PROTECTIVE ARTS

Protective, because self-preservation is a moral imperative.

Arts, plural, because no one path is the way.

RATIONAL AND CONTEXTUAL BASED LEARNING

Rational because no premise of efficacy shall go untested.

Contextual because environmental and social conditions are unavoidable constraints.

PREMISE

The range of human motion is circumscribed by our bodies.

The principles of motion are comprehensible and can be applied universally.

We use the art of Aikido to explore patterns of motion and deduce the universals.

FEATURED IMAGE

The image: an Athenian tetradrachm, the obverse stamped with the “little owl,” commonly called a glaux (γλαύξ) throughout the ancient world. The owl symbolizes Athena.

Athena: goddess of wisdom, war, and pragmatic skill. She is parthenos (virgin) because she is complete unto herself: The paragon of self-actualized independence – born fully-formed from the brow of Zeus. She is a warrior and scholar – intellect and steadfast independence ready to serve the good as patron and protector. Is there anyone better to emulate?

But we are not gods. So a hero: Odysseus, loved best by Athena. A mortal who banters with a goddess – weavers both (B.13). Stratagems with weapons and words – tools of the trade. Cunning is deceit implemented strategically. Yet Odysseus was always the reluctant explorer, always seeking nothing more than the return home…

And who was more like crafty Odysseus than Sir Richard Francis Burton who adventured purposefully and widely and published voluminously.