Norway

As I write this I am just passing over Scotland on my way to Amsterdam. From there I will be searching for the Norwegian Blue, pining away amongst the fjords of Norway.

I am at that stage in my martial arts career where there are techniques that I teach that I no longer can do. Five knee surgeries in my past have pretty much eliminated the flying spinning kicks that were my favourites only a few years ago. I now teach what I know, not what I do.

I thought I would be more melancholy at this stage of my career. I had imagined that once I reached this point I would be stepping back but I find myself doing the opposite. My fascination and engagement grows daily. The longer I train, the deeper my understanding. The art never ceases to amaze me.

So much more to learn. So much to be grateful for.

“Well, he's...he's, ah...probably pining for the fjords.” - Monty Python - Dead Parrot Sketch

Old Becomes New Again

Dr. Travis Bradberry wrote an interesting article about the importance of learning. Bradberry cited research from Stanford University conducted by Carol Dweck and her team that focused on people who were struggling with their performance. Her research project involved two groups that were given specific tasks. One group was taught how to perform better on a task that they had performed poorly in. For the task that the second group performed badly in, this group was taught they were not stuck and that improving their performance was a choice and, in fact, that learning produces physiological changes in the brain, just like exercise changes muscles. All they needed to do was believe in themselves to make it happen.

Upon readdressing the two groups a few months later, the first groups was doing their task even worse. The second group that had been taught that they had the power to change their brains and improve their performance themselves improved dramatically.

Bradberry’s take on Dweck’s research is that we should never get complacent with the skills we have acquired. We should never stop learning. He says that the moment we think we are who we are is the moment we give away our unrealized potential. In fact, he writes that the act of learning is every bit as important as what you learn.

This is why I love kung fu. I have been practicing the art for almost four decades and I never stop learning. As my body ages and injuries pile on, I have to adapt to my changing reality and learn to cope and compete under a new set of rules. The old becomes new again.

“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.” Henry Ford (1863 - 1947)

Apples and Oranges

We are raised by different parents in different circumstances. Our experiences are unique, colouring our world view. We suffer differently, injuries both physical and emotional. None of us are the same. Yet we tend to negatively compare ourselves to others and expect to learn at the same rate and develop the same skill sets.

The world is not a level playing field. We all bring strengths and weaknesses to the same situation. Comparing ourselves and expecting the same results as one another is not a reasonable assumption.

Celebrate and respect our differences. Recognize not only the value you bring to the table but the value everyone else brings. We are all special.

“The meaning resides in one’s own experience, making the everyday the exceptional.” - Samuel Mockbee (1944 - 2001)

Guns Kill People

The US had yet another banner week of mass killings. Yeah, yeah, I know the old argument - “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” I am assuming that hogwash only flies with those who refuse to think for themselves and those whose personal or financial interests are tied to making these weapons easily available to all.

Yes, people kill people. It happens everyday - both directly and indirectly. We’re killing on a mass scale with our foreign policies that dehumanize everyone who does not look like us, worship like us, or covet the dollar like us. To keep our economy chugging along, we justify raping foreign lands, making them unliveable, and then we label the people we have displaced as security threats, denying them sanctuary when they flee their homeland that we helped destroy. Yes, people kill people but they do it much more quickly and efficiently when they have easy access to a gun.

People are going to kill. It happens. We cannot stop a person from killing if they are committed to a course of action. It is impossible to control people’s actions. What is not impossible to control is easy access to guns. Take away easy access and, while you will not stop people from killing, you will reduce the speed and efficiency of their kills.

Thoughts and prayers are fine but smarter gun legislation is better.

“If guns don't kill people, why do mass killers arm themselves with guns?” - DaShanne Stokes (b. 1978)