THE SENSE OF SMELL

Few martial artists understand or utilize the SENSE OF SMELL except in certain instances and occasions,yet this important sense is not to be neglected if you wish to be a martial artist and know the 'esoteric' foundations of such. Unfortunately, few contemporary persons in 'civilization' as it exists today know what this entails because more persons tend to dull this important sense and have had absolutely no real training in it, despite the prevalence of various perfumes, incenses, aroma therapy items and the like because many only mask and remove their specific odors and scents and those of the natural world around them in various ways. Let us take what might be a 'socially important' odor: BAD BREATH. Bad breath can be an important weapon if developed but few will do this in an age of innumerable mouth washes, gargles, 'breath-savers', etc. and we tend to avoid the clues that anyone's oral breath could or can give use, such as, what they just ate. The same would be true if one was in the forest and came upon a pile of excrement. Some might know the difference between rabbit manure, dog manure, bird droppings,etc. and possibly human waste in woodland/forest areas if they should come upon it, but would they know other things about it, possibly derived, depending on how long it was on the ground, what the creature, whether man or beast or bird, had eaten? I think not. Most of us would tend to rely merely on the sense of sight. NOW CONSIDER THIS, suppose you are in a forest or a city and there is not light and it is dark, pitch-dark, and you cannot see and you do not hear anything around you but suppose a strange scent, a bad odor,etc. aroused you, what would you know from this? Could you detect the smell of a an animal, a snake, a man or a woman, or whatever? NOW, believe it or not, but every person has his own unique smell, some of it cultural to be sure. For example, people who chew and eat garlic and some types of herbs and spices will have such a scent around them which is detectable. Smokers, of course, heavy ones, exude a strong tobacco odor that non-smokers can sense immediately in their presence and they reek to high heaven as their clothes tend to become saturated with the odor. Alcoholics and drunks have a certain small about them-of alcohol and beer,etc. BUT there is more, US Citizens,socalled 'Americans" smell like MILK to many Asians, that is, as if they were made of milk. ASIANS usually don't use or drink much milk except incertain exceptions, like ice cream. Dairy products like cheese may be imited. Yak butter and carabao cheese,etc, are items not in the usual American diet, of course. Nevertheless, when you embrace people try to 'breathe in' their specific scent, even if they stink. You might be surprised at what you really learn about them and yourself.

THE ALLURE OF MARTIAL ARTS

Once one is over the fascination and glamour of the martial arts, whatever they are, one can then begin real work and study of them. Clearing the mind of fantastic notions, theories,ideas, and attempts to accomplish marvelous,extraordinary and stupendous feats abandoned, one can perhaps learn and perceive what martial arts are really all about. The commercial trappings that seem to surround these ancient and modern martial arts,wherever found, distract many from the true and real path but cannot always be avoided but have to be recognized CONSCIOUSLY for what they are in any case.

SEEING & OBSERVING

Many people have seen various martial arts feats,performances, tournaments, demonstrations, exhibitions, or lessons and classes involving martial arts, BUT HAVE THEY EVER OBSERVED SUCH? oBSERVATION IS NOT SIMPLY SEEING SUCH. True observation requires you be there, that you OBSERVE and are AWARE,not passively letting things flow in front of you. Yes, people have seen much,especially via media and confuse that with actuality/reality and believe they 'know all about' whatever it is being presented,etc. This is why when all the people watching such things, as martial arts, leqave the scene, they cannot do anything they have witnessed! This is because they have not observed, at least to the degree necessary to take away certain impressions and influences based on a truly conscious presence. FOR THOSE WHO ARE AWAKE, this is why the old masters never allowed people to merely attend or witness or 'observe' their methods and practices except on rare exceptions, like when defending themselves or others. In today's electronic universe, everything is hanging out, ready like hanging grapes to pick off U-TUBE and elsewhere or DVD's books,etc. which is good if you can grab things that way and really make them your own. Whenever I go anywhere I try to come away with something that others will leave behind, because,as has been said, 'their cups are full when they arrive'! Whatever masters, instructors, experts,etc. I have been fortunate to meet, to know, to befriend, I have always been privileged to obtain something from them,whether tangible or intangible, and without OBLIGATING MYSELF as much as possible,that is, owing them great debts of gratitude,etc. If they want to show me personally something, I do not refuse,let alone attempt to do what so many others do(show them my ways,unless they really insist and ask). In this way, I had many valuable lessons and am still learning,not teaching. If you understand this, then perhaps you will b egin to really observe while others merely see and watch and applaud,etc.

