"Summer Breeze, makes me feel fine..."

Song quote aside, it's been a hectic but enjoyable summer so far.  Training is ramping up in anticipation of a major event I've been invited to where I'll have the opportunity to train under masters in several styles.  This will likely be followed by a bit of a break, our dojo shuts down for a month or so, time for us all to recharge, heal and renew our martial spirits.  Give Sensei a break from all of us too, which I'm sure is a welcome one...


I'm also about to enjoy some much needed time away from work, which I'm really looking forward to.  This last year has been the busiest one on record for me and I need to unplug.


I'll try to keep the posts coming, but forgive me if they're a bit more sporadic for the next bit.  I may actually not go on a computer for a week or so, something I recommend for everyone from time to time.  No facebook, email, smartphone, etc.  I may rely on others to fill me in on any major world events, as I'll likely not turn on the t.v. or even listen to the radio.  I think it's good to truly disconnect from all the distractions for a little while.  


Having said all that, there's lots of posts forming in my head.  


We've been doing blindfolded training (very telling of how smooth your technique is).  So I'll be thinking about that.  I'm attending a sword seminar, which is something I've never worked on, so that should be some good fodder.  The event I'm attending should also provide lots of food for thought.


And off topic completely, I can't get over the level of athlete I've seen in many of the events in the Olympics.  Wow.  


I hope everyone is getting a chance to enjoy some summer time relaxation. "blowing through the jasmine in my mind..."


Thanks for reading.

Random Thought - Buyer Beware

“I’ve been stabbed several times”

This was the opening line given by an instructor delivering a knife and edged weapons seminar I attended not too long ago.

From that moment on, the crowd pretty much accepted, without question, everything he had to say about knife defence.

I found myself wondering how that statement somehow qualified him as an expert.  After all, isn’t getting stabbed what we’re trying to avoid?  What made him more of an authority on the topic than someone else who’s managed not to get stabbed several times?

In pretty much every other area in life, this would disqualify someone as an expert. 

Would you take swimming lessons from someone that proudly asserted that they’d nearly drowned pretty much every time they got in the water?  Would you take driving lessons from someone that had been in a bunch of car accidents?

The other thing that occurred to me was how many similar assertions I had heard in the past.  It seems pretty much every instructor putting on a new flashy course has been mauled, bitten, shot and stabbed repeatedly.  Amazingly, most of them seemed unfazed by the experience.  Now I’m not suggesting anyone is making anything up in order to sell their particular brand or product or anything, but…

Caveat emptor in all things, I guess.

Note:  I should mention that the instructor in this case had actually been stabbed, and the experience had been the catalyst for him to question everything he thought he knew about knife and edged weapons training.  As such, the seminar was great and I learned a lot.  Unfortunately, this seems to the the exception, and not the rule at most of these events.