Going into the deepest dark
All true heroes are heroes of light. Even if some of them chose darkness to live in, like Batman. Besides, it is one thing to live in the shadows and another to be a dark soul yourself.
Nevertheless, dark heroes (yes, the ones with a dark soul) where never represented in a respectful and dignified manner. They always had to appear sadistic, hysterical, brutal and generally repulsive in many ways.
Of course there was one movie that did change all that, and since then, darkness, found its most unique hero with the coming of Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith, former Jedi Knight.
For once, this was a villain that somehow… you could look up to!
So to speak…
And the movie we talk about could not be any other than “The Empire Strikes Back”. Three things impressed me most when a long time ago I saw that movie for the first time.
One: The absoluteness, determination, plus the unbendable willpower of that hero’s character.
Two: Being glad that I could walk alive and well out of the movie theater, without having being chocked because of a neglect or an incompetence of mine!
And three: Giant posters all over the town of Darth Vader stepping on a planet, his black cape dominating the scene, lightsaber held low in one hand, extending the other in an inviting open palm… you could almost hear the poster say the, classic by now, phrase… “…join me and together we can rule the galaxy…”
This was a figure unlike any other, so far.
This was not a hero that is somehow “split” or with a “different” side, which he would switch on and off. There where no doubts about him, of any kind.
One looks up on a hero in order to get something that he has not. Then he encourages himself to push a bit harder, since he follows someone who is better than him and he tries to reach him.
So, he goes for his hero’s special characteristics and abilities.
And Darth Vader looked like the one hero that there would be no task, as impossible as it could be, that he would not see it through.
There would be only the sound of a terrible mechanical breathing, coming out of the dark along with a flow of Force, and a voice that wouldn’t tolerate any kind of failure…
…I am altering the deal
pray I don’t alter it any further
Going into the deepest dark part II
All you could hear was the sound of a terrible mechanical breathing, coming from the life support system, along with the feeling of someone hanging by a thread to life.
After the car crash the doctors would not say much anyway, beyond the sad fact that this young man’s organs are about to fail.
But maybe dying would not be the worst of it…
To walk again was out of the question, from the severe injuries on his spine, the left arm was gone at the accident and the fire after the impact with that truck, promised only deformity, pain and agonizing recovery.
There are a thousand ways to be handicapped and only one to be “healthy” and well. Regardless of the cause, the number of handicapped people is amazing and leading countries of this world, science and technology, do a lot in order to make their life livable.
But it can never be enough, it can never be that one thing, being well again.
The world of Martial Arts has many people who are deprived of their 100% of what we call normal ability, but they keep on their practice.
In Martial Arts you practice to become better than yourself, not others, and keeping that in mind, you have the same starting point, handicapped of not!
If you take a, what we call, normal man and one who chooses to run, for example, ten miles in the morning of each day, you wouldn’t expect them to be in the same condition.
Now it is hard to explain the distance in which a fully trained Martial Artist stands, if we make the same kind of comparison.
It is something like, the man who runs ten miles and the one who does nothing, standing both on the same spot!
An untrained person does not know how to stand correctly, sit, walk, fall, breath, move about, use his muscles (not to mention his Ki), concentrate, focus, coordinate with whatever he has in his hands… and this is only the beginning of it, since all the above are only tools that, when combined, lead to ability of technique.
I guess that a Master of his Art has little or no choice than to see “normal” people as… handicapped!
And in fact, for him, they are!
I do not expect people in wheelchairs flooding Dojos in order to practice the Arts, but I almost… demand from those Artists who injured themselves in any way, to get a grip and stick to their practice.
Compassion is a virtue of the trained warrior, but the umbrella with the sign “compassion for the handicapped” is outside the Martial spirit…
Now if I remember correctly Darth Vader is totally mutilated, burned and can’t even breathe on his own. Imagine what he would do to the one, who would extend his sympathy on his condition, or would express his… compassion for him.
There would be only the sound of a terrible mechanical breathing…
(For Alex Zanardi, who lost both legs in car races and still races to this day…)
February 9, 2007
Essence above rank
Setting goals, setting targets, is one of man’s prime characteristics. And when he achieves them, in any way, then he goes for the next one…
This ambition, this drive, has been accused by many to be a negative thing of our species (just as desire has been accused by many philosophical systems and religions to be one of man’s flaws). And I never understood this accusation because clearly, by setting targets, man is setting himself apart from all other life forms on Earth.
But one of the greatest distortions, in the act of setting a target, is when you instead set yourself for a… sausage hunt.
You know the “sport”. You hang a sausage in front of your face by tightening a collar around your neck and then you start your running into the unreachable. And once you are convinced by yourself (and through others) that this should be your “target” all that remains is to repeat this act again and again, because practice makes perfect…
On top of it, you have the proof of being right, since any sausage hunt creates a fast dog!
