Modern Technology

Life in the 1800’s was simple. Maybe difficult by today’s standard but it still was very simple. 

If an anti-matter bomb (grin and bear with me, just using this for an analogy) were to detonate during those years, the general life style would not really be affected for those who survived. Life would go on as normal: work, eat, sleep, play.  But if the same bomb would explode today, we would be devastated. Think of all the things that would stop working for us:  phones, computers,  cars, utility plants, all big farms, stores, businesses, hospitals, banks, stoves, refrigerators. We would revert to an apocalyptic state because our lives have learned to depend on all those things. What would have been a luxury, like a washing machine, in the 1800 is a common staple today. What makes our lives so much easier and supposedly simpler would now make it a total nightmare. Let’s face it, very few people know how to grow or procure their own food (I mean ALL your food supplies), how to build or repair an engine, how to make their own clothes, how to care for their health emergencies.  Have all this technology made us more sophisticated or just lazy?

Where am I going with this on a SD blog? Same thing happens in some of the teachings that are passed as SD nowadays. People have made them so complicated that I doubt they would save your life if you needed it to. Has all this “newfound knowledge” made us safer or just lazier and dumber?  With all the Hollywood propaganda, have you become impervious to bullets? Can you climb walls to avoid bad guys? Will you be able to do spinning back kick and disarm a guy whose intent is to kill you? You need to get back to the basics, the fundamentals. You need to be able to protect yourself as this is the most basic human need. You can be good at growing a garden, mechanics, cooking, medicine, but none of those will help you if you are dead because you could not simply defend yourself. If you really want to provide, first provide yourself with safety.

I am all for using tools to defend yourself, whatever will work should be used if it will save your life. But tools, be it sticks, gun, Taser, pepper spray, rocks, should not be your entire repertoire. Tools can break, tools can be dropped, tools can be taken away from you, tools can be too difficult to reach at the crucial time. You need to be able to use your body if the need arise. Don’t forget to train in ALL aspects of self defense… including and especially your brain and common sense!!!

Remember to keep things simple. Defending yourself does not require fancy techniques, flashy kicks or spinning back fists. A move will not save your life because it looked pretty. The things that will save your life are simple basic principles. Know them, learn them, ingrain them.

A great, easy and functional way to ingrain was taught to me by my sensei.: “Exercise with a purpose” .  Instead of just doing your basic lifts and dips, push ups and lunges, adapt those exercises to re-create the motions you are trying to ingrain. You are achieving the same benefits of all the typical exercises but you have the added benefits of ingraining some basics.

Be smart, stay safe!!!