does it feel to have it off?
I’ve never been a huge believer in Karma. It’s never been in my wheelhouse (You get it, right? Wheelhouse, as in the wheel of Karma?). Anyway, this video bleeped on my radar by way of the geniuses at Disinfo and I watched it.
Although Thad starts off sounding a little weird and shaky, he finishes strong. A very interesting take on an ancient concept. Check out the big brain on Thad!
Not saying I’m now a cheerleader for Karma, but I recommend the video for it’s mind expanding potential.
I have been in leadership positions for over 25 years, from raising kids and teaching martial arts to business management and personnel coaching roles. One of the secrets to my success, as I pointed out in my booklet LEAD!, is pulling people instead of pushing them. Very few people are motivated by pushing, but almost everybody responds to a pull.
What’s the difference between pushing and pulling?
Pushing: “Did you forget that the deadline is tomorrow? If you don’t make that deadline it’s going to be a disaster! What are you doing to make sure that you’re going to make the deadline?”
Pulling: “We’re going to need to work together to hit that deadline tomorrow. What do you think we should do to make sure we do? What can I do to help?”
Pushing is like shoving a person in the direction you want them to go. Pulling is like taking someone by the hand and leading them toward a mutually beneficial destination.
Just now I saw a tweet (see below) and I clicked the link. In it, world famous life coach Tony Robbins talks about the three types of motivation — pushing, pulling, and incentive — and relates a story about how he used pull motivation to encourage President Obama to change his second term governing strategy. Not a huge fan of Tony Robbins, but this is basic stuff, and he got this right. If you’re not using pull motivation, your leadership engine is not running at maximum potential.
The same goes for martial arts. If you are not using pulling strategies in addition to pushing ones, you’ll never fully control the space in which the conflict takes place. There are three ways to get an opponent where you want them — you can push them, you can pull them, and you can draw them — and they all have their time and place.
On the mat or in self defense you can use pushing to your heart’s content. You are, after all, involved in a conflict. But in leadership, use pushing to your peril. People don’t like conflict and they don’t like to be pushed. They’d much rather be pulled.
The Order of the Third Wave, an order of Cabal Fang, has just formed in New Zealand. If you are in the Palmerston North area, and you’re interested in practicing Cabal Fang martial arts, get more info here.
This is a big day for Cabal Fang and for me. I get several inquiries a year from people thinking about starting clubs, but few actually make a go of it. Fewer still stick with it for more than a few weeks or even go to the trouble of creating a presence online. The Order of the Third Wave has already proved itself to be made of stiffer stuff.
For my readers who aren’t familiar with Cabal Fang, she’s the martial art I officially gave birth to in 2009. I’ve written two books about her, and there’s nothing else like her. It takes a special kind of person to practice Cabal Fang, and an especially strong and brave person to start on order. Why? Because in Cabal Fang there are no gurus or instructors, only elders and friends. Each student of Cabal Fang is in charge of his or her own education. There is no one to tell you what to do, nobody to write a curriculum for you, no belt system to rank you, no uniform to set you apart. You have to bite your mouthpiece and wade in with courage.
Cabal Fang is my baby. The formation of the Order of the Third Wave is a big step for her. It’s like putting your child on airplane to New Zealand. You want her to go and have fun, but you’re a tad nervous about her flying alone for the first time.
But you know what? I think she’s going to be fine. She’s a powerful young woman, and she’s in good hands.
Five year traffic history on this blog. What the…?
When I started this blog almost five years ago, I thought it would just be a way for me to vent. I figured there was plenty of room on WordPress for some of the nagging thoughts, feelings, and frustrations cluttering up my head. Why not let some of them out?
I had no idea this blog would turn out to be this popular or that I’d connect with so many cool, creative, talented, people.
You guys are the best. I don’t know what else say other than just “thanks.”
I’m finally getting around to it — writing my response to an article I read on VICE.com by Rick Paulas called Can an Open Source Religion Work?
Rick opens up guns blazing, firing off criticisms of “gatekeepers” — priests, parsons, rabbis, and imams. No issues here. I generally agree that intermediaries only restrict and control the discourse between humans and Deity/God/The All/The Universe. Often these intermediaries have an agenda. Power. Control. Money making.
He then proceeds to try and answer the question of whether, since Pirate Bay and Twitter are all the rage, we might be able to go open source with the whole religion thing. He explores Syntheism, Atheism 2.0, and so forth. In the end, Rick quotes the criticisms of a college professor named O’Leary and arrives at the conclusion that it won’t catch on.
