Galle Face Green, Sri Lanka

My wife and I took a trip to Sri Lanka for a few weeks at the beginning of this year.  Other than the delicious food and some nice natural scenery, the trip was unfortunately a real disappointment.  People attempted to scam us several times a day, there were incredible numbers of stray dogs on the verge of death at every turn (hairless, missing legs, crushed paws, open sores, etc…very depressing), and overall there just wasn’t much to see.  We travel a lot, and this was the first trip I remember where we were ready to get back home well before it was over.

Train Ride

We traveled from Colombo to Galle on the same train line that was made famous by the terrible tsunami in 2004, and did see some pretty beaches:

Sri Lankan Beach

But most of Sri Lanka looked more like this:

Sri Lankan Road

Anyway, one of the only cool things I managed to find on the trip was this beautiful antique Sri Lankan knife called a piha kahetta:

Piha Kahetta - Sri Lankan Knife

It was very rusty when I bought it, but I spent this morning cleaning it up and I must say it’s a very nice looking knife.  It’s heavy, and extremely solid.  I love the carved handle:

Piha Kahetta Handle

Here’s a picture with the wooden scabbard:

Knife with Scabbard

A guy named Nassim Taleb wrote a book a few years back called The Black Swan, using the term to describe improbable events that greatly alter the course of history.  His argument is that these rare events are the primary drivers of history, and because they’re unpredictable, the future is also unpredictable.  Having lived in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hit, I can relate to this.  Although hurricanes are somewhat predictable, the affects that Katrina had on the Gulf Coast, the city of New Orleans, and all of the residents in this region was not.  Many people lost everything and became far worse off, some people became much better off through unexpected changes in their lives, others moved to cities they never thought they’d be living in today, etc.

One thing we do know is that we all will be affected by more Black Swans.  We’ll have more economic booms and busts, there may be terrorist attacks that alter the course of your life, wars, etc.  So what are you doing to make sure your savings and income is protected?  How are you practicing self defense related to that aspect of your life?

In searching for info about Black Swans I came across this article on what turned out to be a great finance site, FinancialCalculator.org.  The entire site has great information, but I particularly like the points to follow to be best prepared for catastrophic events…having no debt, maintaining good insurance coverage, creating multiple sources of income, diversifying your savings, and having a flexible mindset.  These should be part of every self defense course, as they’re going to be more important to most people for “self defense” than physical defense against physical attacks.  Expanding your concept of self defense to include other aspects of your life is an excellent idea.

Vibram Five Fingers

Some of you may have noticed my unusual shoes in many of the pictures on my site. I’ve been meaning to post about them for a year or so now but keep forgetting. For the past 2+ years I’ve been wearing Vibram Five Fingers.  I’ve got 3 pairs at the moment, and these are the only shoes I wear 99% of the time, for everything from martial arts training and casual wear to mountain trekking and kayaking.  They’re the best shoes I’ve ever had in my life, and I can say with certainty that I’ll never wear a pair of tennis/running/hiking shoes again.  You can find many more enthusiastic reviews of Five Fingers here at BirthdayShoes.com.

Vibram Five Finger KSO

My preferred model is the KSO (Keep Stuff Out).  These are minimalist shoes with VERY thin bottoms.  They allow you to grip the ground like no other shoe.  Wearing them is like being barefoot, but with protection for the soles of your feet. You need to take some time to adjust to wearing them, as the muscles in your feet are likely to be unnaturally weak due to common shoe designs (a real disaster for your body).  The other thing about Five Finger shoes is that they tend to bring you back to walking and moving as your body was meant to.  Because there is no padding in the heal, you’ll quit doing a “heal strike” when walking or running, which will dramatically decrease stress on your knees, hips, and back.  Most people who wear these shoes not only report stronger feet, better balance, etc., but also knee, hip, and back injuries that disappear.  Here’s a great video on the science:

The only time I don’t wear KSO’s is when I’m hiking on steep and rocky mountains.  In those cases I wear Treks, as they have better grip for such situations, and a slightly thicker bottom to protect against bruising from sharp edges.  The black leather is also a bit better for nicer clothes. 

Ditch whatever shoes you’re currently wearing for martial arts/self defense training, and get yourself a pair of Vibram Five Fingers.  You’ll probably end up wearing them all the time, but they’re the best shoes for martial arts training you’ll ever wear.

