As a Martial Arts Person, What Makes Your Head Spin When You Watch Martial Arts Fight Scenes in the
My head spins...
...When a martial arts person seems like he’s just looking for a fight. [This tells me he’s not an artist at all. He’s a thug and a criminal.]
...When a martial arts fight scene shows people being struck multiple times and yet still getting back up as though not much happened. [I’m sorry, the human body can't take that kind of punishment.]
...When a martial arts fight scene includes complex moves. [Attempting to implement complex techniques in a deadly encounter will, most likely, get you seriously hurt or killed. Has anyone, anywhere, or at any time ever landed a 540 kick in a violent encounter? Probably not.]
...When, after a deadly encounter, martial arts folks just seem to shrug or laugh things off like it was no big deal. [I’m sorry, human beings don’t respond to physical violence like that. During a violent encounter, the one attacked (by virtue of the sympathetic nervous system) will, within just a few seconds, be engulfed in a sea of body chemicals that will turn him (or her) into a dumb, clumsy ox. Further, the chemical dump he (or she) receives can be felt for hours, days, even weeks. This is simple physiology. Anybody who's ever experienced such an encounter will affirm whole-heartedly what I wrote above.
All the above communicates the wrong things about the martial arts. That’s probably why I hate most movies and television shows where martial art movements (or, more accurately, "martial dance movements") are showcased and (by implication) declared “effective.” If by “effective” you mean “it looks cool”—I agree. If you mean "it'll save your life"—well, I'd have to respectfully part company with you on that.
Peace…
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A Note to All My Blog and Social Media Friends and Followers:
I've made it a point, over the last decade, to accept friend and follower requests from any who ask. I think I've "defriended" only three or four people in the last ten years and did so only because they posted inappropriate material to one of my walls or timelines. Thankfully, it's been several years since anyone committed such a breech of etiquette.
I write all this to indicate I have many "friends" and "followers," whom I do not know personally (yet!). Lately, I've been getting countless (sometimes more than 200 a day) messages from people I don't know. Please know this: I speak a brief word of blessing over each person who sends me a message, but I can respond directly to only a few each day. If I did not discipline my activities in this way, I could, conceivably, spend my entire day every day responding to such messages.
By disciplining myself to the above social media activity-limitation plan, I in no way want to belittle or disrespect anyone or hurt anyone's feelings. My hope and prayer is that, even if I don’t respond to your message directly, you will know I cherish you and pray you'll experience God's love and grace personally and deeply. Experiencing God is the highest Good anyone could ever experience. May each of you experience such Good through your pursuits of Divine Union with Jesus Christ, the Eternal Living God.
As always, may the Lord bless you and keep you…
IKIGAI Weekly Blog Schedule (per The Training Trinity):
Mondays: Meditative Prayer
Wednesdays: Holistic Discipline
Fridays: Martial Arts Practice
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