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Subject: +*+*+*+ Solomon's Private File #291 "Academy Practice" +*+*+*+
Date: Thu, 02 Feb 2017 00:20:57 -0500
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Solomon's Private File #291
These stories about Stephen and Solomon take place starting in
1950's. Stephen wrote about his life in letters to a penpal, and then
in a secure blog, in case he lost his memory again, in the master
computer in his school for gifted students, which he started attending
in 2016 in a new incarnation, until his death. Now his son Solomon is
attending the same school, and is writing in his own secure blog for
his future incarnations.
All characters are fictitious, even if some of them might have names
that belong to some actual people, or act like people we know.
Solomon is 28 in this story, in the Fall of 2054.
Solomon's Private File #291 "Academy Practice"
START Page
In a dorm at West Point, I said to the new fitness trainer, "Are you
going to tell them what your names mean?" He grinned, and said, "So you
discovered it. Will any ask? I don't know if I will tell them. Rama is
a common name from our past with Hinduism, and is of a God. Wayang
means shadow in the old language, and is now associated with theater,
and most so with the Shadow Puppets." I said, "A warrior God of the
Shadows." He grinned and said, "Exactly! I needed a name, and my
teachers chose it after much discussion. I didn't care. I wasn't a
name." I said, "I think I might see today how well it fits you. Better
hope your face doesn't freeze like that." He laughed. We carried our
gear to the gym. We were noticed. I said to him, "Eyes attached to us
like with glue." He laughed, and said, "I would want to watch this,
said, "Yes!"
We changed in the locker room, and went to the practice mat. I was in
a traditional white gi, with a black belt, and he was in colorful
silks, with a green sash. We did our stretching warm up, and the
watchers who were coming in were amazed at our flexibility and
strength. Full side splits, and one legged jump deep knee bends, could
cause that. We competed. After I did a one armed hand stand pushup, he
said, "You beat me! I can't do that!" I said, "You will, someday." He
said, "I think I have to disagree." I said, "What to fight about it?"
He said, "Yes!" And we did. I surprised him and the watchers by using
his style against him. We did only light contact, and no contact to the
head. We sparred for ten minutes, and then stopped and bowed to each
other. He said in whisper, "You are indeed a Senior Master!" I said,
"Just words. I am not a title." Grins. I asked about a form. He did
one. I copied it. He did his again, adjusting to my showing it to him.
Then I did a very difficult low to the ground form, that requires
dynamic balance. You don't keep the flow going, you fall. He tried to
hide his surprise.
He asked to see it again. Before I did it, I explained what it was
about. He nodded. He was about a quarter of the way through it, and
fell. He did it again, and skipped that part, and then fell. I said,
trying not to laugh, "This form is a whole. You leave out any of its
parts, it really won't like it." He laughed, and said, "It's obviously
of Pencak Silat, but I've never seen it before." I said, "It's old,
from East Java. Now known only to few wrinkled old Masters. Er, not
completely." He laughed, and so did the watchers. He said, "You said
this level, too. Review it later. Now lets try some simple two man
exercises." He was very familiar with those. Most were counters that
combined blocks, holds and submissions.
We took a break, and I said to the watchers, "Where this martial arts
style comes from is VERY ethnically, culturally, and racially diverse,
and has been throughout its history, and before. And they all fought.
As a result of this, a style developed that could work well with and
against all body types and genders, and known weapons at that time.
Some of these counters and submissions don't look real to you, being so
odd. This is a supremely practical martial art, and is still used in
real combat. Who wants to experience the effectiveness of this, come
forward. Er, I didn't mean stampede!" Laughter. I told each one what to
do in attack, and Rama did the counter, and they submitted right way.
After some of that, we showed them how to do it to each other, and they
were surprised at how easy it was, and how little strength it took. I
said, "It's all in leverage, and using your weight to your advantage.
And the fact that joints have a limited range of motion, and complain
when they are exceeded." Chuckles. I said, "We teach some of these
techniques at the FBI Academy. Yes, we have one, too." Chuckles. I
said, "A warning. You can cause a lot of damage this way, if you aren't
very careful. You fall doing this, you can actually kill somebody. Eh,
don't." Nods.