The possibility of setting yourself free is minimal, since like always, it is also reassuring when many do the same mistake, and there is hardly an escape from that…
Unless one is ready for a “revolution of re-thinking” his life!
There are far too many reasons why any kind of ranking, in the practice of Martial Arts, is a… sausage. Here, I would like to mention only one of them. And by doing so, it is impossible to stay politically correct about it, because when you make a statement like that, it is like going against… everybody (with a very few and rare exceptions).
The right thing to do on this matter always was too easy, and maybe that alone irritates those who love to make it complicated, earn money from it and, most of all, indirectly “control” their students with the ranking system.
“Techniques should be ranked and not the person”
The above line, said by a “simple” Sensei (Hachiman bless him!) could be the punch line on all my efforts to say, write and explain “my” positions, that regard the ranking system as we know it today.
It can not, all by itself, tell you what to do in order to survive in a ranking dominated Martial Arts world, but this line should be burned in the memory of each practitioner for his entire life.
There is nothing more natural than this axiom, since it is the technique that sets the standard, and the person the one who tries to achieve it.
And once he achieves it, that doesn’t mean that he should make this level a part of his name!
If you turn this upside down, if you break this rule, you are looking at a ranking system. And that is what usually happens. Practitioners enter the Art, any Art for crying out loud, being promised to be ranked themselves, and have it written on a piece of paper in order to show it.
The “great catch”, that escapes most people, lies in the fact that this is the beginning of running in the right trail but into the wrong direction, because you set your mind and your practice for a rank-hunt and not a technique-hunt, as it should be!
The standard argument here is, that both things are leading to the same result, since if you are good at your technique you will be ranked accordingly. So, you will be told!
But ladies and gents the same result of any issue doesn’t justify the method!
No argument can go above this.
Practicing without the use of a belt ranking system is not my idea anyway, even if I wanted to.
It is well known that the samurai did train systematically through their entire life, day in day out, without any… rank about their abilities.
And O’Sensei Morihei Ueshiba didn’t bother too, in his early days…
Now let us suppose that you read this again, because it kinda struck you, then you go over a little research to verify my “fairytale” and you get struck again…
So, what are you gonna do about it? Or better said what can you do?
Go to your next lesson and state that you will train as hard as you can but no longer participate in any form of ranking?
You will be better off fighting bare handed with lions in a pit, than go “against” the flock, because you will be silently cased aside, at the best, and blamed for it as well!
It is as I always said, not because I am trying to be wise here, but because I was, am, and will remain bitter on this… and probably right!
“One must keep his priorities and his mind.
If someone could give you all the ability of an Art, with one hand, and all kinds
of recognition, with the other, I ask you
What would you reach for, first!
It’s okay to want recognition, too. So, grab as much is in your reach, or comes
your way, but don’t blink an eye for more. If you have to chase it, it’s a “trap”.
If you find it laying down dead, take my advice. Don’t bent too much...”
Aikido-The Book In Between (page 98)
March 23, 2007
*Carman
Beyond being a self-defense, Aikido is maybe the only Art that has so many possibilities of applying its principles on a daily base.
Any human function and activity, from scuba diving to flying a fighter-jet and from horse riding to repairing a fence, can be done… in the Aikido way.
That is why any Aikido practitioner can, and should be, faster in learning, around anything that you might throw at him. There is no denying that an experienced Sensei is essential here, in order to direct the student in doing this, but once passed that point, you can practically extend your “on the tatami practice” into a… full time job.
And one of the directions that are most interesting to apply your skills on, is driving!
Man has created a number of machines. And in order to make our point here, we will divide them into two categories.
Machines that serve him and
Machines that extend his actions.
A coffee machine, a toaster, an elevator or a washing machine, are an example of “push button” serving machines. You push the button, you walk away, and you see the job done.
On the other hand, a bicycle, a computer, a cell phone or a car, are “extending machines”. In order for them to serve you, you must interact with them, “wear” them, and sometimes even become a part of them (and vise versa). Now each time we evolve an “extending machine” for the better, our interaction with them goes deeper and wider.
And it is our ability to extend through them that makes the difference (and where our Aikido training can apply!). Have you ever noticed how much faster a small kid adapts to these changes, with each new “toy” that hits the market?
That’s why also, on an emotional level, you will never say “I love my… elevator” but how many times have you heard the phrase
“I love my car”? I bet more than once.
From this point of view, it’s very interesting to look around you as if you have never done before, and seeing with a different eye all those machines that surround you.
You can practically re-discover them, in relation to you…
It’s a “Car Wars” out there
With the paraphrase “Car Wars” on its cover, the “4wheels” magazine (issue 111, December 1979) was, as always, more than prophetic for its time, with concerns about car antagonism, future conditions of driving and environmental problems.