THE MANNER OF DYING

HOW you die is as important as when you die or where you die, if not more so. That everyone and everything dies is a truism everyone seems to accept. The goal of many is to live a long life and to die peacefully, but few really achieve this, and many end up in a drugged stupor surrounded by strangers and not family or friends. Their machine(s) are kept alive as long as possible by 'scientific' apparatus and other methodologies. Eventually all the systems shut down and someone tries to determine the time of actual death,etc. Then the body is given some procedures to either bury or burn it and then comes various rites and rituals, ceremonies and so forth for either remembrance(s), accolades and tribute and testimonies, or to whisk the 'soul' onits way to Heaven or Hell, Paradise, or Eternal Slumber and so forth. This happens only in countries where such can take place,but the truth is that many people simply die in the streets or wilds and GREAT NATURE consumes them. In fact, GREAT NATURE and THE GREAT UNIVERSE absorb all the released energies of life which GREAT NATURE & THE GREAT UNIVERSE utilize in many ways, mostly hidden, obscure, etc. to us! What has any of this to do with MARTIAL ARTS? Martial arts in their esoteric aspects are designed to prepare us for death as well as to assist GREAT NATURE in absorbing energies released when we kill or destroy,as martial artists,who lhave great responsibilties in this regard.

MORE ON LETHALITY AND MUCH THE SAME!

Although all martial arts practice invoke risk of injury as well as death, it is my observation that nearlyall of them as shown on Dvd,U-tube,MMA,and at tournaments,etc. with perhaps some rare exceptions, all lack what can be termed 'lethality'. It is obvious that most demos and bouts,though sometimes multiples are involved, which usually involve two persons facing each other, that no one is going to really killed or severely crippled,injured,etc. as a result. If you know this then you are really only going to evaluate it as such on the basis of certain factors(to be considered another time) and you cannot really state if they are truly 'lethal' tactics,deadly, or capable of killing. Do we need to prove such lethality? Laws and regulations,etc. are against such proofs and on today's battlefileds hand-to-hand,traditional, classical methods are seldom employed because of high-tech weaponry and the like. More to be said on this war/combat aspect another time. The point is that nearly all those taking up martial arts ahve not and probably won't ever kill anyone with their bare hands,unarmed,though some may kill with knives, sticks,etc. either accidentally or on purpose.

LETHALITY

In nearly all martial arts and various practices related to martial arts, there is always the risk of danger, injury, as well as the possibility of death, it might seem, just as there is in nearlyevery human activity. Martial arts are assumed to be somewhat lethal and are to be used with caution and discretion, as most experts and masters tend to assert and insist. HOWEVER, I notice among all the various demos and matches and antics in and out of the ring,etc. a complete lack of LETHALITY. Few persons enter such with the exact notion of killing or crippling their opponents, all in the name of sport and competition, and we are all advised to save such for what are considered 'rare',life threatening, and dangerous situations, but clearly a 'kill or be killed' attitude and effort are lacking no matter how many injuries are sustained or how 'brutal,. such instances appear. A great fear of legal implications,even in wartime, hangs over the real warrior who usually these days uses guns and other weapons. This concept of LETHALITY is difficult to explain, let alone demonstrate, in any seminar or workshop or training program and is completely ignored for the most part for all kinds of reason. The Japanese during WWII had little hesitation in showing how sharp theair swords were on the necks of Chinese, Americans, British,Dutch, Filipinos, Indonesians,and other captives. There would be little doubt in the minds of those witnessing such that lethality exists and such weapons can and are lethal. NO THEORY THAT! The same also applied to ju-jutsu, arnis, karate,etc. because they can be very lethal when this concept is fully understood(and it never is for a number of reasons) and is not necessarily the same as 'cruelty',barbarism' 'torture' or the like when you have to call upon this LETHALITY to survive. There is always more to be said on such but I think we can safely say that most practitoners and students of martial arts as undergoing training today have not intentionally killed anyone using these martial arts. There are exceptions,no doubt.

ESOTERIC

The word 'esoteric' means 'inner' whereas the word 'occult' has come to mean 'hidden'. There are three forms of knowledge, that is, esoteric/occult. Which means also there are three forms of existence among humans who pursue these things: THE ESOTERIC;THE MESOTERIC; and THE EXOTERIC-but the outermost circle, if we conceive of humanity being divided or,rather, framed within circles of existence, is the OUTER CIRCLE OF HUMANITY to which most of humanity belongs in and in which they live. The Law Of Accident operates very strongly in the Outer Circle and GREAT NATURE tends to rule over things on the earth.