I am very blessed to be surrounded by a plethora of amazing individuals. People of Wizard-like ability with knowledge as if they existed from the Future. Some are Mouse-like in stature but are Mighty nonetheless. Their bodies are Speedy in nature and Solid in constitution. To the public eye, they may appear to be Psycho, Angry, or filled with Rage. But from my time with them, I know that though they as fierce as a Dragon, compassion lies in their hearts as well. For even one known as Mankill is known to care for feline companions.
These characters stand out to me in my life because they represent what is possible and what is still to come. When life gets me down, I look above to see individuals who used to be in my position and the lofty laurels they posses. An understanding occurs to me that despite the long road ahead, I do not walk alone.
Upon my reading of Mastery by Robert Greene, the book's look on apprenticeship really resonated with me. For this new knowledge allowed me to gaze at my life and realize the giants all around me. This provided both comfort and prodding to my mind. Though the road to mastery is winding and confusing, life has situated myself with guides who traverse a road similar to mine. And from this viewpoint, I encounter that in every aspect of my life there are giants. Especially to those who read these very words. I might appear to have knowledge but actually know little. For in the illuminating world of knowledge, I am still blind and merely feeling my way out. I heartily thank you dear reader for being a fellow traveler on my journey. Though the quote is often brought back to Issac Newton, Bernard of
Chartres made the metaphor that one is able to see further by standing
on the shoulders of giants. Here's to you for being a giant in your own way.
Back in the day when I was even younger and more naive than I am now, there was a girl that I was romantically interested in. Lo and behold, one evening the aforementioned girl invited me to an outing at the movie theater. This invitation set my heart aflutter with the fury of 10 thousand butterflies. Before that fateful event, I had been at wit's end on how to approach her and now this opportunity happened to just fall on my lap. So I dropped my initial plans to peruse my local comic book shop and instead set out to movie cinema center. Upon arrival at the theater, I then bide my time at the lobby. While awaiting the movie showtime, I received notice from the girl that she had invited friends as well. This flew quickly over my head. Quite frankly I did not care if she brought a barrel of monkeys with her, I was just going to concentrate on her regardless. So with my blinders firmly in place, I barely acknowledged the friend that did arrive. I muttered a greeting to the other girl and went back to killing time. The feature presentation would soon be playing, yet there was no sign of the girl that invited me who will now be known as Bait. The other girl, let's call her Switch, and myself made our way into the theater and our seats. I made sure to leave in between the two of us for Bait. As the previews rolled by, in my mind I was at the movies by myself. My solitary reverie was broken by Switch whispering to me. She informed me that Bait unfortunately could not make it tonight due to last minute happenings. My heart fell faster than Krillin in any meaningful battle in Dragonball Z. Switch then closed the gap between us physically by occupying the seat next to mine. I on the other hand lengthened the gap between us figuratively and for the rest of the evening my dialogue consisted of one word sentences and grunts. At the show's end, Switch and I parted ways, briefly before that though she invited me to go bowling at a later date. Honestly I would rather hammer myself in the groin before going bowling. I murmured "Maybe" before I went off into the night very disappointed.
After a week of putting that failed outing well out of my mind, I got an invitation from Bait to go bowling. Like a moth flying straight into flame, I responded that I would love to go bowling. I had been looking forward to watching a marathon of Gundam Wing episodes but dropped those plans. Once again, Bait did not show up and my only companion for the night was Switch.
Once again not the desired result that I wanted. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. So I set out to talk to Bait one-on-one. I invited her to the park and we messed around with a soccer ball. While we were kicking it, I told Bait straight up that I liked her. In an M. Night Shyamalan twist, Bait revealed that Switch liked me so she had been attempting to play matchmaker. I was shell shocked. After our talk, my psyche was shattered. I then proceeded to be a mature person by proceeding to never communicate with either Bait or Switch again. Moral of the story from my opinion is that I should have been honest from the start about my intentions.
A peer of mine once asked me where was the art in fighting, what warranted the word art to follow martial. My peer noted fighting had a simple end goal, to win, so a fight boiled down to merely executing the proper moves to win. This question bothered me greatly. It stewed in my head for quite a time as I grappled with how to convey the beauty of martial arts. To me beauty is the quality to be so intrinsically in-tune with nature that it transcends the mere space and time it occupies. Do musicians merely manufacture notes to induce listening? Does a painter simply scribe on a canvas for others to view? I argue that such is not the case. Instead I present the case that martial arts such as any art requires the heart and soul to be the driving factor. It is not mere movements that drive an artist but rather an entire metaphysical wave sent from the universe. When I myself partake in the martial arts, despite whatever adversity I might encounter, I feel not only my body moving freely but my mind is soaring as well. The sensation of practicing it is so aesthetically aligned with my being that the euphoria is mesmerizing. Those who have ever felt one with any art can attest to how amazingly in sync with reality one can be. My thoughts are still juvenile, my writing still infantile, so I still do no justice to how truly the martial arts affect me. I will say that it is an art form and will continue to make stride to prove my statement true.
As a result of my passion for martial arts, I find myself a frequent observer of live Mixed-Martial-Arts events. Without fail, there are always martial art experts there that shout golden bit of knowledge such "Stand up and fight like a man!" and "Use the muay Thai!" While I appreciate the enthusiasm of these fans that they wish to impart their wisdom, their words are rather futile. It would be similar for me viewing a basketball event whilst screaming "Put the ball in the basket!" or "Get the ball from that end of the court to the other!" I would be correct fundamentally in my endeavored goading but I am sure the players on the court could easily do the actions without my support.
What I mean to highlight though in my observation of this phenomenon is that it is a clear example of the Dunning-Krueger effect. According to Wikipedia, "the DK effect is a cognitive bias in which unskilled individuals suffer from illusory superiority, mistakenly rating their ability much higher than average. This bias is attributed to a metacognitive inability of the unskilled to recognize their mistakes." Essentially, because of one's inexperience in a particular area of study, one does not realize the actual difficulty of that field. Let's consider that one could view a cooking show on television. The dish looks appetizing and delicious so one sets out to emulate the TV chef's work. However upon practical approach, one realizes that what appears simple to an expert is actually quite a layered and complex task. So I do not fault the audience martial art experts. They simply do not know how wrong they are and that it is quite difficult to accomplish any muay Thai techniques on the ground. That is why I propose the idea of a new organization called the AFC or Armchair Fighter Challenge. In this organization, loudmouth audience members could do battle with each other. So all parties at play could see exactly how easy it is to stand up and fight like a man. That's all for today. Now if you excuse me, I am about to attend a cricket match equipped with my sign that states "Hit the ball thingy with the paddle thingy."
Ever had a rather poor decision turn into one of the big turning points of your life? Here's a little story of how a proposed street scuffle turned into the discovery of one of the most important stomping grounds of my life.
The tale begins with my run in with a rowdy Australian exchange student. I am not sure what exactly is up with Oceania that causes its citizens to have such an established disposition to fight but it was clearly present in this young man. He wanted to "Break my face" over an unknown matter at the time. Hindsight is 20/20 and looking back on the whole incident; I can deem it stemmed with the Aussie's affection for a girl in our class. The man from a land down under clearly saw me as a rival for the girl's attention. Honestly, I just happened to sit next to the girl. Much more important things occupied my mind such as video games and comic books.
My lackadaisical attitude did little to cool Aussie's temper towards me. He made constant unveiled threats toward me during lunch. I was more concentrated on playing Pokemon but got the gist of what he was saying in-between my battles with unending streams of Zubats in a cave. The Aussie student said he knew Mixed-Martial-Arts and his mastery of these skills would enable to easily crush. Tired of his pointless banter, I agreed to fight him after school so he could let me train my Pokemon in peace. Fast forward to the end of the school day, I walked over to our proposed battleground, only to find no opponent waiting for me. I loitered for 15 minutes before taking off. Searching through my memory, I recounted the name of the martial arts academy that Aussie trained at. A fight was agreed upon and I intended to make it happen, so I trekked to the parking lot of the martial arts academy. The building was closed at the moment, so I waited until an instructor came strolling to the entrance. Noticing my presence, the instructor asked if I was there to check out the place. I stated that I pretty much was and scoped the place out. Then I decided to sign up for an orientation class the next day so I could get the drop on Crocodile Dundee Jr. Tomorrow rolled around and I partook in the orientation. I found myself fascinated in the technique that was presented. Another day passed and I eagerly participated in the classes at the martial arts academy. Throughout the week, I did not see my Australian schoolmate. However I did become hooked into educating myself in the ways of the martial arts. Days turned into weeks and then eventually months. I completely forgot about my scheduled scrap with the international student. So now many years later, I apologize to you, Mr. Aussie. We never did get to fight back then. I take full responsibility. Thank you though for telling me about the martial arts academy and MMA. Plus I still want to take you up on your challenge if you are still available. Take care now.
Disclaimer: Spider-Man is a registered trademark of Marvel. I stand to make no monetary value from this content
Spider-Man has always been one of my favorite superheroes. My initial encounter with the webbed wonder was through the TV show, which led me to the comics and eventually a deep appreciation of the medium as a whole. However the arachnid hero has always stood out from the pack. It is hard to relate to Superman and Batman. One is an alien with nearly godlike ability while the other is a billionaire with limitless resources.Even in the Marvel universe, Thor is literally a god, Iron Man is a high flying playboy, and Captain America is a super soldier. Despite this stiff competition from his peers, the wallcrawling do-gooder is by far the flagship character of Marvel. Not bad for a nerd from Queens. Let's explore what makes webhead stand out:
Origin: OK, picture that you are an awkward adolescent who is suddenly vested with enormous power. Do you go out and fight evil for the good of mankind? Or do you attempt to see what your new gifts can do you for maybe more selfish purposes? Give a teen a sports car, you can expect a joy ride to happen. So it is no surprise that social pariah, Peter Parker, before donning his alter ego, looked to cash in on his newly found talents. A pretty realistic thing that one would expect of a high school student. But then, life deals a harsh lesson to the young man with great power through the loss of his beloved uncle. Given a state of clarity via this tragedy, a boy became a man who learned never to shrink from responsibility. Spider-Man reminds the reader that the life of a hero is not living above society but rather taking society to new heights.
Everyday life: Let us run through the Marvel gallery of heroes and their day jobs. When he is not Iron Man, Tony Stark is a freaking billionaire. Thor's mortal guise of Donal Blake is a doctor. Captain America once again is a super soldier who is backed by the US government. Hell, even the X-Men live in a mansion. What does Peter Parker do? He's newspaper photographer. And his boss absolutely despises Spider-Man and would wish nothing more than see the hero go down in majestic flames. When not living with his aunt, Spider-Man has occupied several crappy apartments in New York City. Spider-Man's humble living standards makes him accessible to common everyman.
Superhero antics: My favorite thing about Spider-Man is his constant stream of comedic one-liners even in the most dire of situations.
So for all these reasons and many more, make Spider-Man a staying point of my life. Until next time true believers. Excelsior.
The picture above is the sleepy town of my youth, Marikina, my home along the river. This image alone evokes emotion from my memory. Plus it causes me to consider the idiom, "Home is where the heart is." A simple phrase at first glance but what exactly makes up one's heart and where is it located? Does the heart reside in the past? From where one has been? Is love merely constructed from the time and experience one spends in an area? As my mind drifts on this it wanders into time itself. What of the present, the area where I currently am located. Does my presence at this current spot make it my home? But with logic, that cannot be right. Because the present soon becomes the past. So my gaze sets sight to the future. My heart will continue to wander this plane of existence as it continues to beat. And inside my heart will reside the people and places that I hold dear. So no matter what the time or distance my journey takes me. I can rest assure that this tiny floating blue and green rock in the universe will be my home forevermore. Thanks for joining me, housemates, until next time.
Every person is a traveler that is venturing on a journey known as life. Due to a meeting with several knowledgeable companions, I pondered what exactly I am pursuing on my journey. To settle this matter, I first figured what I do not wish to seek. Riches do not pop up on my immediate radar. Wealth for simply wealth's sake means little to me. Piles of shiny metal and pieces of paper with dead figureheads are only useful for exchanges. Then I considered if goals and outcomes were what I wanted in this life. However a goal is a rather fickle thing to pursue. Goals are merely the output of work. Then I realized what I truly wanted was questions. Because of my curiosity, questions captivate me to know end. Thus the reason for my journey is to seek questions. The first one that comes to mind is, "Who am I?" For my own purposes I will dictate my discoveries on this question on this blog. Join me if you wish.