Since then, cars improved, roads improved, regulations improved. The sad exception to the rule is that drivers did not improve.
They have probably even become worse, since “driver friendly” cars, are set up to have the feel of my… coffee machine!
But the main problem is elsewhere.
Almost everywhere in the world, the process of obtaining a driving license is done without any essential training. On a practical level, all you are taught is how to transport your car from place A to place B. And sadly, it is just like a well respected journalist once said on the matter: “nobody got ever killed while executing a parking maneuver”.
The main reason why so many people are killed on the roads today, has primarily to do with lack of sufficient training, before a person is put out on the streets to drive.
Poorly trained drivers transform their license to drive into license to kill. They are like ticking bombs that wait hidden for something to go wrong, and then go off, exposing all hidden weakness.
We sit comfortably surrounded by how many air-bags? While our entire driver’s training costs less than one of them!
With so much legal incompetence on the loose, it’s no wonder why driving rules have become so boring, and streets are built to be so “safe” they cause you to sleep on them. Most roads are a killjoy for any real driver and measures taken on them are oppressive and have the fantasy of a jelly-fish. On top of it, speed, the very essence of why you drive, is reduced to a proven stupid one, since in one of the best and safest roads to drive in the world (Germany) they are none!
Of course there is still hope. You can become a… police car driver!
The question rises! What can one do?
Well, since it is a “Car Wars” out there, only one thing is left to do. Become a better “Jedi” driver through training.
Logically, one could start with additional driving lessons. Ideally, one can join a carting club (which is the best school for driving above anything else) There are as well many institutions (by car companies, car magazines, private clubs etc.) that will put you on a track and by the side of an experienced race driver…
Of course “logically” and “ideally” rarely or never go from theory to practice.
But there is one thing that will come your way, sooner or later, that can make a difference, if you put yourself to the task.
It is inevitable that at one point you’ll be called to buy a car, or renew your old one. And this is your chance to put the right order of priorities into your choice.
Let me point out strongly, that there is no car that can act as a “teacher” and make you a better driver. But consider the following:
A car with the right characteristics can be your training ground, since (inevitably, again) it is there, in your car, where you make most of your mileage!
Let me put it also the other way round. There are cars (or choices into a car) that make it difficult, or even impossible, for you to improve your skills.
In any Martial Art, the right choice of a sword is crucial.
And there is no “best” sword, since it must fit your “measurements” (that are a list too long, to fit here)
Something equivalent happens with cars.
It is said that cars, as they are today, are above anything else the most complex and complicated product ever made!
And this is one more reason that you must know how to…
…choose your ride
All you need is a car that “loves to be driven” and seeks an owner with passion!
And since John Carpenter’s “Christine” is not available at the moment, let’s see what we can find…
In pointing out what would constitute a good car, and why, we could literally open a parenthesis here at the size of… Oklahoma, and still not be done with. But a few (well put?) tips, could do the job as well, and have more chance of being followed.
Manual Transmission: …is an exception to the rule in the States. But automatic transmission is terrible to drive, if you want to have any control of your car. To explain this technically is… boring, so let’s make it fun…
Let us suppose that you buy or rent a big building for a large business.
The basement can serve as garage and storing of products.
Ground level could be reception and accordingly offices.
And floor by floor, you could separate different departments, reaching to the top, where no doubt, we have the chairman’s office along with the boardroom.
Everything interacts and nothing mixes, and you use elevators in order to move up and down, going to the floor level you need to be.
Now just imagine having this entire business, on one big ground floor building, that has no floors! Chaos!
Something equivalent is happening between Manual and Automatic Transmission (where the Manual is our multilevel building).
If you want to control the power of your engine, you will have to choose a Manual Transmission, which is allowing this in the best way. It is said that Semi-Automatic Transmissions (the ones where you shift gears with pedals that are located on the steering wheel) are supposed to be even better.
Well are they maybe better just because you are still shifting manually?
Rear Wheel Drive: It is a simple principal of basic physics.
Anything that can be pushed shouldn’t be dragged.
Yet, one by one, the entire car industry of Europe… betrayed car connoisseurs, by switching affordable cars into front wheel drives, which have floated the entire continent. Only few stood their ground! By now, and with the right support of misleading adds, most people need to be explained, why this is… upside down.
You will never see a bicycle or a heavy duty load truck, or a true sports car that is chosen from the top of the list, which is not a rear wheel drive. It is un-natural! Just look at the only animal that can exceed the 100km per hour barrier. Half of the animal is all… back legs. Even 4wheel drive cars (from the top of the list, please) give priority of power to their rear axle first.
Front wheel drive is good when it is where it belongs, as an exception to the rule, and not the other way round.
