Bruce Lee and the art of Wing Chun

For this particular blog post I wanted to do something a little different. Normally I would rattle on about something in text. Well, this time you get to listen to be prattle on about something. Exciting, no? Now this is my first attempt at a screen cast so I hope everyone can bear with me if you happen to find any mistakes. I did my best to be clear, but strangely enough its somehow more difficult to speak clearly for me when I'm not actually speaking to anyone, though I guess that's a good sign in the long run.

Anyway, the screen cast focuses on Martial Arts most famous icon Bruce Lee. From there, I talk about a martial arts that heavily influenced him called Wing Chun. Anyway, I hope everyone likes it and feel free to leave feedback!

If Justice is blind, how does it tell which scales weigh more?

Justice is a concept I've struggled with for a long time. How does one define what justice is? You may say that justice is doing what's right to reprimand a person or correct a situation, but the underlying question is and always will be, what is right? We obviously have a justice system designed to help us decide just that, most notably by having neutral, educated individual oversee the cases (a judge) and in extreme cases or where guaranteed by right, a jury of peers. Still, who can truly say what is right and wrong, when right and wrong are only judgements that individuals make as defined by their own value system, which is influenced by a multitude of subjective factors? The truth is, we all do the best we can, and we have all seen, heard, or been affected by the short comings that come along with that. Most of us can get away with just saying, "Hey, that's life for you."
Not all of us are so lucky. So, I've put together a small spread sheet (linked below) that has a story for you to read and a question for you to consider. I want to try to challenge your idea of Justice, just as this challenged mine. In my opinion, a good question always has you swinging between answers like a pendulum before finally settling on the one that best defines you. Keep that in mind as your think this over.
And please, if you have something to say, jot it down in the Reasoning section. There is no need to put your name if you don't want to. The idea is just to allow others to understand as much as possible, and to use that to help them uncover their own feelings about the subject.


So without further ado, What is Justice?

A Quick Look at Using Google Apps!

For this particular blog post I'll be updating with a report on the book Using Google Apps by Michael Miller - I'm sure if you've read a book or two about web2.0 apps, you've heard the name, he's published over 100 how to books on various web2.0 applications. I realize this isn't related to the blog topic, so I hope you'll forgive me for going off topic. That said, the Google Apps suite is a tool that integrates nicely with other Web2.0 apps, much like this one. I want to take a few moments to give you a quick summary, my own thoughts, and hopefully a few useful tidbits I've picked up through the book.

So, bear with me and thanks for your attention.

The first thing to note about this particular book is that it was published in January of this year. That may not sound significant, but Google has already introduced a new interface that will eventually replace the interface that the book describes, now known as the Classic view. Most of the functionality remains relatively the same, things might just not be exactly where the book says. So far with a little bit of searching I've been able to find most settings. For example, in chapter 2 the author covers how to add folders via the Classic dashboard. However, the new view has you select the Create menu button and select the Collections option. In this case its the same functionality, however the newer view has simply renamed a few of the different items. Another very important example is the deprecated Google Gears API which gets quite a bit of face time in the book, but within the last year has been discontinued, however I'll talk about this a little more later on. This is simply something to bear in mind when looking over the book.

That said, the book still contains a wealth of practical information. I found out new things I didn't know about within the first two chapters, such as how computing within the could really worked. The book spends the first chapter explaining exactly what the Google App suite is and discussing the various pros and cons, of which I won't go into. The book is very informative and does a great job at sticking to the point. Each page is dedicated to explaining certain functions of whatever app is covered in that chapter which makes it both incredibly easy to read and even easier to reference. The book contains plenty of diagrams to assist in learning concepts (such as how web apps work with the cloud) and several screen shots that are broken down and explained, use primarily for showing the various options on toolbars. Additionally, in true web2.0 fashion, the book contains videos on nearly every feature that it covers. Admittedly, the videos can be a bit dry and the audio sometimes comes in fuzzy, but they remain informative and a welcome addition to the text. Overall the book is great, and its not nearly as long (or boring) a read as I initially expected.

