protectivearts

HUMAN FRAILTY

The human body has numerous design flaws. Poor eyesight (40% of Europeans and 75% of Asians need corrective lenses), an optic blind spot, choking remains a problem (air and food enter via the same tube), etc.; simply stated, humans could be better engineered. But our big brains and the division of labor allowed us to become theContinue reading “HUMAN FRAILTY”

8 COUNT KUMIJO

Muso Gonnosuke Katsuyoshi developed the jō from the longer bo staff after his defeat by Miyamoto Musashi. A good retelling of that tale is >here< (An example of learning from defeat: pain as a teacher.) The use of the jō in Aikido more closely resembles jukendo (bayonet) techniques than it does koryu arts like ShintoContinue reading “8 COUNT KUMIJO”

PAIN AS A TEACHER

I learned of Abraham Wald from Jordan Ellenberg’s How Not To be Wrong.[1] It is a story well worth reading because it provides a poignant reminder of the power of thinking critically. During WW2, Wald was part of the Statistical Research Group working through real-time problems to make strategic decisions. Among the questions posed to the groupContinue reading “PAIN AS A TEACHER”