Be my guest and… torture this choice as much, and as deep, as you like. You will come up with the same conclusion.
Personally, rear wheel drive is a school that I refuge to graduate from, and even if I wanted to, my mileage and… addiction doesn’t permit it. Shall I make it a poem? The superior feeling to control “overtaking yourself” and be content with it, is beyond description.
Traction Control: Practicing with your car, means that you must know its limitations and gradually push above them. The idea is for you to remain in control, while the car has past that point. So, you are called to “bring it back” remaining calm all that time.
No need to say (but I will) that this should be done on an empty and safe terrain, please.
Traction control denies you to “go there” above limits. And this can be a lifesaver for, going-to-work drives, but it is a… disaster if you want to practice.
Make sure that you can de-activate traction control manually on your (will be) car and make double sure that it doesn’t go back on automatically (!) just because you decided to stay for another round yet, of your 360 turn (I give you a blink of an eye here!)
Let’s close this with our… Martial punch line.
The death toll, the crippled and the wounded by car accidents, are so high in numbers word wide, they can match a big fat war going on. It is a proven fact (and not just statistics) that more than 95% of those accidents, are caused by human error!
So, is there anyone who thinks that “car issues” are out of place here?
*Carman is just a name for a concept that could constitute the ideal driver. He could be the “hero” (so to speak) of any person (male or female) that desires to be a better driver than yesterday, and loves to drive into far away and undiscovered, for him, new places.
September 8, 2007
“For a fistful of… Euros”
One of the things that made me a Star Trek fan was the idea of a distant and advanced for mankind future. And in that fantasy future, money, economy, and along with it the entire system that “makes the world go ‘round” is for ever extinct.
Man has found other ways to measure value…
It has been almost half a century since the legendary original series was launched and what was our progress… here on Earth?
Let’s see: We duplicated Star Trek’s… sliding doors, we all carry “communicators” and why not mention that some of us have learned to neutralize a person, just like Mr. Spock did, with the slightest and non violent effort!
But we haven’t made any progress on the money issue. On that part, my/our “fantasy come true” suffered a crash landing into a harsh reality…
Because every time when it comes to the money making process, nothing ever seems to change. And the science fiction advanced civilization, turns itself into a… western. In one of those with a bad end, that leads you straight into a showdown. Now where did I leave my gun…?
Fortunately, in the world of Martial Arts money rules don’t apply much, since I have never seen anyone who did progress his Aikido training, just because he had more money to spend in that direction.
On the contrary, I have seen far too many people leading their training into a wrong direction, simply because they “followed” their money.
You see, after all, you can not buy out your training.
The “exotic” travels to the East (in order to find the original country of an Art) will always leave a strong impression on both, us and others.
But in the long run they will not cover the distance of practice, of those who stayed behind doing their “homework”
The well paid seminars and the hunt of becoming an “inside” student, did give some experiences, the least.
But sooner or later, you will be confronted by those who won’t back off, only because you have given yourself a name.
And the rank hunt (by any means) can fill up a wall with papers, have a good sound in introducing yourself, and are fancy to advertise. But they are never truly respected by a true old warrior. And ironically, not even by those who persue them in the exact manner! Since in the Martial Arts all that remains at the end of the day, is what you can act…
Put in a single line: The expensive sword will not improve the hand that wields it, and a collection of swords calls out, to choose the one!
Does this mean that we should never travel for training? Does this mean that we should not search for a better teacher or Dojo?
Of course not, but it surely means that one can be seriously distracted by applying “shopping rules” for his Aikido.
Modern man has become so much of a consumer that he thinks he will buy his way (Way!) through everything.
You can practice the Art because it is taught to you, but if you want the Way to open for you, it will take a different approach and state of mind.
In a money making world, where everything is valued and measured by gold, the Way refuses to be for sale or for profit.
One might point out here, that there are many who profit from Martial Arts. In fact they make money and fortunes beyond imagination, and their fame will last… forever.
I will answer yes, they do (and by the way, I would be only too happy to have a piece of the pie too). But if you go into the trouble and take a careful closer look, you will see what they are selling, is far from being the Way…
All you need is a wooden stick and true commitment…
It does not make a difference if you’re standing at one of your villas and be in a position to afford the “best” of teachers.
It does not make a difference if you have found a spot at an abandoned factory in your shitty neighborhood (excuse my French)
The Way is gained by practice, and practice can not be measured by gold.
(And let’s keep in mind that purchase of Gi, training weapons, plus a monthly expense for being a member at a Dojo, hardly qualifies as participation in the “money making” system. Even a good sword is practically an item that can be bought once and last for a life time…)
But always remember that it can work also the other way round.
When it comes to earning money, one should be “down to earth” and have no illusions. Some students, carried away by “the Way” and influenced by the greatness of the Art, often adopt a “Kwai Chang Caine style of approach” towards life. Eventually this will put them on a very weak spot, when it comes to the realities and power of money.
