One's Never Truly Alone With a Rubber Duck

[the_gneech]

Time for some random thoughts to come pouring out of my head, just whatever my mind is chewing on, at the moment. Don't say I didn't warn you...

I'm at the receptionist desk at the moment, since the usual receptionist is apparently at an unexpected doctor's appointment. She's preggers, as they say, so I imagine I'll be filling in like this a lot over the next few months.

The Operative Word is "Fire"
Last night's Fourth of Julaaaiieee!!! ceremonies were thoroughly mediocre. They took place at a high school across the street from the famous Rathbun residence, and they had no less than three of the fireworks go off fooosh! on the ground, rather than, y'know, a few hundred feet in the air like they're supposed to.

Oops.

Still, it was pleasant. I love fireworks shows, even though I'm often the only person among my usual crowd who actually wants to go.

Nekosqueemikun
nekomimikun has started going "SQUEE" for no readily apparent reason. Somehow, I have a hard time picturing him squealing like a cheerleader, but it's an entertaining image nevertheless. :)

Martial Morals

Martial morality has always been a required discipline in Chinese martial arts. Before you learn any martial techniques, you should first understand this subject. In Chinese martial arts society it is well-known that a student's success is not determined by his external appearance, or by strength or weakness, but rather by the student's way of thinking and morality. Chinese martial artists have a saying: "A student will look for a teacher for three years and a teacher will test a student for three years."

A wise student knows that it is better to spend ten years looking for a good teacher than to spend the time learning from a mediocre one. A good teacher will lead you to the right path, and will help build a strong foundation for your future training. Conversely, unqualified teachers will not help you build a strong foundation and may even teach you bad habits. Good teachers will always set good examples for their students with their spiritual and moral virtue. Good martial arts teachers teach not only good martial techniques, they also teach a way of life.

--excerpt from "Martial Morals" by Dr. Yang Jwing-Ming, in this month's Inside Kung Fu

Actually, this is a good point about lots of other stuff besides martial arts. I suspect that a lot of my own problems with various things I try to accomplish stems from the fact that I am more or less self-taught in just about everything I do. I have never really had anyone I would consider a mentor when it comes to my artwork, my graphics work, and so forth. I've had the occasional class, the occasional bit of helpful feedback from people I admired, and so forth, but most of what I know about just about everything comes from reading books and groping around in the dark using trial and error.

In some ways, I'm kinda proud of that. I can look back at the progress I've made and know that it's my own true ability, hard-earned and real.

On the other hand, it's something of a liability. How do I know if I'm developing good habits or bad? Is there some better way for me to do things? And how much potentially-productive time have I wasted going down dead-end paths?

I think this may be one reason I crave feedback so much about my work all the time. It's real, external verification of my progress, without all the baggage of personal subjectivity. If somebody tells me they liked a sketch or enjoyed an essay or something, that means that what I have been doing has been successful, at least to that degree.

I suppose in the case of martial arts, I'd know self-training was successful if I got in a fight and kicked the bejeezus out of someone ... but I don't think I'd like to learn that way unless I can't avoid it.

Not counting sparring, of course, but I'm nowhere near that level of training yet. ;)

Amazing How Goals Shift
Regarding the other day's post about budgetary goals, I hope I didn't leave anyone with the impression that I was whining about not being able to get stuff, because that's not my intention. Just being able to know that I can definitely pay the rent is so far above where I was just a few short months ago, that I'm pretty much seeing everything I get now as a bonus.

Got a roof? Yes. Got a job? Yes. Got food? Yes.

Cool. The rest is gravy. :)

What I'm doing now, is trying to make sure I get my favorite flavor of gravy. ;)

So don't let my kibitzing fool you into thinking that I'm not a happy guy, because I am. :) The things that I truly have issues with I can count on one hand, using fewer than half the fingers. ;) That I probably can't make MFF is still so far above, say, not being able to make the rent, that I really don't see any room to complain.

Not without being a spoiled whineyboy, anyhow. ;)

From the "Yeah, Baby, Yeah!!!" Department
This has been the fifth consecutive week of SJ running with no outages! I came this close to being out on Wednesday because of my big emotional meltdown, but I knew that getting the strip up would make me feel a lot better -- and it did!

I sorta feel like I'm at an AA meeting. "Hello, I'm The Gneech, and I'm a wayward cartoonist. I've had regular updates for five weeks, now."

LiveJournal Readers: "Hi, Gneech."

Life's good, folks. Life's good. :)

-The Gneech

Comments

[the-gneech.livejournal.com]

Well, my point was that self-training doesn't really work for martial arts, because there's no way to test your progress except by fighting people. :) -TG

Re:

[level-head.livejournal.com]

NO, my friend. You may be an extraordinary martial artist, and never enter a fight. You will know. Your sensei will know, if you have one. And those of perception who come to know you will know. The first, and perhaps only, conquering you need to accomplish is within.

I know you know all of this -- you practically said it -- you're just distracted.

===|==============/ Level Head

[the-gneech.livejournal.com]

I think maybe my use of the term "fight" is giving the wrong impression. Maybe "sparring" is a better term.