One said to me, "Sir, is there any breaking in this style?" I said,
"Do joints count?" Chuckles. I said, "Not originally, no. Board
breaking in Japan was developed to break through wooden armor, and the
flying kick was to knock them off the horse. Neither were needed in
Indonesia. Other breaking techniques were created to show power of
death, when personal volunteers for that were reluctant to
participate." Chuckles. I said, "Modern times; SO inconvenient." More
chuckles. I said, "Also not needed in Indonesia. And to be honest, and
dispel a romantic myth, the skills used in breaking objects don't
translate well against a real live person. People are not usually
immobile and hard surfaced, and they usually fight back. It's expensive
and wasteful in breaking things, and you risk injury. And yes, I've
done it. Well, I'm not perfect. " Chuckles. I said, "I started in the
Japanese arts."
I said, "If you want to understand more about how martial arts
actually works, the study of body mechanics will help, and physics.
It's all about those two things. And a bit of yelling." Chuckles. I
said, "And one more that's really in my area, psychology. Defeat
doesn't have to mean death. Causing people to want to stop fighting, is
a worthy but very frustrating goal. In personal combat, there is a lot
of the psychological in it; a complex interplay of dominance, fear,
calmness, excitement, confidence, determination, and sometimes anger.
Often, the emotions involved play a critical role in the outcome of a
conflict, whether it's with words or swords. Know yourself well, and
none can harm the real you, no matter that happens to your body. We are
never defeated in spirit, that way. That can carry over to a win in the
physical world, more than one might think." Rama bowed low to me. I
returned it. He said, "That's all for today. I suspect that few will
forget much of this." There was a lot of agreement for that.
We changed in the locker room, and went back to his room in the dorm.
A crystal and memory card appeared on the table. I said, "I think we
can assume that's for review." He grinned and said, "I agree! That
master form. It would be helpful to have footprints painted on the
floor, to step into." I said, "No. Some would be on top of each other,
and the distance would have to be adjusted for the length of the legs
for each person, making that totally impractical." He said, "Oh. I
should have thought of that." I said with a grin, "Yes." He chuckled.
history." He said, "Strong motivation!" I said, "Possibly as intended."
you had to make it worse." He laughed. I said, "I suggest you show the
recording to JIm, so he can tie something in his classes to it if he
wants to." He said, "I should have thought of that." I grinned. He
said, "Sometimes you can be very frustrating." I said, "Well, I could
stop." He said, "Don't!"
I said, "Use the crystal to memorize that form. Practice it. I'll be
back next week." We stood, and bowed and shook hands, and I shifted
out. I gave a copy to the Iron Lady, and she asked to see me. She said,
"I like what you're doing there. May I pass it on?" I said, "Sure." She
said, "Mine is resisting a little." I said, "You're going to show him
that form." She grinned and said, "You know it!" I said, "Likely he
won't know it's a little easier for you, with your lower center of
gravity." She said, "Don't expect me to tell him. It should be
obvious." I said, "Good excuse." She laughed. We hugged.
I shifted to Rama's room. He tried to contain his excitement. I said,
Academy knows of us now. You they knew before, but now they know me,
and in a good way. You planned this!" I said, "I didn't. I planned to
help you progress. A hobby." He laughed. I said, "But anybody with a
brain would know what would happen with it." He said, "True. I thought
it would myself, but didn't expect THIS!" I said, "So you're popular.
Now. A new toy for their limited attention. After they get used to you,
you'll just be part of the furniture. But a nice part." He grinned and
said, "A true head shrinker." I said, "And don't you forget it!"