I know best, since I am the… inventor of this particular mistake!
For example, it is an Aikido must, that in order to progress in the Art you should be totally open, and spend yourself practicing without hesitation…
Try this at work, at your business etc. and you will be destroyed.
In business you have to apply modern management and principles. In the real money making world, you can only play by the applied golden rule:
Suit up, wear a smile, draw fast, and shoot to “kill”. Period…
This world doesn’t seem to be ready for the Master’s Art, well at least not as he intended it.
But Aikido nobility takes no space, you can carry it inside of you with no effort, and it can wait there, until they… beam us up!
“The warrior’s gold is steel”
September 24, 2007
The Spartan soup*
As modern man’s eating habits spin totally out of control, the number of diets appearing on the market rises accordingly. Most of them, if not all, are proposed or created by experts, scientists etc, have bases where they start from, a theory behind them, and a… philosophy for the soul as well. You can find them everywhere (or better said: they will find you everywhere) in the form of institutes to run to, magazines, TV shows, you name it…
And the louder they are heard the fatter people become, to the point it makes you wonder, what if all diets would be banned somehow? Maybe then people would go back to their normal weight. In case someone thinks that this is an overreaction, it only takes to watch a movie or TV series of the 50s and 60s to make a comparison on how fatter this world has become.
We have kind of “lost it” to such an extent in this present decade, anyone with normal weight is referred to as… skinny!
A person that is training systematically should go under a different and stricter category, demanding much more on his performance regarding nutrition habits. From beginner to Master (maybe especially for the Master, since he is supposed to put an example for his students) a Martial Artist should constantly stay close to a “Martial plate” (that’s how I like to call it).
With that in mind, we could say that all of man’s effort to create the so called perfect diet, ends up in a simple bowl of brown rise with a small portion of vegetables. This… recipe comes from an old traditional diet that is called macrobiotic. It takes very few variations, is the least “popular” to follow, and is one of the oldest that exist on Earth.
Of course one must be into a serious practice of an Art, in order to “endure” it through time and for that reason I never recommend it openly to anyone who is outside of practice. Non-practitioners usually do not have the mental backup that daily practice offers. Or the group support, in being a part of a Dojo, in order to stick to their diet in the long run. This leads them to give it up, sooner or later, and go along with the mob. And I fully understand and sympathize, the fact that the “mob” doesn’t make it any easier on a lonely man’s efforts…
I just remembered to tell you a funny story of a guest that stayed at my house for a few weeks. Since we cooked separately for him, at one point he asked, out of plain curiosity, to try out “that thing” I was eating. When I did hand him my bowl he found it tasteless, and started to add so many spices to it, that it became a bowl of… poison.
Only then it was good for him, and he did eat it all!
One of the first parameters to consider, in putting some order to nutrition, is to permanently avoid eating meat. Especially red meat, that comes from warm blooded mammals, animals that we are strongly related to, as beings.
The classic by now phrase: “Wait for the apple to fall in your hand, instead of hunting food that runs away” should be a thought put to oneself from early on in life.
Also products that come from animals are not a necessity, actually they never were…
Nevertheless most “vegetarians” today have a complete wrong state of mind in being a vegetarian. They have minds filled with guilt and fear over eating meat, which makes me totally uncomfortable to state myself as a vegetarian.
This attitude is the exact opposite with the one that says “I eat meat but I absolutely cannot stand the sight of blood and the idea of killing the animal, unless someone else does it for me and puts it on my plate!”
Both ways, I don’t know what it would take to straighten this out…
A clear mind is as important as a clean body (clean as in correctly fed). The choice of becoming a vegetarian should be done on a healthy for the mind basis, and not be driven by fear, guilt, remorse, religious oppression, or anything of the kind. We only need to be aware of the realities going around us, in order to have a better chance to stick with our choices.
Martial Arts include blades like knives and swords.
But for the occasion we should consider a different kind of knife as well. The chef’s knife!
Martial Artist or not, if we want to have any hope of good nutrition habits, we must arm ourselves… re-take our kitchen and start cutting real food, for real people. This is the very cornerstone in order to have real control over our eating habits. Cuisine should not end up being a lost art, if it’s not already, or something that only our restaurant chef knows about.
The diet of a practitioner of Martial Arts should be an act of discipline that is gained through practice, and then “invested” there. Foremost it should be based on a warrior’s pride to choose his food and not eat everything that is thrown at him.
It is also important to keep one's weight to an ideal. Just because someone can be fat in Aikido, and still be effective, that doesn’t mean that he has to be fat, and unfortunately we have plenty of those.