To use an analogy taken from another article in the same magazine :), learning martial arts without putting them into practice in some form or another is like putting a baseball up on a tee until you can knock it over the fence, then thinking you could be a batter in real game. It is valuable practice, but it's incomplete.

I'm not talking about heading down to the closest waterfront dive and brawling with Popeye and Bluto. I'm talking about being in a ring with another student.

The paragraph in the original post was a tongue-firmly-planted-in-cheek reference to the idea that without a sifu, the only way to know how good my skills are would be to go down to the dive. That was a gag. :)

However, I don't think it's possible to be an excellent martial artist without really putting yourself in harm's way -- in the form of competition -- any more than you could be an excellent piano player just by studying the life of Chopin and using his same hand exercises but never actually playing the piano.

90% or more of martial arts is discipline, and you can't forge real discipline without testing it along the way. What good would it do me to break a dozen bricks with the heel of my hand, if I shriek like a cheerleader when somebody pulls out a knife and demands I hand over my wallet?

I'm not talking about being one of those guys who goes around picking fights "just to see how good I am." Besides being obnoxious, it's a good way to get a broken neck.

Perhaps it was my use of the phrase, "kick the bejeezus out of someone" that alarmed you? That too was just a figure of speech. You should know me well enough to know that I don't intentionally cause harm to people, as a rule. :) In a martial arts competition, yes there is a certain amount of inflicting pain on people that goes on. However, they knew the job was dangerous when they took it, if you see what I mean. It's not about hurting people just to hurt people.

One of the major reasons I want to get into formal martial arts study is because I have an avoidance problem. If there's something too painful, too frightening, or even just too much of a pain to deal with, even if it's something that really needs to be done and gotten over with, I avoid it. I learned this behavior at a very young age, for reasons that aren't worth getting into here. But I am, in short, a wuss.

In the rigidly controlled setting of a martial arts class (and eventually competition), I cannot avoid the problem.

There is another martial artist, staring me in the face. One of us will win, one of us will lose. I have to deal with it, right here, right now. And it's probably going to hurt.

To me, success or failure won't be measured by who wins the fight (although winning is certainly the desired result). Success, on a personal level, will be that I stood up and faced it. And the more such challenges I stand up and face, the more successful I am.

-The Gneech

Martial artistry

[level-head.livejournal.com]

Well! A real, honest-to-God (yes, I know) difference of philosophy! We finally have one.

To me, the fact that martial arts enables you to fight, and to have a better shot at winning, is entirely incidental. It may be that this side-effect is the primary motivation for getting involved; that was true of me, decades ago. But it is a side effect.

You glanced off of it when you said "Success, on a personal level, will be that I stood up and faced it."

The mastery is inside. And it is of you, as you are alluding to. Once you have a good beginning on this mastery, you need not fear going "SQUEE" when someone pulls out a knife. And if you really have it, the knife won't be pulled.

Fighting is a shallow, hollow demonstration of skill. It is regrettably sometimes necessary, as I know all too well.

Is the assassin at a distance a better martial artist than the lifelong student of bushido? Even as the assassin's bullet ends the master's life, the master can live in victory where it counts. That battle is every day, every decision, and every moment.

===|==============/ Level Head

Re: Martial artistry

[the-gneech.livejournal.com]

Well, if you're going to start waxing philosophical about the nature of martial arts, you're going to quickly get into "no right answer" land. :)

Strictly speaking, martial arts are, by definition, the art of combat (martial from Mars, and all that). It's quite possible to learn to be a first-class butt-kicker without ever pursuing loftier goals. Martial artistry and bushido are not the same thing. :)

What you may see as a side effect, I may see as a primary purpose, and vice versa. The mixture of spiritualism with combat skill that typifies martial arts study varies wildly according to the style, the school, the master, and the student. :)

My focus may shift as time goes on; that's fine. :) But I can't see that far ahead, so I'm just talking about where I am right now. And in my own personal case, I need to cultivate the physical aspects of my existence. I spent my youth wrapped up in the intellectual and spiritual side of things because I was running away from frightening things in the physical world. However, a whole person needs to cultivate all three. My development in the other two areas are being held down by the fact that the physical part of my existence isn't pulling its own weight, so to speak.

You mention that your motives were different, decades ago. :) There are decades between us ... I suspect that it's natural and proper that we should be focused on different things. From what I can see, there are far worse paths I could be on, than one similar to one you followed. You came out pretty good. ;)

As for the assassin vs. master question, it depends on what you mean by martial artist. Which one is the more skilled combatant? Well, there's not much to debate there: the assassin is still standing. Which one is more honorable? My money's on the bushido devotee, there.

-The Gneech

Re: Martial artistry

[torakiyoshi.livejournal.com]

Well, if you're going to start waxing philosophical about the nature of martial arts, you're going to quickly get into "no right answer" land. :)

This is true, especially since the goal of all Asian Martial Arts is to appear as soft as hot wax, and be as sharp as a Katana's steel. Malleable but focused. A Katana made into a candle?