I'd also like to take a few moments to introduce some new features that I discovered through the text. Nothing too engrossing, just some cool basic capabilities. First of all, the ability to import and export documents in Google Docs is a great feature. This means that you can start a document at home, but say you run out of time, just import the document into Google Docs and pick it right back up at work or school to finish it. Or say that a group collaboration has come out very well and you want to hang on to it long term, just export the document to your local drive and viola, now its yours to review freely with or without an internet connection. Its a basic feature that goes a long way. Another really cool feature shows itself in Google Spreadsheet, which is Google's adaptation of Microsoft excel. You're actually able to make forms for people to fill out using the application. After the form is created, it is posted to a special address online where people can go to fill the form out. Once completed, the answers are fed back into the underlying spreadsheet where you can analyze them. The feature could have a lot of great uses, from basic experiments to polls on opinions, or maybe even using it as an RSVP list for special events (going? Yes or no). Google even allows you to solicit answers via email, which means that by providing the email addresses of the participants and selecting the proper form, and email can be automatically sent to them asking them to partake in the survey. These are only two features that the suite comes with, for free, there's a ton more to be discovered in the book!

As great as the feature outlines are, the book has become dated, even within just the last year. One particular feature that I mentioned above, namely Google Gears, I was excited to learn more about. The book even goes so far as to dedicate a full chapter to it. However, as of December Google Gears will be completely deprecated, meaning this particular aspect of the Google suite will no longer be supported. That said, most all of the functionality of Google Gears is being written into HTML5 which will be supported by most newer browsers. This is just another example of how swiftly the internet moves, and how quickly documents like this become outdated. So overall, I would have to say that this is a very rich material with a lot of information that is still very valid, and probably will be for quite some time, but if you're looking for anything more than a feature list I would have to suggest a newer book.

Thanks for taking the time to read it, and have a great night!

A Weapons Showcase! (Kinda)

I wanted to take a few moments to show a quick slideshow of some weapons that could be encountered in the Martial Arts world. Its a short slideshow, so it wouldn't hurt to take a look, right?

While I'll go over the weapons in a few moments, I want to say something about them. While it may not seem important to learn the art of sword or spear play in the modern day world with the invention and mass distribution of guns, its important to realize that the arts are kept alive not solely for their practicality, but as both a cultural heritage and a path towards self perfection. Martial Arts and the various specialized uses of weapons extends thousands of years back, and as most creations do, these arts inherited the will of their creator, and then parts of the wills and personalities of each person who has passed that art down. Arts like Brazilian dance fighting represent cultural heritage, or how slaves learned to use their cultural dances to not only pass on their memories and ideals, but as a form of self defense. The same is true of weapon play. One does not learn the sword because he intends to use it to harm another, but to help define oneself in relationship to, and through, the learning. Finding the grace in sweeping movements and perfecting it, or feeling the rage of a powerful strike, or inheriting the stoic nature of steel.

So, a quick list of the weapons you can expect to see in this slidehow:

• A set of swords containing a Katana and two Wakizashi.
• A pair of Sai
• A pair of Nunchaku
• A pair of Hook Swords
• A decorative Cane sword

Further details as well as what's what can be found in the slideshow. So, what do you think? Do you think you could learn something from mastering one of these?

A Quick Look at WikiMartialArts

This time around I wanted to take some time to look at a particular wiki. Wikis are remarkable for quite a few reasons, and are particularly great at bringing together a wealth of information on what would have been an obscure topic. This makes active wikis ideal for tracking and discussing the varying martial arts around the world. The wiki I want to talk about is simply called WikiMartialArts, and may be found here. The wiki itself seems relatively active, and has had over 700 articles contributed to it since 2006, no small feat.

This particular wiki is extremely flush with information. I spent a fair amount of time searching for a decent martial arts wiki besides Wikipedia, and this is definitely the most robust I've come across. Not only does the wiki attempt to cover martial arts styles themselves, but it attempts to encompass everything martial arts. It goes over movies, big personalities, literature, even pop culture. It has a huge list of martial arts broken down primarily by country as well with some basic (and sometimes lacking) information on most all of them. It contains widgets on the front page that show interesting facts and recent news. And of course it is packed with information in each of the pages. Navigation is made pretty smooth by a navbar on the left, though it could suffer some restructuring of its own. There is also a decent amount of pictures on the site, and the media works to bring it a splash of color that sparks more interest than the blank sterility of text. Add to this the fact that the overall layout is very similar to Wikipedia (similar enough to make me double check the url) and you have a wiki that is chock full of information, fairly well organized, and instantly familiar to those that have ever dealt with the wiki scene.

So, with all this good here, does this wiki exemplify exactly how an ideal wiki works?