A fat Martial Artist of any Art is a very disappointing sight…
It does not take much intelligence to understand that the phrase “true warrior” is a term that is widely overused, on the slightest occasion. But if someone thinks about it seriously, a true warrior is the one that lives in constant preparation of a true war. And among everything that this would take, a man like this would only allow himself to eat as much…
Not because I said so, but simply because it is so! If you read your history, this is what warriors did, since the beginning of time…
Everybody likes the Spartan warrior and admires his clarity and effectiveness. So, a Martial Arts trainee reads a book, or sees a movie about them, and wishes to become a bit of a Spartan himself.
But when the Master passes to him the equivalent “Spartan soup” and says: “This should be your meal from now on if you want to consider yourself a warrior” the student swallows once or maybe twice, and then turns away.
Everybody wants to be the hero of the film, but nobody will stick to their damn soup…
(*One anecdote, that came down to us through history about Spartan soup, is that it was so terrible, and little to eat, it caused uprisings and rebellions among Greek cities that were under Spartan rule)
October 11, 2007
Flower power
It is said that if you can remember anything about the 60s and “the movement” then you weren’t a part of it. This is to imply that the Hippies, and the entire flower generation were constantly… stoned.
Closer to the truth might be that this era, marked as the biggest social revolution ever, is beyond description. Even if one would have an intact by time memory.
All that remains is bits and pieces of a puzzle that once was a full picture, which now fades away with time. And it’s okay, since that is the natural course of things.
The only thing that disgusts me is when people choose to “black it out” and willingly “delete” their memories, of what they once were. I’ve been accused more than once to be a romantic fool, and that is something I can live with. But how is it possible to have been a part of “the cause” (in any way) and then forget about it, become a big belly, a suit that makes money-hunting a top priority? How can some “old friends” turn into cynics about their youth, and bring up children that simply detest them? Beats me… (And what a haircut, shall I add…)
The movement is dead. And it’s better that way, because I wouldn’t bare to see it crawl around, do the zombie dance that refuses to die, or maybe even worse, have it commercialized and sold out…
Today kids all over the world learn about it in school. But every time I see the books, the photos, the documentaries etc, I always get the same notion, and have this phrase turning in my head “This could be it, this is close, but not quite it!”
But from time to time something from the past pops up unexpectedly, that makes it possible to understand and really feel the meaning of it all.
Some time ago I was traveling with my… significant other, on an empty country road during night time. And I was thrilled about our journey, because I had just found (in a form of a re-mastered CD) a long forgotten album of the 60s and I let it play as I drove.
The entire LP (!) from back then was full of recording imperfections, but with lyrics that could make a good poetry book…
We made a stop to rest in the middle of nowhere, but we left the stereo on. I know the songs by heart, still, after all this time, and I was too happy in doing… the sing along. But my co-driver, she was hearing them for her first time, and was fully absorbed in figuring out the meaning behind the words.
At some instance she turned to face me with this expression of amassment, pointed her finger at me and with wide eyes said to me, I remember every word: “…the movement…it was really real, wasn’t it?”
But she said it in such an intense tone of voice as if it was I, the one who was hiding a secret from her all this time.
Only to realize a moment later, that a simple song, first time heard, was the ticket for her to “get it” what the movement felt like, what it was all about.
You see, plain data, info and history is good, but it’s not enough to do something like this to you…
There is a place called Matala, that is located in the southern part of the Greek island Crete. When this place was under Roman Empire rule, they excavated narrow caves into the beach’s mountain, in order to form tombs for their dead. Today it’s a happy tourist attraction for people that visit the place, and run up and down the steep site, in order to get into as many caves possible and take pictures. But back in the 60s it was fully occupied by Hippies that used the place as homes.
Hippy communities where scattered across many more islands, like Ios, Naxos, you name it. This was a worldwide phenomenon, and as more and more young people joined that way of life they became… a threat. Then other social “communities” like the church, the police and the politicians, did try their best to break them up.
And the innuendo of the drug taking Hippies has also a different explanation, about who it was, introducing drugs to them in the first place…
Please don’t be in a haste to overrule this, since this method was used before, very successfully in China by colonist forces. They systematically enslaved an entire generation with opium, and when Mao Tse-Tung took over, he did not know what to do with them. History says he wiped them all out!
A few last of the original Hippies still exist in the North of India in a futile resistance of our times. Not everything about the movement was perfect, but it affected deeply all aspects of life. About the “lost cause” there is one thing that pisses me off more than anything else, and it can be expressed in a single line.
We never saw the movement develop in order to see what it can really do!
And by now everything around us shows that we need a revolution like this, and we need it fast. Not like the old one, not a repetition of the 60s, but definitely in the same direction! When something dies, it gives its place with its absence, to something new. In the case of the movement, this space is still vacant…
Among many things, it was at that time, of experimentation and new open minded ideas, when the western doors opened to the Arts of the east. Indian yoga and meditation, Chinese Kung-fu methods, Martial Arts of Japan and especially Aikido… flourished.
