ATTITUDE & POSTURE

Two important aspects neglected by most martial artists are ATTITUDE & POSTURE....and each influences the other once you come to realize and sense this,but it takes a lot of effort.....we tend to like everything easy and comfortable.....we want to stand and sit easily and have nice attitudes and moods,etc. but few of us really know how to do this..... POSTURE IS THE WAY WE STAND, SIT, WALK, SLEEP, AND BEND AND MOVE, a whole series of motions....and ATTITUDE is how we approach life and ourselves and others and so on.....certain attitudes lead to specific postures and we become locked into these......our educational, social, political, and religious systems all generate attitudes and control us and also make us adopt certain postures in life....we are locked into these formats and tend to follow them like sheep until the day we die.....Of course, there is more to this that what is being described here........Rigid attitudes and even lax ones can place us into postures we do not want and certain postures reinforce these attitudes.....How do drink your coffee, your tea, and where and when....how do you handle your wallet and drive your car? See your habitual postures and attitudes when doing these simple things and you may get an indication of what is being discussed here....Good luck....

SWORDS & BLADES,SCHYTHES & SICKLES

I recently purchased a copy of CIRCLE MAGAZINE(celbrating Nature,Spirit & Magic) which in infrequently do now and then...because the issure was devoted to 'swords & blades' for which I have an interest stemming from early childhood and going through various Halls of Martial Arts endeavors over the years.....and I also have a blog on Ancient and Primitive and Traditional Weapons that I sometimes write things of interest to me. Among the articles that caught my eye were: ENERGETIC USE OF TAI-CHI SWORD by Harvey Kurland; Swords & Wiccan Warriors by Peter Dybing; Apollo's Dagger by John Opsopaus; Charged to the Hilt by Katharine Clark;Scythe by John Harevy; and The Athame : A Potent Piece of Equipment by Jeannette Hope Salvito.. I shall not attempt to describe the information or discuss it at this time, except to say that the KAMA or hand sickle has an esoteric meaning as does the 'tent peg' and also the various swords in Chinese Martial Arts, notably, the two classic/traditional ones.... In considering owning old weapons of any sort, it is also perhaps worth mentioning that 'certain energies, forces, auras, etc' seem to be present on some of them that have a long history, especially killing others in various ways...and that some advocate a 'cleansing' of such. If you are sensitive to such things, impressions and inlfuences, whatever, then you will know what is meant by this caution....for example: the razor used to shave(straight razor, over the years in a barbershop from the 19th century has quite a different 'feel' to it thatn that wielded by a 'cutthroat' or 'slasher' who has slain many victims....same thing for a church and a slaughterhouse or a hospital and a slaughter house, or a funeral parlor and a bordello and the like...the atmsopheres of such places sometimes give rise to certain thoughts and feelings and images that may prove extremely intense to those subject to certain impressions,etc... One thing that many martial artists should be cognizant of: wooden or metal swords can be not just dangerous but actually illegal and banned in public places and also the question of single or double edged weapons is another problem. Most double edged ones are illegal and a felony, while just having a gun in certain places is a misdemeanor. Wlaking by a school zone carrying martial arts weapons of any kind can also place you behind bars.....so be aware of this.... As society tends to exercise more and more surveillance and restricts personal freedoms for security and control, you can expect more heavy-handed laws being enacted and enforced in various ways, from overt to clandestine.... So take a look at issue 108, Spring 2011 even if you are not into the wicca,nature/new age/etc material....thanks..