Not exactly. Unfortunately there are glaring sections that are missing and/or have been vandalized and left in their decrepit state. For instance, at the time of this writing the entire list of Chinese martial arts is completely vacant, overwritten with an Ambien ad. That said, I don't find this an irredeemable flaw. The wiki has a code of conduct to help guide those generous souls willing to help, and no source of open ended collaborative work on the internet is safe from trolls and bots. If anything, this actually endears me to the site. It makes me want to spend a few moments of time to try and correct these flaws. The intention behind the wiki is powerful, but there are certainly some other issues as well. The flow of the front page is obstructed, while it is informative its almost claustrophobic with the amount of widgets and content packed onto it and it could benefit greatly from a more fluid approach. Even so, with is familiar Wikipedia structure its not at all impossible to navigate and, being a wiki, is certainly not immutable.

All in all, despite some general flaws - many of which are common to somewhat secluded wikis - the WikiMartialArts is a great site for all information martial arts. Not only that, but there is plenty of room to expand and there will always be a wealth of information to share.

Personal Experiences and Thoughts on the Path

A quick note:  I want to apologize for not having updated more recently. No excuses, real life - particularly work - reared its ugly head and took huge bites out of my time. I'll do my best to pay less attention to work, I promise :) Now onward!


My father practiced traditional Wing Chun for several years until a nasty knee injury made it impossible to do so much as even hold the proper stance for prolonged periods. The effects it had on him over that time were astounding. He got fit for the first time in my memory and felt better able to protect himself and his family, both of which led to a greater self confidence, which in turn led to a sunnier disposition, which in turn caused him to leave others around him happy. The cycle continues. The changes between my worked down father and this man were staggering. It took me a while to grasp how working a 12 hour day in the sun, and then coming home and spending another 3 or so hours doing different exercises to train techniques could possibly be relaxing. My father never really had an answer for me, he didn't ever try to catch that tiny feeling and articulate it. Later, I would try myself.

There is a sense of peace in practicing these movements that is both subtle and profound. There is something exhilarating about the power behind the strikes, and something graceful about the shifting footwork. There are moments where you are fully and completely aligned with yourself, your complete and utter concentration held entirely in that one moment of time between one step and another, between the flow of force that precedes from within you, travels down your arm, and through your fist. Strangely, there is no aggression in these movements, but peace. As my father's Sifu (instructor) used to say, "Love everyone, even if you must love them with your fists." 

The martial path, to me, represents a realization that love binds and composes all things. That people are not as separate as they sometimes feel, but are rather drawn together through threads so infinitesimal that they are nigh imperceptible, much like spider's silk. That these threads weave tapestries of our lives and intertwine us all together. It is the realization that to do to another is to truly do to oneself. This is the golden rule, and many people understand it and grasp its tenants. However people who dedicate themselves to it live it experientially, whose every action is testament to their living the truth. This, I believe, is what enlightenment must be. The martial path is one path that leads up that hill, so long as people are willing to spend the time to climb inside themselves and find the way.

So, what do you think?

Martial Arts - What does that stand for?

Many aspects of our modern world are infused with differing applications of martial arts, sometimes without any conscious acknowledgement. Ask the everyday person walking down the street an example of a martial art and they'll likely reply with something along the lines of "Chinese Kung Fu" or "Karate". It doesn't occur to most people that as the very core of any martial arts is universal, the methodical and logical application of a series of planned movements to protect oneself or visit violence upon another. It sometimes isn't apparent to people that things like boxing, your neighborhood self defense class, or your fencing practice can be characterized as martial arts.

 Interestingly enough the term "martial arts" was coined in the 1500's when applied to European combat systems (the aforementioned fencing, for example), though the term itself is Latin at its root, meaning the "Art of Mars" in reference to Mars, the Roman god of war. Of course most people associate the term martial art with kung fu, wushu, or budo. Wushu is probably the most descriptive, since it roughly translates to martial skill or art, where as kung fu merely refers to a skill or trade that is developed over time and through hard work. Budo is a Japanese word that is rarely associated with anything but various martial aspects, and is more in line with the philosophy behind martial arts that resonates with the cultivation of spirit. The glamor of Hollywood and various famous martial artists like Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan have distinctly tinted the phrase with a more eastern feel.

But people practicing Eastern martial arts aren't the only ones. Police learn it when they go through their various self defense classes. Soldiers learn it when they go through basic training, from hand to hand combat to the various technical aspects of handling and shooting a firearm. More and more the term is becoming universally defined with sports venues like the UFC and MMA making these arts more popular and much more widespread. Perhaps it won't be long before the people of the world don't picture Bruce Lee when they hear martial arts, but instead your average soldier, or a famous boxer, or your neighborhood watch.