The usual first reaction when we recall Kwai-Chang Caine, of the famous Kung-fu TV series, is to remember that he was half Chinese and half Westerner (American). But a lot of contribution, in the formation of this character, belongs to actor David Carradine himself, who by the way was many things but not… Chinese.
So, if you take a deeper look into the character, you will see that… grasshopper Caine was part Shaolin part…Hippy.
A brief description of what the movement and its people were about:
The movement didn’t have any kind of leaders. It was not even unofficially represented, but many important personalities where part of it. This “thing” was as free as it could get.
Everything started in California, and did spread world wide like…the flu, in no time.
The Hippies were minimizing possessions to the absolute essential and needed, and that meant on a practical level “what you can carry in your back pack”. Living a life as free as they could while making pursue of happiness a way of life.
The motto “Make love not War” was on the highest practice. Women where practically liberated from oppression and making love did stop meaning ownership. The concept “fuck around” and “one night stand” was not on the menu of the time. Yet, people where making love!
When anybody puts today the word “peace” in his mouth, even if he has won the Nobel Prize about it, I keep my doubts on his intentions.
Nobody was as peace loving as the Hippies were.
The entire revolution in order “to change the world” and “beat the system from within” was conducted by young people, and May ’68 in Paris was just the tip of the iceberg.
The idea of community life was to replace the doctrine of the family, as we know it until now. On a social level this could be considered (this is a long shot but I will take it) as the vice versa, and inside out, of the Spartan warrior communities!
If the 60s would have carried on, words like environment would have stayed as just another rarely used word that rests in lexicons. And environmentalists would have stayed a term for those who actually exercise the science on that subject. Today people call themselves “environmentalists” as if they belong to some kind of progressive… movement.
It is undeniable that the era of “flower power” was marked by people from all walks of life, that at least for once in the history of mankind, tried to look in one common human direction…
"Peace man"
(…delayed since July 1976)
Open-air cinemas!
“Let’s take this from the top” would be here the wrong expression to begin with. Because we are going to visit a place where on the top… there is no top, since in the open-air cinemas the sky is the limit.
If we go back into history, we will see one of the very first expressions of true civilization, which could be considered as modern open-air cinema’s ancestor. Ancient theaters!
They were open-aired too, and many of them still stand today, thousands of years later, and on occasion actually operate for concerts and plays. These theaters would come in all possible sizes, and some of them were able to accommodate the total number of the city’s inhabitants. And even at this size they had an exceptional good acoustic, a necessity for the performance of theatrical plays. In those large theaters citizens were gathering to discuss their problems, elect politicians, deal with a crisis, and generally meet to socialize.
Still today, it is unthinkable to have a city that respects itself, without at least one theater, which of course… comes with a roof.
With the invention of the movies, movie theaters popped up all over the world, and that made it possible for more people to see a… play, since theater had gradually become an entertainment only for those who could afford it.
And then, out of the blue, some movie theaters took a turn. They became… convertible and were only to operate during the summer season. One could see a movie under the starry sky, much like as a theater play was watched in ancient times.
Historically speaking, the first recorded year for the appearance of an open-air cinema, dates back to 1919, in the Northern part of Athens in Greece. Could this have anything to do with the fact that ancient theaters originated from this country?
After that first one, open-air cinemas did spread fast by the hundreds and despite difficulties and antagonism, they managed to survive to this day. On the contrary of what most believe, the biggest enemy for those movie theaters was not TV, video, modern multiplex cinemas, or anything of the kind. It was constructors, who did buy-out systematically, any possible piece of land, in order to build!
What beats me, is how this perfect idea of entertainment has not gone global, like so many other good ideas have gone. There are exceptions of course, but only as many as to confirm the rule.
With many variations (that makes them even more interesting) the usual décor of open-air cinemas is as follows.
You find yourself sitting in a lazy director’s chair, with white stoned gravel underfoot and the free sky above. Surrounded by a walled garden, with the typical choice of jasmine flowers, you face a simple wall that extends higher than the rest. This is where your movie is going to be projected. At one of the corners of the back, a small (sometimes tiny) bar will serve light drinks and snacks, during the short break that takes place when the movie reaches the middle of its play.
Open-air cinemas are not about a controlled surrounding, with high-tech sound, extra large screens and velvet armchairs. They are more about interacting and socializing with the people that you will meet and be crowded with, and enjoy a movie with all your senses open. You can smell the flowers from the garden, hear the wind in the trees, or be distracted by a persisting shooting star…
One must be… prepared for unexpected surprises too. Mosquitoes love open-air cinemas as well, and for some reason they don’t pay any ticket either! A small blanket as back up, is an excellent idea or you will be… sooooory!
