Relativity in a bubble

One day I was spending time in the woods, minding my own business so to speak. I heard something move up the hill and, assuming a person had taken a dog out, thought: "Never have a chance to be on your own". I was surprised though when two deers showed up from behind the bushes; they stopped and started staring at me apparently with interest.

I talked quietly to them just to keep them involved until I had my camera ready, but soon as I did the deers darted into the woods as if they sensed I was about to target them. I guess that's the animal way; luckily I did manage to film a short clip of them, which by the way made me wonder how they're able to run upon the terrain without breaking their legs.

The next thing that came to my mind was: what if the deers had attacked me instead? In spite of not being beasts of prey they probably would have killed me, you know they have the hooves and the muscularity, not to mention the fact that they are wild. Savage if you will.

There was another time when I happened to discuss fox in a henhouse-type of situation with a friend of mine. He said that it cannot be difficult to kill such a small predator when it comes to that, with bare hands that would be. So I gave him another example just for the comparison: domestic cat. What if one went crazy and wanted to hurt you in every way possible; they've got the claws and the teeth plus they're faster than most humans - a person would most likely end up visiting a doctor, if not something worse. What about a dog then, one that weighs, say, 30 kg or so? It's not even that much, but remember they used to be wolves - so what would a canine do in case he/she decides it is time to take your life? What would you do?

In museums we shelter the preserved bodies of animals with plexiglass in order to keep people from touching them, while in reality we use similar cover that's put around us for we do not want to be touched. For most people Nature and its beings have become symbols that have very little to do with any understanding of their true power. Life may be a form of story-telling, yet it's not a Disney movie. They say that a bubble is round because it is the most energy-efficient configuration; on the other hand we must not always rely on economy in search of strength and wisdom. To improve one must get tired. Break some tissue.

Kaitsenko must die

There are exactly two kinds of men in the world. More than 99% of them are what I call hunter-breeders, in other words ones that pursue success in order to gain benefit such as status in community, which in turn may provide to them a variety of possibilities. They are traders of some sort while to the rest the hunt itself is a sacred act.

The ultimate meaning lies not in any achievement which we compare with those of others as such glory has a tendency of depending on the circumstances anyway. For example, Set-Angya was all but victorious in his final fight, yet beyond comparison. In addition to that I recommend all take a look at Helio Gracie's description of the bout he had against Masahiko Kimura in 1951; sometimes result and outcome may be two things totally different.

Among the Kiowa the greatest honour for a man was to be one of those called the Crazy Dogs. So we must begin by asking what a dog is, or what they used to be in the early days. Companions in hunt and combat, protectors of the community - in fact wolves which chose to live with humans. No wonder then that the soldiers of old searched to embrace both the ferocity and the loyalty of the animal; it is also notable that groups of men possibly learnt their hunting tactics from packs of wolves.

It is essential for a warrior, who may not be merely a regular fighting man but one standing amongst very few, to own the beast-like nature of a primitive canine. In the end of the day it's not about victory or loss but the very essence of the individual, just like there are breeds of dogs remaining today in areas like Lapland or Alaska which are not altogether tame. The craziness however does aid one in any sort of struggle should it be a question of an armed assailant, forces of Nature or just trouble in everyday life. Sometimes it's better to go for the scent than rely on superficial observation and keep playing by the common rules people use for binding themselves with.

I feel there is a strong bond between myself and animals, which I believe has helped me a lot in my training of combat skills - not only while technically adapting some manners of moving or whatever, but through perception as well. There might be forms of collective consciousness for species, and if so, the beasts have definitely shared their qualities with me. As for combat skills in general, the secret of the weapon, or the way of becoming one, is to never pass the cottonwood tree.