Chuckles. As we were walking to the gym, he said, "You don't want to
tell them the schedule of your visits. That severely er, disappoints
them." I said, "It would cause too much disruption of planned
activities, and too many in the gym would get in the way. Hmm, think
He grinned, and said, "Some asked me if they could. I said no. I
suspect that others I didn't speak to about it, carefully didn't ask me
after that." I said, "Ha!" Grins
I said, walking to the gym, "Were scouts. They'e reported." He said,
"How do you know this?" I said, "Wide awareness. Some almost hidden
movement. And at your level, you should be able to feel attention on
you, and something of why." He said, "I had ignored that, thinking it
was imagination." I said, "Don't." He said, "Understood." I said, "It's
a function of Chi. It's not just a force, but in the interaction with
other forces, also something of a sense." He said, "Oh! I see. Thank
you." I said, "Trying intentionally, is good practice for you." He
nodded. I said, "This subject is for the advanced, or it will cause
unnecessary distraction, and could be dangerous." He said, "I
understand." I said, "You feel them now." He said, "I do." He pointed
to some of them. I said, "They noticed that. Increased respect." He
tried not to grin, and whispered, "Thank you!" I said, "You've just
discovered something very important. It's hard to whisper while
grinning." He tried not to laugh.
We came out of the locker room after changing, and I said, "A lot of
extra equipment here today. And it's moving!" Chuckles. We did some
stretching. I said to the crowd, "No. No recording. No posting on the
internet. You know where I work. Security. Got it?" Some nodded. I
said, "Violators, want to be violated? I thought there was an honor
system here." That got them where they lived. Ram nodded. I said, "And
we can trace whatever is posted." That caused more attention. Ram tried
not to grin, which they noticed. He said, "Remember that spy? Don't
mess with him, if you know what's good for you." Nods. I said to him,
"You're never going to let me forget that, are you?" He said, "No.
Never!" I said, "Oh, want to fight about that?" He said, "Yes!"
We used sticks, and really hit each other in sparing. It was fast,
too. After ten minutes, we demonstrated locks and submissions with the
stick, and they were more amazed by that. Then it was time for the
form. He was a little nervous. He did it without falling. I said, "Very
good! I knew you could do it!" He said, "Thank you." I did it, and it
was better. Smother and more flowing. He did his a little better, too,
then. He said, "It's like a dance!" I said, "Exactly! Much of Eastern
martial arts as we know it now, started in Hindu Temples in India, from
their dances they used for worship. Few people realize that such
dancing, including ballet, is the most difficult and demanding activity
the human body can do. Serious fighters saw that, and used it for
practice, and it evolved from that into being part of their skill set.
That was more developed in ancient China in wars there, and with the
addition of the philosophies of Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism, and
opera." Some were nodding. I said, "My friend and former coworker
teaches about that here, in some classes." More nods and surprised
awareness.
Ram said, "Opera?" I said, "Like your shadow puppets, but with real
people." He said, "Oh!" I said, "A lot of acrobatics and simulated war
and fighting. A LOT of severely abusive training required from
childhood, to do that well. Music, not so much to my taste." Chuckles.
I said to Rama, "Punch to my stomach. Yes, for real. With your fist.
well, did it." He said, "Like hitting a wall." I said, "But a wall
doesn't tell you where your fist is." Chuckles. I said, "But you should
have been able to knock me down. I wasn't stopping that. It's physics.
You need to transfer as much energy from you to me, as possible. When
you don't, that energy has to go somewhere, and that's back at you.
Doesn't feel good, and could actually injure you. So, to the first part
of the problem. The energy is expressed in speed, and that involves
acceleration. Speed is caused by strength. You have to force your arm
to move. It's the transfer that's the problem."
I said, "It confuses people when they think that something that isn't
moving is passive. No, it offers resistance! When that resistance is
greater than the external force that's applied, that's a problem. How
does it resist? It doesn't move. In martial arts, it ACTIVELY doesn't
move. I had tightened up my stomach and set my stance, to make my body
rigid. The key in that, is that my body was more rigid than yours. You
could flex, and so you did, absorbing the force of your punch. The
force HAS to go somewhere. One HAS to give, and then take it." He said,
"That's more than what's in kinetics. I understand now." I said, "When
you strike, if you aren't depending on speed alone, such as in a round
kick, well, the length of the leg, and the time it takes to travel,
thus allowing more time for acceleration, you might want to make your
body as rigid as possible at the moment of impact, to transfer the most
force to your target." He said, "But what if your opponent is still
waiting for me to beg?" I said in surprise, "How did you know?" He
laughed. So did some others. I said to them, "Solution? Hmm, no takers,
I see."
