Hertao Blog

This post will stray a bit from martial arts:

My wife and I just returned from a trip to Croatia, where among other things we kayaked along the coast around Dubrovnik. Dubrovnik is an incredible city, and if you ever get the chance to go in May or June, do so. We brought our folding kayaks, which I would also highly recommend to anyone who likes to get off the beaten path. (more…)

Michael Blackgrave wrote a great post yesterday titled Martial Minions. Many Asian martial arts are supposed to be about a search for the truth, often referencing philosophical elements of Zen, etc., yet promote the exact opposite. It’s common to see everything from entirely ineffective techniques that are trained over and over again without thought, to identically clad robots who move exactly like their instructors, to teachers with cult like followers. Although the Filipino martial arts have slightly less pseudo religious dogma, they’re full of camouflage wearing wackos who idolize instructors that talk about chopping off heads rolling with eyes still open, and the like. (more…)