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Articles on Psychology
Attachment Disorder: A Controversial Diagnosis
Psychiatric diagnosis, despite wishful thinking to the contrary, cannot be termed a pure science. Although the scientific method plays a considerable part, there is also a significant element of "human science" - making informed decisions that are validated by their utility, rather than proven by physiological evidence. more
Therapeutic Self-Defense: Training for Survivors of Violence and Abuse
Self-defense…is not simply a matter of the acquisition of combat skills. What is a valid defense of the self? I believe that the self is that which is most intrinsically human and personal within us. It is the self that is truly wounded in any assault. more
Who’s in Crisis? A Consideration of Those Helping Victims of Abuse
Is there a crisis? Yes, there is. But whose? All too simplistically, we focus on the victim’s. But I intend to talk here about ours. more
Articles on Martial Arts
Natural Movement and It’s Relationship to Martial Arts
There is an island where chimpanzees are resettled after a lab closes, or because of aggressiveness, or psychological and physical damage. more
Public Presentations of Skill in Traditional Japanese Martial Arts
Up until modern times, embu (public presentations of a martial art) were either honno embu (offerings to the deities of a shrine) or presentations to a figure of authority. more
Vectors in Aikido (Taikyoku Kuzushi)
This is a copy of the "Sword and Spirit" Newsletter of November, 2005. Robert Wolfe presents an excellent description of my method of training aikido to lay proper groundwork for the study of striking methodology, free-style practice, counter-techniques and eventually the inclusion of internal training. Those interested should contact the Itten Dojo in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, as they are the only dojo currently practicing this methodology.
Interview Regarding Ethics within the Dojo
From the interview:
- "Ask yourself what it is you set out to learn -- and how does a broken arm or a broken marriage move you forward on that path? How does coerced sex lead to more integrity? (This one's important, because one might see it as an "exchange" to get more knowledge on the mat from the teacher.) The issue should not, should never be, acquisition of power alone; it is the attainment of personal integrity. A person who trades off a sense of pride, self-worth or dignity for the possibility of a better sword cut, has gained absolutely nothing."
- Most spiritual traditions are, in some manner, escapist, in that fear is regarded as a noxious illusion to be expunged by equanimity. In my unenlightened opinion, we were born to be human beings, and therefore, nothing human should be erased from us. Anything human carries knowledge/information. It is how we act on that knowledge. Therefore, fear, as horrid as it can feel, is a teacher. (Old Spanish proverb: The only difference between a brave man and a coward is what direction they are running). So: hopefully, through training, one masters debilitating fear; hopefully, through training, one uses fear as a teacher
Recommended Articles by Associates
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab and the Christmas Day Attack: Why Aren't Lessons Learned? by David Rubens of Meido Consultants
An excellent article on why we, in the West, keep making the same mistakes in regards to flight security, comparing our procedures to the exemplary security methods of the Israelis, who rely, far more heavily on behavioral (not racial!) profiling rather than always neutralized technological fixes.
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