More vital to O’Leary’s skepticism is the lack of mystery, which is inherently woven into the fabric of hierarchy. “Mystery is an integral part of the religious experience, even if it’s experienced purely objectively,” he says. “Magic, mystery, it all goes to support authority.”
Unfortunately, although often true, this statement isn’t always true. Which basically means that it’s, well, false. Not your fault Rick. You just happened to consult with an expert who wasn’t aware of one important exception.
You see, mystery is an important element in an open source religion that has been flourishing for millennia. It’s called mysticism, and it’s an eclectic, non-denominational mystery religion that anybody can join. It has no dogmas and no leaders, yet there is no lack of communication. To quote Louis-Claude Saint-Martin, “All mystics speak the same language, for they come from the same country.”
Simply put, a mystic is someone in pursuit of a direct connection with the Divine. According to the 1911 Britannica, mysticism is “the endeavour of the human mind to grasp the divine essence or the ultimate reality of things, and to enjoy the blessedness of actual communion with the Highest.”
Pythagoras, Saint Teresa of Avila, Saint John of the Cross, Brave New World author Aldous Huxley, Beatles musician George Harrison, psychologist Carl Jung, Evelyn Underhill (author of the definitive work on the subject of mysticism), Allen Ginsberg, and most of the poets who ever lived, were all mystics.
Thanks Rick, for a fascinating article. I mean that — no sarcasm at all. Just want you know that there are, have been, and always be people who embrace and explore religion and mystery in a radical, anarchic way. People who use mystery and religion, not as weapons or means of control, but as tools to open the mind.
Earlier this month, on December 12th, it came to mind that it was the one year anniversary of the passing of Tom Laughlin. For the past couple of weeks I’ve been thinking hard about what I might say.
I suppose that nowadays most folks don’t even know who Tom Laughlin is, don’t remember Billy Jack, and might wonder why I’d remember or care. Laughlin was the man who created and portrayed the character Billy Jack, as well as wrote and directed the movies in which he starred.
Laughlin’s Billy Jack is a strange figure in a series of very unconventional movies. The character, and the films, are the fusion cuisine of the independent movie world. It makes no sense how good it is to have Korean BBQ and kimchi on a taco, or curried rice in sushi. It also makes no sense how amazing it is to watch Billy Jack, a former Green Beret, defend hippies from evil preppies in cowboy hats. With the acumen of a super chef, Laughlin threw everything in the pot. Billy Jack is a “half-breed” who uses “karate” (actually Hapkido, thanks to the choreography and stunt doubling of Bong Soo Han). He’s a man of peace who cannot keep his temper, a strong and quiet loner given to the occasional soliloquy, a crazy mix of cultures, perspectives, and personalities.
And the movies are just as schizophrenic as their main character, slipping back and forth between genres as easily as a shuttle through a Navajo loom. These things are equal parts pulp, action, drama, and political thriller. You might see kids singing kumbaya in this act, and a violent rape scene with exposed breasts in the next. One movie he’d be karate-chopping a pedophile. In the next he’d get appointed to a Congressional seat. You never knew if he was going to go on a vision quest or barricade himself in a building with a rifle.
And so you see, Billy Jack is America in all it’s bi-polar glory.
We Americans can’t agree on anything, not even what we are or what we stand for. But dammit, we know what we are and what we like when we see it, and we flocked to the theater in the millions to see Billy Jack right wrongs in all his wacko glory. It didn’t matter if you were a hippie or a square, a commie, a Republican or a Democrat, you were a fan.
As a kid Billy Jack inspired me to stand up against bullies and racists on the schoolyard. Later, as a young father badly in need of exercise, discipline, and character development, Billy Jack was on my mind when I turned to Korean Karate for help (and truth be told, so was Kwai Chang Caine). The martial arts transformed me. They are a part of me now. Those who knew me then no longer recognize me.
Later still, during Tom’s two presidential runs, he taught me about activism, politics, and what’s wrong with our two-party system. He never got equal time on TV, but once the internet took off, you could watch his videos and read his articles. He loved to punctuate his stuff with all caps, and the old website wasn’t the greatest. But you could just tell how much he deeply cared about his country and all its people. Tom’s enthusiasm and energy blasted off the webpage.
And you could also read about Jungian psychology, which just so happened to be relevant to my studies in mysticism and self exploration. Tom was an internationally renowned expert on Jung, a sought after lecturer on the subject. If he had never made a single movie and had never run for president, he’d still be remembered for his work in Jungian studies.
