Forgive the delay in my response to the posts on this forum as well as those on elsewhere. Regretfully, my first post to Martialtalk is wasted with a matter such as this. Apparently, things I have said and NOT SAID are the source for much conversation these days. First, I am Jim/Smersh5 on the FightAuthority forum. There is no covert reason why I did not give my last name. I was merely doing the same thing many on this forum are doing even now in this thread, giving only what was necessary to have a conversation. We all leave enough clues to our complete identity through what we say. In the forum I usually frequent, my full name is necessary to give proper context to my humanity. In the FA forum, I—as others here—expect those with whom I converse to do some of the homework themselves. To avoid the same misunderstandings here, I am known as Jim King. Novel!
Second, in all of my posts in any forum, I am always careful to choose the correct words for the thoughts I wish to convey. The context that drew a response from me at the FA forum was (1) disparaging comments were being made about the System, Vlad, and Mikhail by individuals of another style with a marketing focus at the expense of the System and these gentlemen themselves, and (2) inaccurate statements were being made about some murky goings-on within the Systema community starting about 8 months ago. What caught my attention most was the idea instructors were being “kicked out.” In the context of the conversation, this excommunication was unjustly banning people of quality. By extension, Vlad and his organization was the source of this activity. I was brought to this outrageous thread by a poster questioning this premise in here at Martialtalk. I personally was incensed and chose to answer when I saw this baseless statement-whether accidentally ambiguous or truly believed—was made by someone from within our community.
The words of my first posts purposefully did not mention any instructor’s names. Instead, I chose to give a generic response to satisfy outside seekers who may have been led to believe something was going on behind closed doors. Others from within the Systema community chose to make what I had said say more. Nowhere in my posts do I specifically reference or generically allude to any instructor, nor do I denigrate any individual who is no longer “officially” affiliated with Vlad. Quite the opposite, I bend over backwards to state several of those who chose a different direction chose their own way and were highly qualified in martial arts. Refusal to re-certify was not some political act from Vlad, but rather the result of former instructor personal choice. Of course, people will read what they want to see. The wording of my post was specifically crafted to answer the charge some people were “kicked out.” This was not the case. No personal issue existed between Arthur and me prior to these threads; I do not appreciate others trying to make one now. For all you conspiracy theorists in the family, is it possible my general reference may have a broader scope than just one person? If you wish to make your own personal context from what I said, do not make me responsible for your over-interpretation, misinterpretation, or lack of interpretation. Make your thoughts your own!
Third, as to the all the talk about stolen identities and such. Enough already. When someone under an established identity makes ridiculous comments to illicit a strong negative response in one forum, how do you expect anyone to come to any other conclusion except that the statements made were from the speaking identity when the “same” persona takes responsibility for them in another forum? There is far too much fuzzy logic going on here. My head hurts from trying to comprehend the chaos swirling around the porcelain bowl. I have spelled out my take on all this at FA, so I will not belabor the point here.
In short, this whole event was caused by some our own seeing conspiracies where none existed. When I made a general explanation to dispel the nonsense to those on the outside, the conspiracy believers on the inside added their own details and interpretations and then yelled, “A-ha! I told you so!” Maybe we should be asking why are some so ready and willing to jump at the opportunity to believe in such conspiracies in the first place? We are our own worst enemies. Zealous, blind students who knee-jerk defend affiliate instructors at any cost before we even know the truth of what has been said. Is this why some voices are heard less than others in our community? Because it is much easier for honest people to train honestly on the mat than it is to listen to others talk “honestly” in a forum?
Jim King
artyon:
