Martial Music

Music, especially 'jam sessions' have the quality of controlled chaos, which is very much at the heart of martial study--understanding and managing conflict. 

Everyone is always trying to get their 'notes' in. Sometimes one on top of the other. Sometimes in concert with another. Sometimes in complete contradiction or conflict with the other.

Jazz is the perfect example of martial music. A musical conversation that involves high speed changes of leading and following.

Then there are lyrics that speak to me as a student and teacher of martial arts. Especially lyrics where I can find a double entendre that pairs my passions of martial arts and philosophy.

For those who study with me, you might have already pick up the double entendres while watching the video. For those who haven't, you'll find some paranthetical notations next to the lyrics below in order to get you started. 

Go ahead and listen again and 'let go' of whatever Monday mania you might be engaged in.

Either way, enjoy the music and I hope you enjoy my musical musing.

Let Go (Frou Frou)

Drink up baby doll (infatuation of starting)

Are you in or are you out? (do or do not do)
Leave your things behind (ego, shoes, socks, baggage)
'Cause it's all going off without you (sweat/work it out)
Excuse me too busy you're writing your tragedy (feeling bad for yourself is a waste of energy)
These mishaps
You bubble-wrap
When you've no idea what you're like (don't let mistakes anchor you)

So, let go, let go
Jump in
Oh well, what you waiting for?
It's all right
'Cause there's beauty in the breakdown (rebuilding yourself)
So, let go, let go
Just get in
Oh, it's so amazing here (I'm a bit biased)
It's all right
'cause there's beauty in the breakdown

It gains the more it gives (relaxation is power)
And then it rises with the fall (drop your breath/stance)
So hand me that remote
Can't you see that all that stuff's a sideshow?
Such boundless pleasure
We've no time for later
Now you can't await
your own arrival
you've twenty seconds to comply (lol!)

So, let go, so let go
Jump in
Oh well, what you waiting for?
It's alright
'Cause there's beauty in the breakdown
So, let go, yeah let go
Just get in
Oh, it's so amazing here
It's all right
'Cause there's beauty in the breakdown

So, let go,
Jump in
Oh well, what you waiting for?
It's alright
'Cause there's beauty in the breakdown
So, let go, yeah let go
Just get in
Oh, it's so amazing here
It's all right
'Cause there's beauty in the breakdown

In the breakdown
'Cause there's beauty in the breakdown
The breakdown

So amazing here
'Cause there's beauty in the breakdown

#whitetigerdojodifference #martialmusic #musicalmusings #berkeleyheights #martialarts #music

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Who Teaches the Teacher?

As a teacher of martial arts, I want to build awareness. Awareness is the first key to de-selecting yourself from violence. You do not have to study or be interested in the reality of violence to become the target of violence.

Mr Douglas introduces himself and has the practitioners introduce themselves on day one.

As a human being and a teacher of martial arts, I strive to evolve. As the owner/operator of White Tiger Dojo, it is imperative that I continue to grow and evolve my teaching methods and skill sets.
​

After 30 years of study and entering my​ second decade of full-time teaching, one lesson remains constant -- I must never become complacent with my skills as a practitioner or a teacher.

In order to ​provide​ the best service I can to my student body, I am constantly challenging myself. Four years ago, I sought out a professional named Craig Douglas, of Shivworks, in order to test my own skills, hone new ones and discover what I did not know.

Mr Douglas explains and demonstrates the default position.

On the weekend of March 19th & 20th, 20 men and one of my female black belts could enter the altar of scrutiny that has been built by Craig Douglas' internationally recognized coursework -- Edged Weapons Overview (EWO). The coursework is 18 hours long and runs from 8AM-6PM each night with a one hour lunch break each day.

Other than myself and two of my black belts, the other 17 participants consisted of a large contingent of tri-state area law enforcement professionals, including Berkeley Heights Police Department, and a potpourri of civilian professionals.

Roberto Andrade, a black belt at the White Tiger Dojo and owner of Natural Integrated Medicine in Florham Park, assesses an attendee's prior injury before starting an exercise.

Although the age, location and background may have varied, the goals and the excitement over the coursework was unanimous. Awareness and safety for the sake of oneself and one's family was paramount and all agreed that this was coursework that was not readily available anywhere else.

A rare moment to breathe and socialize.

White Tiger Dojo was proud to partner with Berkeley Heights Police Department and Craig Douglas in order to provide such a great training module for so many people.

And what did law enforcement professionals get out of this coursework? Berkeley Heights Chief John DiPasquale had this to say:

Berkeley Heights Police Department was pleased that Craig Douglas could provide our agency with coursework that cannot be duplicated in terms of safety and awareness. Mr. Douglas is a humble instructor that provides his students with the tools to combat predatory violence.
The Berkeley Heights Police Department emphasizes the highest level of training in our effort to keep our community safe.
On behalf of our department, we would like to thank White Tiger Dojo owner, Darren DeMarco, for making this type of training possible and partnering with our community.

In the end, whether you are a civilian or law enforcement professional, when an attack occurs, it will take time for help to arrive, if someone even knows you're in trouble. Sometimes winning isn't an option and survival until the cavalry arrives may be your only hope. As Douglas says about his own coursework, "This is not coursework you win, this is coursework you experience."

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A Dash of Class

Just because you outclass someone badly, doesn't mean you need to be classless. Compassion is taking advantage of your partner's lack of technical focus so that they may learn from their mistakes. Compassion is not discouraging your partner simply because you outrank them and want to stroke your own ego. 