I’d like to think that if Tom was still around we’d see eye-to-eye on a lot of things. I always fantasized that I might someday get permission from Tom to write some novels featuring his character. With Tom gone, and his endearing wife Delores suffering from Alzheimer’s, that probably won’t ever happen.
But, like Tom and his character Billy Jack, I’ve never been one to give up just because it’s impossible. I sent an email to his estate. I offered to write a Billy Jack novel and donate 100% of the proceeds to the care of Delores Taylor.
What can I say? I allowed Tom and his amazing character to inspire me. Would I have turned out like this if I’d never met Tom or Billy? Who knows. I just know that lots of things will inspire you, if you’ll just let them.
The conversation takes place over a soup can telephone. The signal is weak and the line has to stay tight. Whatever is said can’t be recorded or digitized, only described later in he-said-she-said fashion.
Some writers have gotten it done, have vibrated the string and sent an intelligible message. Melville, Salinger, Palahniuk. You are not your wooden leg, your poppy petal mask, or your fucking khakis.
You are not anything that can be described.
Language is only description: metaphor, simile, dualism. This and that. Is or is not. Language can get you started but, in the end, it’s still just sounds on a soup can telephone. It cannot establish a clear line of communication.
The shorter the string, the stronger the signal. What if you trimmed it from twenty feet down to ten? Better. Ten inches instead of ten feet? Better still. But what if you made it infinitely short, eliminating it all together? Left with just two cans, what’s the point?
Why not ditch the cans all together and sit cheek to cheek with the Universe, God, the All, with your lips at her ear and her lips at yours? Why not whisper back and forth, quiet, true, and clear?
In 1999, chess master Garry Kasparov defeated Earth — the entire planet — in a game of chess. Fifty thousand people collaborated online and they still couldn’t beat the master.
Stop. Think about this. Fifty thousand excellent chess amateurs with books, time, and access to resources, tried to beat Garry Kasparov at a game of chess and failed.
I cite this as an example of how, contrary to popular belief, crowds aren’t smarter than the best in their fields. Yes, it’s true that collective wisdom is really good at guessing how many beans are in a jar, and yes, poll numbers have value. But collective wisdom can only get you so far.
As physicist Richard Feynman famously said, “Hell, if I could explain it to the average person, it wouldn’t have been worth the Nobel Prize.”
So what happens when the things that matter most can’t be understood by most people?
The 2008 financial collapse was the direct result of relaxed regulation of derivatives trading. The average person doesn’t understand derivatives trading. I have been working in Accounting and Finance since 1989 and I don’t understand fucking derivatives!As a result, when we hear that Congress still hasn’t clamped down on it, and may be about to roll back derivatives rules, the average person just can’t seem to get irate. But we should be. Because the idiots who caused the meltdown are going to be free to do the same thing all over again.
Take genetically modified organisms, GMOs, like Monsanto corn and Round-up-ready soybeans. The average person understands neither the science of how organisms are genetically modified, nor the complicated environmental and economic repercussions.
These companies are the real-life counterparts of Umbrella Corp., and they are attracting the world’s greatest minds. Smart people aren’t stupid enough to work for peanuts. They go to the best schools, and when they get out, they get on the payrolls of companies like Monsanto, Lehman Bros., Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch, and Goldman Sachs.
These folks are smarter than us, and the old adage “there’s strength in numbers” just isn’t true any longer. How do we beat them? Haven’t got a clue. But we need to figure out a way.
I teach free of charge through Heritage Arts , a 501(c)(3) educational charity offering free or donation-only classes related to martial arts, fitness, outdoor skills, and spiritual development. Distance learning programs available. Visit the Heritage Arts website to find out more, or click here to join the Heritage Self-Defense group on Facebook.
What is Heritage Rough ‘n’ Tumble? It’s mind-body-spirit form of American Rough ‘n’ Tumble, which began as a manner of no-holds-barred fighting in the Southern Virginia backcountry during the Colonial Era and has since grown, evolved, and adapted to the realities of modern self-defense. An amalgam of the varying techniques brought to America by colonists from all over the world, blended with the fighting methods of the over 900 distinct indigenous tribes, American Rough ‘n’ Tumble is perhaps the world’s most fearsome martial art.
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SLOW KICKS (100 ea. very slowly with perfect form, 5+ seconds per kick, 20 mins.); MEDITATION (15 mins.) * #cabalfang #WOD #hagakure
Robert Mitchell Jr. 