the moment of impact. There is something of a delay in the back-force
in hitting a person, because nobody can be perfectly rigid. No,
petrified with fright doesn't count." Laughter. I said, "And you can
draw back your arm at that time, too, to keep it from being taken. What
is the most difficult thing to break?" One said, "A diamond." I said,
"No, it's actually more brittle than sapphire, even though it's up to
50 times harder. And martial arts is rarely used to do that. Alright,
I'll tell you. What resists the least, can also absorb the least force.
A punch that will break a man's face, won't do much against a sheet of
cloth." Surprise and nods. I said, "So in a fight, resistance isn't
always the best thing to do in some circumstances, and it's pretty much
required in others."
I said, "Here's something of a demonstration." I did a snap backfist.
I said, "To the head, that could smash a skull. To a loose stomach, it
would just sting a little. Degree of resistance caused the different
results, from that mostly speed strike." Ram said, "It really IS
physics!" I said, "There is more of that. The smaller the area you
strike with, the more concentrated the force." Some nods. I said,
"That's why martial artists usually try to, in a punch, strike just
with the protruding knuckles. Or even the fingertips." He said, "That
could break them." I said, "True. You have to select the proper weapon
for the target, based on your knowledge of the target, and your own
abilities. For instance, the throat can be a difficult target for a ham
damage in the strike, but sure to get their attention!" Chuckles. I
said, "But only experts should try that, and to kill. You hit the wrong
thing, that hand is out of action. All of that means, you don't go
around hitting things that don't deserve it, not just became it's not
nice, but you could easily damage yourself for nothing. Unfortunately,
some people don't quite mature enough to understand and accept that."
There were some embarrassed cadets trying to hide the breakable
things they had brought with them. Ram was having a difficult time
trying to hide his reaction to the situation. I said to him, "I'll do
the form again, them you." I did, and he did, and was better than
before. I said, "Very good! Next time, a different form." I said to the
crowd, "Questions?" One said, "You really hit each other with the
sticks. Didn't that hurt?" I said, "Yes." That confused him. I said,
"Let me help you out here. Does it sometimes hurt when you go to the
dentist?" He said, "Oh! Worth it for self improvement." I said, "Also
good motivation to actually improve, to avoid it. And in this case,
it's actually necessary. If you're not used to getting hit, then the
first time it happens in a real fight, you could be in real trouble.
Surprise isn't a good thing in a fight, if YOU don't cause it. And it's
good to know just how much you can take when you need to. Could someday
save your life, and more importantly, the lives of your command. You
might not want to know how many lives have been lost, caused by a
lightly wounded soldier who is screaming his lungs out in painful
panic." Serious awareness and nods. I said, "Pain can be your enemy,
but used well, it can spur you on to victory. All you are, can be used
against you, by you and others, or it can be used FOR you. The choice
is yours. Make it before it happens, and you win in life." Ram bowed to
me, which I returned. The cadets saluted me, and I returned it.
We gathered our things, and changed on the locker room. We went back
to his room, and they didn't follow. He said, "They're going to want
you to teach here." I said, "Not going to happen. Well, outside of our
shared sessions." Recordings appeared on the table. I said, "But I
suppose some of the things I say could be played again for those who
hadn't heard it. But not in isolation. What I say is part of the whole
session, and depends on it for best understanding." He said, "I knew
that. I'll tell them. I KNOW Jim will agree. He respects you very
highly." I said, "We've crossed paths a little." Grins.
Mom said, "The actual practice isn't what you're really teaching
there." I said, "True. Responsibility. Cadets there. I can't ignore
them. For Rama, it's to help him to focus, and extend his awareness.
That's what the advanced forms are really for. Next time, it's going to
be really different. Do you really think I'm going to tell you in
advance?" Pokes and chuckles.
END Page
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Grant
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