One might ask, and what happens when it starts to rain? No problem, in an event like that you do the logical thing. You stand up, step on everybody else… panic and run! And your ticket stays valid for the next day.
A variation of these movie theaters came out with… retractable roofs, that could slide to open or close (can you believe it?) They could operate in the winter time as regular cinemas and in the summertime remained… panic-less, when a summer rain would break out. Of course they would not be as simple and romantic as the original ones, nevertheless one must say, they were an intelligent innovation.
If you have ever missed the summer in the middle of a cold winter, if you have come to… hate the gray and the rainy clouds, then you should go to an open-air cinema during the time when they are closed, slide your nose through any opening that you can find and look inside. The sight of an empty from chairs and people open-air cinema, during the wintertime, is truly a picture that matches a thousand sad feelings.
Some time ago I did actually found a photo-book by a photographer, with that particular theme…
One of the magic of these particular movie theaters is that they still find the time for reruns of great classics and there is no better place to do that. Old black and whites, shot practically with one camera and monophonic sound… but masterpieces nevertheless.
Try to picture this. As the all time classic movie “Yojimbo” is at its beginning, the lone no-name drifter Samurai arrives on foot at a crossroad. He now must choose his path, and you, as a spectator who has seen the film before, already know his “choice”. So as he stands about to size things, a breeze makes his clothing flatter. And at that exact moment, an equal breeze runs across your face while you are sitting there to see it all once more…
A coincidence like this, which takes place under a starry summer sky, is what open air-cinemas are all about…
November 24, 2007
The desire to better yourself
It is a well known concept of the East that an empty cup is of more use than a full one. So it is only positive, for a newcomer to a Dojo, to bring with him as less as possible. His concerns, thoughts and troubles should be limited in how to learn the Art…
On the other hand a Master's trouble is all that stuff a newcomer carries, that sooner or later will emerge, in order to become an obstacle in the student’s path.
Ideally there is one thing only that a student could bring into his training, which would not be an annoyance to his teacher.
And that is… the headline of this text!
Sometime youngsters dream of being somebody else, somebody better. It is not the case of every youngster to do so, but odd as it may sound, it is exactly that material and this kind of spirit, that can turn dreams into actual plans that will work.
Aikido is a vast desert to cross. If one feels too sure about himself in any way, he will probably fail in crossing it…
You want me to say it? He will definitely fail!
A person that carries the desire to change himself, is more likely to find his way through, because he will transform himself in the process, in order to reach there.
What haunts a Master (who cares) is that he can’t teach that. Oh yes, he can provide a student with everything necessary, and sometimes even more, in order to “arm” his student. But this one thing, the desire of a student to better himself, is totally up to the learner…
And if he does not provide this, all a Master can do, is sit back and watch a person walk into his failure, yet again…
Let’s face it, in life nobody dreams of becoming an undertaker or an accountant. But many surely dream of becoming an astronaut, an artist, an explorer, a scientist, or maybe a professor… that sort of stuff…
Of all things that one could desire to become, to be a Martial Artist is made out off pure dream material. I carry a great deal of respect for any of the true Martial Arts (and any other serious study in general) but especially for a sophisticated Art like Aikido, this dream has twice the distance.
In order for it to become realized, one should dream it so intensely, that it would cross the line of becoming a nightmare…
One of the major points in the study of Aikido has to do with the fact that it is learnable by any person and under any condition, no matter how great the external difficulties are. Mark my words: Aikido it is an Art that already lies within you, and travels through you! So, there are no excuses in not being able to learn it, outside the ones that are your own…
An instructor can encourage you, provoke you or wake the desire that is in you, but that is all.
The desire to better yourself, is all up to you.
December 28, 2007
Swordwriting
It is said that the pen is mightier than the sword.
But for any theory of words to be proven right, it must first survive the “test of the field”
Life teaches once too often, that anything is possible, if only conditions allow it…
From the beginning of putting down on paper “The Book In Between” many years have passed, that brought with them plenty of change. Nevertheless my intent stayed the same. It was and remains, to write with one hand, while keeping the other on my sword.
Between pen and sword, I never saw the point of proving what is “mightier” The idea was to do the best, in combining both… while keeping an eye on conditions!
A library surrounds my desk, and it’s stashed to the roof with books, magazines and writings of my favorite authors. It reminds me constantly of their work, though sometimes I get the feeling that I’m being… watched!
My own book and articles are never happy here. They want out as soon as possible…
Their true place to belong, is into other people's hands… mainly yours!
As an instructor I never thank a student of any level for attending my class.
In my view, a Dojo is the place where they should spend time…
But as a writer I am honored and I do thank my readers for having my work.
December 31, 2007