Conserve to Preserve

Blog Article/Post Caveat (Read First Please: Click the Link)

How often have you heard the meme, “Use it or lose it?” How often have you heard the meme, “Conserve it to preserve it?” This second meme only came to my attention in a recent study of mine regarding our bodies as to strength and durability and endurance but in a sense of longevity, i.e., what happens as we age and how that effects our practice and application of martial arts especially for self-defense.

It also came up regarding certain maladies one may have had over the years that now, as we age, have certain repercussions that long ago were not addressed or even given any thought or concern - the durability of a young mind. 

Sometimes how you use it in order to not lose it determines actually whether you truly lose it vs. actually conserving it for longevity. In our youth we in martial arts, at least from a Western perspective and perception, relied heavily on our physical muscular strength to carry the day with a smattering of actual principled based methodologies to get-r-done. Little did I and I suspect others in those younger years even considered that a more balanced way of martial arts and life would provide us the means to get-r-done as well as conserve to preserve those very same things that would provide us longevity and ability to continue our efforts in a martial way.

Fatigue, loss of strength, pain and our endurance all start to decline as our bodies age. How we temper that decline makes a huge difference. What I have discovered is that from a Western perspective we tend to exert maximum effort, strength and spirit in order to get-r-done but now find that a more cerebral view would have made that easier, more appropriate and smarter in applying learned skills in what even application we need or use. 

I have only just recently discovered that many of the ways I did things in fense as well as martial arts was not as efficient as it could be and relied heavily on my size, strength and mind-set to carry the day. I did things, as many did and still do, the “HARD WAY.” It seems, for me anyway, as a means to an end and only as I age and hopefully become wise realize that smart is so much better than hard. 

I also find this apropos because now I have encountered, as the aging process takes firm hole in my winter years, certain obstacles that actually force me to take a more conservative view of my way to make sure things last for the duration of my life. If I had continued to work the hard way I would deplete certain energies and strengths that would in the later winter years exposed me to vulnerabilities that would actually effect the quality of life let alone expose me to the dangers in life. 

Take a look and so some analysis on the subject of “Conserve to Preserve” especially if your reaching those winter years because taking action now and adjusting how you do things, especially in the dojo, will make for a long lasting ability to remain active in the dojo and to show those young-uns just how we old guys get-r-done but smartly. 

Bibliography (Click the link)

It’s Not Personal

Listen, it truly is not personal. I can’t tell you how many folks read my stuff, especially for the first time, and take immediate offense as if I attacked them and their belief systems in a personal way. In my mind, that is impossible especially if you have the confidence and understanding of what it is you do in martial arts, karate especially since that is my main squeeze martial art practice and study.

My sole goal on my blogs and wherever I find myself writing or talking about my personal understanding of my personal training, practice and applications of karate-martial arts. I often find other articles and extract things that trigger my mind into its meandering and wandering way of learning using Colonel Boyd’s “Analysis and Synthesis” model of study. I have exctracted from many authors and even if my writings and talks stray away from the original intent of that author doesn’t mean I am taking aim at the person themselves or even their intent in the original article. 

I often find things said and then deliberately take them out of the original article and the author’s intent in that article because when the quote or meme or other derived information is extracted like that it is NO LONGER a PART of the original. What I do tho is give credit to that author and their article not to make it personal but to make it known that the inspiration of the article I write comes from that extraction.

After all, analysis often, as you can find in Col. Boyd’s explanation, is taking individualized parts of a whole to study separately and then work toward rebuilding into something else that most often has nothing to do with the origins of the used extracted data. 

If you end up taking anything I write and way personally then that is ALL ON YOU, not me. If you find you become uncomfortable with anything then simply write me or a comment expressing your concerns and beliefs - you may be able to change my mind about what I wrote and guess what, many have done just that over the last decade or so - Whopee, I learnt somethin!

JUST REMEMBER DUDES AND DUDETTE’s, It ain’t personal, was not meant to be personal and ain’t about you, none of you. Your inspired me to write something that may or may not be relevant to what you wrote or said or it might be but IT IS MY PERSONAL idea’s, theories, and understanding of what the subject matter is about - loosley. 

You can’t learn shit by remaining steadfast with what you know because it is what you don’t know or what you don’t know you don’t know you don’t know about that will cause you to not know something. Yes, all that came from someone else who said something about knowing, not knowing something and not knowing what you don’t know you don’t know thingy. Yes, I kinda borrowed it because, I liked it and you can see that in my writing too like recent studies of Colonel Boyd and the OODA, its a learning process for me and … wait for it … It is NOT personal!

Aging Muscles

Blog Article/Post Caveat (Read First Please: Click the Link)

As karate-ka and martial artists age they have to deal with some interesting things of which one is our aging muscles. We can’t get past it by working out harder or lifting heavier and heavier weights. There are no vitimins or special drinks that will stay the natural effects of aging so it is best to understand, at least fundamentally, what we are in for as we age. Here is the short meme on aging muscles.

“As we age we lose muscle fibers. Remaining fibers atrophy, get smaller in size. Aging muscles are not as pliable or as able to contract quickly as is younger muscle. These changes cause a loss of muscle size and strength, reduce muscle contraction speed, and decrease muscle endurance.”

I was asked by a much younger karate-ka, what can you do then? My answer is to practice and train “Smart.” By smart I mean embrace the full spectrum of karate and martial arts practice, learn the principles and then learn the methodologies and techniques so you can apply them smarter than your adversary. Remember, most don’t know this stuff or they assume they don’t need it cause they are strong but even the strongest of men succumbs to the aging process, so learn now and make the adjustments so you can continue to dominate even those young whipper snappers out there dependent on their strength, size and testerone driven egoistic monkey brain status seeking woman impressing antics :-)

Bibliography (Click the link)