Michael really covers everything you should know and consider before opening a martial arts business.  And if you’ve already got a one, the book is still a great read. I had my own place for many years, and there’s plenty of material in his book that I had never thought about.  At $147 it’s not cheap…as e-books go.  But if you’re serious about running an MA school, the book is well worth it.

Karate at the CCF

My wife and I sponsor a child in Cambodia via the Cambodian Children’s Fund, a terrific organization that I’d highly recommend donating to.  We’ve visited their schools, met the child we sponsor, and learned a lot about their programs, which are outstanding.  Today I was watching a new PBS video on the CCF and saw the kid we sponsor doing a karate reverse punch at the 2:15 mark!

Myself at the CCF

You can make a donation here, or sign up to sponsor a child here.  Again, I’d highly recommend it!

Mekong

Martial arts have always been about much more than fighting to me.  I started seriously training after reading the Tao of Jeet Kune Do.  The ideas expressed there were immensely appealing to me, as a person who never quite fit in the boxes society builds for us.  And, coming from a relatively dangerous city, my interest in what really worked in a no rules environment, where there are no limitations, also helped me avoid getting stuck in the cult like groups that so many styles produce.  Finding the best material for self defense was more important to me than loyalty to any particular instructor or style.

Many martial arts claim to draw from “eastern philosophy”.  They talk about the concepts of Zen, having an empty mind (mushin in Japanese martial arts), etc., etc.  But most of this is just talk.  It’s leaving one box to enter another.  Rather than becoming awake, they end up more like this:

Buddha?

It’s really a shame, because martial arts have so much more to offer than fighting skills…or worse, becoming another box for practitioners.  Matt Thorton says it best in two excellent posts that go into far greater detail than I will here: The Sacred and the Superstitious and Carving Nature at the Joints.  Honest, unlimited martial arts practice breaks down walls.  It puts truth right in your face.  What you’re doing either works or it doesn’t, and it’s plain to see.  Dishonest training and thinking, along stylized lines, doesn’t do this.

And the same is true in life.  You can live within the walls of social expectations, or you can choose not to.  They’re not real.  And even if you do break down the walls, you can still live within their former borders.  But you don’t have to.  Open and honest thinking, never just believing, leads to freedom.

A Path

There’s no single path.  Martial arts will teach you this better than most pursuits, through experience.  And that’s a great lesson to learn.  To be good at martial arts you need to become an explorer.  You need to see through the walls that were never really there in the first place.  When you apply the same free thinking to life, you’ll inevitably find happiness.  As Bruce Lee once said, “ultimately, martial art is self knowledge“.  You can only do what you need to do if you know what you need to do.  You need to know yourself.

Vasco and I

Really, the same can be said for playing the piano, painting, dancing, or even running a business.  Honest thinking and exploring will make you a far better martial artist, a better person, and a lot happier.

I traveled to Cambodia last year and found a number of interesting depictions of Cambodian martial arts on a temple wall in Siem Reap. I just came across the images and realized I had forgotten to post them:

For anyone interested in Southeast Asia, Cambodia is a fantastic destination.  The temples of Angkor were incredible, the food was fantastic, and the people were extraordinarily friendly.  Of course the images above are crude and uninteresting compared to the temples of Angkor…

…but this is a martial arts blog.

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.

While we were in the south of Croatia, we decided to make a short trip to Medjugorje, the former Yugoslavian town now in Bosnia and Herzegovina known around the world for the supposed siting of the “blessed mother” by 6 people in 1981. It’s incredible that so many people fell for this hoax and continue to do so. At least one of the 6 people who “saw” Mary in 1981 still sees her monthly, in front of hordes of religious tourists mostly from the United States. She makes goofy faces as if she’s having a conversation with the virgin mother, acting as if she’s having a hard time understanding, etc.

To get to Medjugorje you have to drive through small towns along horrible roads, full of shot up and bombed out houses and buildings from the last of the Balkan Wars in the 90′s. Medjugorje is an oasis of B.S. in this sad country. The contrast between what surrounds Medjugorje and the town itself couldn’t be more striking.

How many of these “believers” who visit Medjugorje even pay attention to Bosnia and Herzegovina or think about what happened there just a decade or so ago? Do they really think buying a statue of Mary most likely made in China, with dirt supposedly from Medjugorje is going to do them any good? Apparently so! You can get holographic pictures of Mary, “holy water” bottles, etc. It’s amazing…how so many people can believe such lunacy! With such a lack of thought and questioning, it’s no wonder people can be led to war so easily.

So how different are martial arts? Not much. Ever heard of a no touch knockout?