Writing, still not as easy as I’d like it to be. Life itself is proving to be that way at the minute. I’m definitely at the ‘pull the head off the nearest yak’ stage to use a Tibetan metaphor.
So what’s the answer? I’m looking for a job, I’ve applied to about 40 now and only had one interview. This isn’t surprising really when you consider the 4000 odd people who’ve been laid off in this area over the last few months through redundacies and companies going bankrupt.
Is the government to blame? I personally agree with the fact that the economy has to be reigned in and the borrowing curtailed, but I’m not sure that putting thousands of people out of work is the answer. Surely all those folk can no longer pay their bills or manage their debt – sooooo the companies won’t get paid and they’ll go under too, not forgetting of course that a lot of the people out of work will end up signing on and claiming benefits from the government. I have to say that on the whole I am disappointed in all this, I went to University, only came out with £8000 of debt and tied to get a decent job – to which I’ve had varying success. However I do feel that my life would have been made a lot easier if I’d dropped out of school, got some girl pregnant and got us both kicked out of our homes. At the least I wouldn’t be in debt or have to pay for a house. I mean what the fuck is up with that? I work hard to earn a living so that I can end up liable for other peoples debt?
Hmm repressed rant there, maybe there is something therapeutic to this writing lark after all – I do feel a little better.

I recently saw a video on TED entitled “Its not what you do but why you do it”, I thought that the message was very interesting and got me to ask myself why I do what I do?, what do I believe or believe in?
Well I came up with the following three points:
I believe in life and it’s ability to overcome.
I believe in love and the matters of th heart.
I believe in protecting and mentoring in order to pass these things forward.
That’s why I do what I do, I believe in helping and supporting others because it feels right to me – that’s why all the jobs I’ve had are in service industries – strange perhaps but I guess it’s an integral part of my character.
I’m a martial artist because I want to protect and help myself, my family our culture and society.
I’m not religious, though I’m aware that some religions share my views, I believe that to a certain degree we create our own rules that limit or free us and that is what society is about, a mutual set of agreed rules to which most of us live our lives.

When it comes to my training, I beleive in a totality of study, I appreciate that not everyone wants that and that people train for sporting, fitness or simply as a hobby or social gathering, it’s just not what I want to do.
We live and should live entire lives, not just moments in time. For me the context is as important as the message or information, I guess that’s why I like traditional martial arts but also beleive in using them in the contemparary world in which me all live. I definitely don’t have time to rediscover everything that’s been thought of previosly, but I do have time to look at that information and update it for future generations.
Some martial arts have become less effective as combat methodologies and have perhaps become fancy dances for aesthetic purposes. Indeed it’s true that some arts are done more for health benefit than self-protection which I see as a good thing on the whole, though historically it may only be half the story. I don’t think that it’s correct to say that something in an art or technique is wrong, though I think it’s perfectly fair to say that something in an art or technique is misrepresented, misintepreted or perhaps no longer as relevent as it may once have been.

Lead by example, follow by choice.

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