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Three Pillars of the White Tiger Dojo

Recently, I've been shifting from the written word to video, just to change it up for myself and my readers. I hope you like the upcoming series of Q&A videos.

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Setting Goals

Recently, I've been shifting from the written word to video, just to change it up for myself and my readers. I hope you like the upcoming series of Q&A videos.

Aggressively Inarticulate

For the last couple of years I’ve been showing some of my students and parents this YouTube video of Taylor Mali. Taylor Mali is a poet, teacher, voice actor and more generally, an observer of the human condition.

One of his best observations is the slow death of the declarative sentence. Not only have I seen this type of vocalization ‘in the wild’ of my classes, but I find this trend of verbalization to be detrimental to one’s self-confidence.

In case you can’t click on the link to listen to Mali vocalize Totally like whatever, you know?, then let me give you some highlights:

...Invisible question marks and parenthetical (you know?)’s
have been attaching themselves to the ends of our sentences?
Even when those sentences aren’t, like, questions? You know?

...Declarative sentences—so-­‐called
because they used to, like, DECLARE things to be true, okay...

...I have nothing personally invested in my own opinions, okay?
I’m just inviting you to join me in my uncertainty?

...I entreat you, I implore you, I exhort you,
I challenge you: To speak with conviction.

To say what you believe in a manner that bespeaks
the determination with which you believe it.
Because contrary to the wisdom of the bumper sticker,
it is not enough these days to simply QUESTION AUTHORITY.
You have to speak with it, too.

So what does language have to do with self-defense? For one, when used properly, the voice is a powerful tool to control distance, and to express our intent. It can project authority and even put fear in the minds of some of its recipients. Think of a bark, a growl, the roar of a lion or a drill instructor.

As regular readers know, I run my school/dojo on three main principles: discipline, awareness and organization. Only when one is aware of a stranger, can one begin to discover the intent of a stranger. Once the intent of a stranger is discovered, then one can vocalize their own intent and concerns.

When someone adopts a verbal posturing akin to Mali’s poem, they are seen as pushovers. Needs are not met accurately, timely or consistently by being passive aggressive, mealymouthed or interrogative.
If a child feels meek, sounds meek and looks meek, then he will not feel like he is worth protecting. If the child feels as if his will and position in life is always at question then he can only be affirmed positively or negatively by others and never by himself.

It is important for children to learn to speak clearly and firmly as early as possible. Claiming space with their voice and posture not only shows others where they stand, but it makes them feel like they are worth standing up for.

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Automa-Teen

I read this article a few weeks back, and my heart went out to the author and her fellow classmates. Given that the average child is safer, smarter and more savvy than previous generations, how is it that any child can write the following of her educational experience?

We are not teenagers. We are lifeless bodies in a system that breeds competition, hatred, and discourages teamwork and genuine learning. We lack sincere passion. We are sick.

We, as a community, have completely lost sight of what it means to learn and receive an education.

Why is that not getting through to this community? Why does this insanity that is our school district continue?

…...Now that I'm nearing the end of my academic career in Palo Alto, I'd like to nostalgically look back and remember how much fun I had growing up, learning, and being a teenager in our city.

I'm sorry to say I won't be able to do that even in the slightest degree.

We lack sincere passion? We are sick? This is the youth of our country and they feel sick and passionless before the age of 18?

First off, I must commend this young woman for being aware enough to understand what is happening to her and her fellow students; disciplined enough to make a clear and cogent case for these issues; and organized enough to push her concerns onto the national table of discussion.

Second, I have to wonder where the adults of her community stand. If they are aware of such sentiments, then what do they intend to do about them? Do they even think the sentiment is valid?

Panning back onto the national stage, have the adults of our nation become so paranoid about their own fiscal lives that they are willing to sacrifice their children’s childhoods by maintaining an educational gristmill that is slowly becoming nothing more than an intellectual sweatshop? Have the adults of our nation exhausted all other answers?

What would Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Larry Ellison, Michael Dell, Steve Jobs, Henry Ford or Walt Disney think of the state of education now? Better yet, if you have some time, take a look at what Sir Ken Robinson thinks about the state of education.

Those who are regular readers of my column know that I’m all for experiencing struggle andfailure, and that I can’t condone taking the easy way out. However, I wonder, when did the educational system become such a Kobayashi Maru?

Personally, I had a great educational experience right up through college. Sure I went through awkward stages such as acne, body image, braces, glasses and 80’s haircuts, but I still had time to enjoy football, lacrosse, karate, socializing, homework and still get to bed by 10 o’clock at night.

Was it stressful at times? Sure, but nothing was so awful that I look back at my younger years with disdain. I also cannot recall anything noteworthy enough to make me feel that my educational experience was so easy that I didn’t feel prepared for the rigors of life.

Then there are the issues involving sleep, diet and exercise that affect everyone. What happens when lack of sleep, poor diet, extreme stress and less time for positive outlets are combined with poor lifestyle choices having to do with with sex, drugs and alcohol? When our basic needs are disrupted, it is more difficult for any of us to make positive lifestyle choices, and more likely that we will succumb to depression and suicidal thoughts.

For the sake of all children, I would suggest we take a harder look at the balancing act between education and the childhood experience. I don’t think anyone reading the above would want to feel like this student, nor would we want to read this coming from any of our own children.

I’d like to believe that this article, from Palo Alto, will become a battle cry that causes the trenches to be dug deep enough and wide enough that we don't have to ever read here on TAP that local students feel the same way. If we are concerned enough to wrap our children up in all the latest safety gear for the physical risks they take on the athletic field, then we should also be willing to take a hard look at mitigating the mental health risks that children face on the academic field as well.

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